Organisers of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics want cricket added to their Games programme.
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.
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.
“We are delighted that LA28 have recommended cricket for inclusion in the Olympics,” International Cricket Council chair Greg Barclay said.
“While this is not the final decision, it is a very significant landmark towards seeing cricket at the Olympics for the first time in more than a century.
“I’d like to thank LA28 for their support during the new sport evaluation process over last two years and we look forward to the final decision being taken at the IOC Session, in India, during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup next week.”
Of those five sports, three have never been included in an Olympic programme.
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Rob Draper of The Mail on Sunday and The Sun’s Charlie Wyett discuss the possibility of cricket becoming an Olympic sport and how it would provide a boost
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.
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