Five sports will join the summer games during the Los Angeles (LA) 2028 Olympics. The Olympic and Paralympic Games presented the idea of an addition of five sports to the Olympic Programme Commission October 8. The proposal received approval October 13. Baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse, squash, and cricket are all headed to LA in 2028, according to olympics.com. For three sports, this will not be the first time competing in the games, but for two, it will be the first time the respective athletes will ever be able to compete for gold.
Cricket is highly popular in nations including India, Pakistan, South Africa, and Australia, and interest in the sport is resurfacing in the United States (US). Cricket players last competed for a medal in the Olympics in 1896. The Olympics reintroduced cricket four years later in Paris, but only two countries competed, Great Britain and France, according to usacricket.org. The 2028 Olympic Games will reinstate cricket. The reintroduction of the sport will attract a new wave of viewers to both the Olympics and cricket. Mr. Greg Barclay, International Cricket Committee chairman, spoke on his excitement regarding the addition.
“Cricket’s inclusion in the Olympic Games has been a priority for our organization,” Mr. Barclay said, according to usacricket.org. “We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase our great sport and athletes at the LA28 Games, and hopefully many Olympic Games to come.”
Additionally, lacrosse will make a reappearance in the 2028 Olympic Games. Men’s lacrosse was an official game in 1904 and 1908 and a demonstration sport in 1928, 1932, and 1948. However, women’s lacrosse has only competed in the World Games in 2017 and 2022. The sport will take on a new format from its usual men’s nine-player game and women’s 11. The games will take place in Lacrosse Sixes, which is a continuous six versus six. This makes it a two-way game, so all players will play all positions, according to usalaxmagazine.com. Sixes combines elements from men’s and women’s games to make them more parallel in style, which makes it easier for viewers to follow.
Senior Ava Lillis first played lacrosse in kindergarten. She has grown up playing the sport and will continue her lacrosse career in college. Ava touched upon some of the important aspects of the addition of lacrosse.
“Personally, I am very excited to watch and learn from such amazing players on such a high level,” Ava said. “I think the addition will benefit the games because it will be reaching a larger audience, therefore expanding the game in a new way.”
Softball and baseball will debut in the Olympic Games as a single sport. This means each game will play separately but remain categorized as one sport. For baseball, 2028 will be its seventh year playing in the Games, as it formerly participated in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2020. Softball joined the lineup in 1996, and competitors played the sport in 2000 and 2004. Baseball and softball players last competed for an Olympic medal at the Beijing Games in 2008. During the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, baseball and softball were only features and did not count as official games. Mr. Riccardo Fraccari, World Baseball Softball Confederation President, feels that these sports will be a great addition to the Olympic games. He asserted that resurfacing sports is exciting and appealing to viewers, according to mlb.com.
“It is going to be an electric atmosphere in LA, where the best baseball and softball athletes in the world will have the opportunity to play on the biggest stage in front of a global audience of billions,” Mr. Fraccari said, according to mlb.com.
Squash has also succeeded in joining the Olympic Games. Squash has only appeared in an Olympic competition once, at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. Mr. Kevin Klipstein, US Squash President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), shared his opinion on the inclusion of squash, according to ussquash.org.
“The inclusion of squash in the LA28 Olympic Games is a significant breakthrough for the sport,” Mr. Klipstein said, according to ussquash.org. “Being part of the Olympic Games has been a long-held goal for the squash community, and inclusion will serve as a catalyst to increase awareness of what is already a major participatory sport globally with a long and diverse history.”
Squash athletes who have trained for most of their lives will now have the opportunity to play for a medal and represent their countries on a whole new platform. Senior Caroline Fouts is accomplished in the world of squash, as she has won U19 back-to-back titles, according to ussquash.org. Caroline will attempt to be one of the three selected athletes and will devote significant training to try to represent the US in 2028. Caroline’s deep connection with the sport allowed her the opportunity to comment on its inclusion.
“I think it is really cool and interesting because squash is played around the world, and there are so many different countries that play squash,” Caroline said. “It’s really represented throughout the world, and I think that adding it will just really give squash the opportunity to grow. Squash is a smaller sport, and not everyone knows about it, so getting it on a huge stage like the Olympics will really grow the sport.”
Flag football is a comprehensive version of the classic game of American football. The LA28 flag football games will include 65 countries. Teams consisting of men and women will compete in the games. The 2028 Games will mark the debut of the sport in the Olympics. Elite athletes and teams have endorsed this addition. Mr. Pierre Trochet, President of the International Federation of American Football, spoke after the announcement of flag football, according to nfl.com.
“We are convinced that flag football will offer an exciting new dimension to the Games, uniting them, for the first time in history, with America’s number one sport in its youngest, most accessible, and inclusive format, which is already spearheading extraordinary growth, particularly among youth audiences, women and girls and in new countries worldwide,” Mr. Trochet said, according to nfl.com. “We have no doubt that inclusion in the Olympic Games will further accelerate this dynamic.”
These sports will allow people to experience new activities while also bringing six new full audiences to the Olympic Games. Individual sports will grow in popularity as the Olympic Games expand. Sports come and go throughout the Olympics, but even the smallest features can have a significant impact on such a big platform. Student-athlete Ava feels that the inclusion of the sports will benefit the world of young athletes who hope to be able to compete for a gold medal.
“The addition of sports to the Olympic games is very inspiring to young players, and I look forward to seeing the games grow,” Ava said.
Featured Image by Casey Smith ’26
