The five new LA28 sports, explained for newcomers
Cricket, flag football, squash, lacrosse sixes and the return of baseball/softball join the programme in Los Angeles — here is what each one is, why it was added, and where qualification already stands.
When the IOC approved LA28's proposal for five additional sports in October 2023, president Thomas Bach said the picks were "in line with the American sports culture and will showcase iconic American sports to the world, while bringing international sports to the United States." With two years to go, here is the newcomer's guide.
Cricket
Back for the first time since Paris 1900, and in its shortest form: T20, where each side bats for a maximum of 20 overs, per Team GB's explainer. The format was chosen for reach — NPR notes the T20 game's enormous global audience, above all in India.
Flag football
The Olympic debut of football without the tackling: defenders end a play by pulling a flag from the ball-carrier's belt. It earned its place partly on participation — more American kids aged 6-12 now play flag than tackle, per NPR. Qualification is already under way: at August's World Championships in Düsseldorf, Italy and Canada (men) and Canada and Mexico (women) claimed the first berths alongside the host US teams, per NFL.com.
Squash
After decades of campaigning, squash makes its first Olympic appearance ever in LA — a high-paced indoor racquet sport played by some 20 million people across 180 countries, per NPR, with glass-court venue flexibility as part of its pitch.
Lacrosse sixes
Lacrosse last awarded Olympic medals in 1908. It returns in "sixes": six players a side instead of ten, on roughly half a standard field — a faster, more compact format developed in 2018, per Team GB and NPR. The IOC also cited the sport's Indigenous North American roots.
Baseball and softball
Less additions than returns: both were last played at the Tokyo Games and sat out Paris 2024. In baseball-mad Southern California, their inclusion was the least surprising call on the list.
One thing to keep straight: these five are one-Games additions proposed by LA28 under the host-city rules — each now has its own qualification calendar between now and 2028, and flag football's, as Düsseldorf showed, is already producing Olympians.