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Sports Oct 13, 2023
Two people playing flag football. | Photo by Joshua Choate from Pixabay
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Baseball/softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash have been submitted for inclusion in LA28 — the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, it was announced Friday.
The additional sports were proposed by the International Olympic Committee for involvement in the multi-sport event scheduled from July 14 to 30, 2028, in and around Los Angeles.
For baseball/softball, cricket and lacrosse, it would be a return to the Olympic Games, while flag football and squash would be making their Olympic debut at LA28.
“The choice of these five new sports is in line with the American sports culture and will showcase iconic American sports to the world, while bringing international sports to the United States,” IOC President Thomas Bach said. “These sports will make the Olympic Games LA28 unique. Their inclusion will allow the Olympic Movement to engage with new athlete and fan communities in the U.S. and globally.”
The selection of sports is the result of a process and analysis based on evaluation criteria set out before the process began, including gender equality.
According to the IOC:
- Baseball and softball have been part of the program at several editions of the Olympic Games, most recently at Tokyo 2020;
- Cricket brings a vast social media following, and a new major professional league, Major League Cricket, was recently launched in the United States;
- American football is the most popular sport in the U.S. and flag football, which would be making its Olympic debut at LA28, is growing both domestically and internationally;
- The potential inclusion of lacrosse on the LA28 sports program would be its third appearance at the Olympic Games, after St. Louis 1904 and London 1908; and
- Squash would be making its Olympic debut at LA28.
The IOC executive board also reviewed the status of boxing, modern pentathlon and weightlifting, but did not propose their inclusion at this time.
The program of events and athlete quotas at LA28 will be finalized after Paris 2024.
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