Good News for Cricket fans: Cricket May Find a Place in 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 13: Cricket is likely to be included in the Olympic Games in the 2028 event to be held in Los Angeles, the United States. Though a final decision is expected to be announced on October 16, the sports passed the first hurdle on Friday when the executive board of the International Olympic Committee at its meeting in Mumbai approved for inclusion of Cricket as one of the five sports to be included in the Los Angeles Olympics.
It is more than 120 years that Cricket has not find a place in the Olympics. Cricket last featured at the 1900 Paris Olympics, when a team from Britain beat a side representing France. The sport has made moves towards a return to the Games for more than a decade with the encouragement of the Olympic movement but was not acceptable to the IOC as only a limited number of countries participated in the game. However, seeing the increasing popularity of T20 cricket, its spread among newer nations and the financial benefits it drives, the Olympic Committee has agreed to consider its inclusion in the Olympic Games.
However, the status of boxing, also a popular sports in India and an arena of expected medals, remained an uncertain feature in the 2028 Olympics though it will be played at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
IOC president Thomas Bach, speaking after the second day of an executive board meeting in Mumbai on Friday said officials had accepted a proposal by LA organisers for Twenty20 cricket to be included as one of five new sports together with baseball/softball, flag football (non-contact American football), squash and lacrosse.
But the final choice of which sports are on the 2028 programme will be voted on October 16 at the IOC session in Mumbai, one of the hotbeds of cricket, as India currently hosts the men’s 50-over Cricket World Cup. “For the IOC, it is a great opportunity to engage with new athlete and fan communities,” said Bach.
“We see the growing popularity of T20 cricket and we look forward to welcoming the world’s best players to the US in 2028,” he added. Los Angeles chiefs have proposed a six-team event, in both men’s and women’s T20 cricket, with the United States set to field sides as the host nation. But no firm decision on the number of teams or how they are qualified will be taken unless and until cricket receives formal ratification on Monday.
Adding cricket to the Olympic programme is an obvious move, financially speaking. It would tap into the lucrative south Asian market, attracting fans in countries such as India and Pakistan. T20 cricket is the sport’s shortest international format.
The Indian Premier League, featuring cricket’s global stars, has helped India become the unquestioned economic driving force of the sport, thanks to legions of fans and lucrative broadcasting deals in a nation where the game is almost a religion.
On Boxing, Bach said, its status continued to remain uncertain though the IOC was keen to continue with the game. Its status became uncertain after the IOC stripped the International Boxing Association of its recognition following a dispute over how the sport is governed. Boxing has been part of every Olympics since 1920 and will feature in Paris next year.
“We want boxing on the programme,” said Bach. “We have no problem, with boxing or boxers — we have a problem with the governing body.”
