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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The IOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
LA28 organisers are expected to make public their recommendations in the next day, according to the Guardian.<\/p>\n
Of those five sports, three have never been included in an Olympic programme.<\/p>\n
Flag football, an appealing option for the US-based Games given the overwhelming popularity of the National Football League (NFL), squash and lacrosse would make their Olympic debut, if approved.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The International Cricket Council did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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