After 128 years, cricket set to return in Olympics for 2028 Los Angeles Games: Report

Organisers of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics want cricket, flag football, lacrosse, squash, as well as baseball and softball added to their Games programme, according to media reports on Monday.

The organisers’ recommendations will be subject to final approval by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), with a session set for Mumbai later this month, though the Los Angeles Times reported that the sports are likely to be approved.

The IOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

LA28 organisers are expected to make public their recommendations in the next day, according to the Guardian.

Of those five sports, three have never been included in an Olympic programme.

Flag football, an appealing option for the U.S.-based Games given the overwhelming popularity of the National Football League (NFL), squash and lacrosse would make their Olympic debut, if approved.

Cricket, which enjoys enormous global appeal, would return after appearing once before at the 1900 Games, after the tremendous success for women’s cricket at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The International Cricket Council did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Baseball was included in several prior Games – and was added back to the Tokyo programme after it was left off in 2012 and 2016 – but will not be a part of the Paris Games.

Softball, which is contested by female athletes, has appeared at five previous editions of the Summer Games and was also left off the Paris agenda.