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It’s not exactly around the corner. But Olympic timelines being what they are, Los Angeles is already busy preparing to host the 2028 Summer Games.
It will be the city’s third Olympic go-round and its biggest, by far. The first time, in 1932, some 1,330 athletes competed in 14 sports. At the 1984 Games, that jumped to over 6,820 in 21 sports.
In an effort to keep the cost and complexity of hosting from spiralling even further, the International Olympic Committee has already capped the number of athletes at 10,500 for 2028. But how many sports, and which new ones might enter the much sought-after Olympic spotlight, is still to be decided.
So far, 28 have been included, and there’s a process underway for three more that have run afoul of the IOC in various ways — boxing, weightlifting and modern pentathlon — to earn their way in.
An eclectic mix of nine candidates, from motorsports to flag football, have also been shortlisted. That gives them a chance if their pitch is appealing enough to L.A. organizers and the IOC.
There’s no cap on the number of new sports, but the total number of athletes can’t exceed the limit. So, adding one sport means subtracting from another — one of the biggest challenges.
L.A. organizers say their goal is to produce “a fresh blend of sport and entertainment to help refresh the Olympic brand worldwide and capture the imagination of youth.”
The IOC’s criteria for additions to the menu includes simplifying the staging of events, bringing the best athletes to the Games, gender equality, environmental sustainability, global popularity, host country interest and youth appeal.
The international federations for the nine candidates made confidential presentations in the fall. Their fate will be announced at the next IOC session, which has been delayed until the fall of 2023.
Here’s a closer look at the hopefuls, and some factors that might tip the scales:
Motorsports
At first glance, this is the most surprising contender since the Olympic charter had a long-standing clause stating that sports “in which performance depends essentially on mechanical propulsion are not acceptable.” But a lot has changed in the last decade. That wording was removed in 2012, the international motorsports federation was officially recognized by the IOC and electric karting was a demonstration sport at the 2018 Youth Olympics.
That event and the IOC’s interest in environmental sustainability suggest electric karting is the likeliest motorsports candidate. The Youth Olympics have been the testing ground for other sports included in the big show — most recently break dancing, which will make its Olympic debut in Paris.
One challenge for electric karting is that no high-level competitive circuit exists. But one karting expert says the sport could move quickly on that front with the encouragement of an Olympic deadline.
Cricket
A single test cricket match has been played in the Olympics: Britain vs. France at the 1900 Paris Games, though neither side included national team players. In fact, the French side was comprised mostly of English expatriates. There were 12 cricketers a side instead of the standard 11, and it lasted two days rather than five. Britain won.
The International Cricket Council is looking to update that history and has proposed the T20 version — the shortest international format, which takes about three hours to play. Women’s T20 was included in last year’s Commonwealth Games (120 athletes from eight nations competed) and it’s slated to be part of several multi-sport events this year, including the Asian Games, Africa Games and Southeast Asian Games.
Accommodating a new team sport while staying within the athlete limit would pose challenges, but the U.S. is the third-largest cricket broadcast market after India and the U.K.
Baseball/softball
This is a combined bid: men’s baseball and women’s softball, which were part of the Tokyo Games in 2021 but have not been on the permanent Olympic program since 2008.
Men’s baseball became an official demonstration sport at the 1984 L.A. Games and was a medal event from 1992 to 2008, then dropped until Tokyo. Women’s softball was introduced as a medal event at the 1996 Atlanta Games and, like baseball, left off after 2008 until Tokyo. The U.S. has won a medal at every Olympics where softball was included, and never worse than silver. (Canadians took bronze in Tokyo.)
The popularity of both sports in the U.S. and appeal of iconic Dodger Stadium as a venue gives fans hope that these sports will return for L.A. But there are challenges, too.
Along with the athlete quota issue, the IOC’s desire to have the best players compete would, for baseball, mean access to Major League Baseball players in the middle of the regular season. Before the Tokyo Olympics were postponed from 2020 to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, MLB had said players who weren’t on active rosters could go. That decision was rescinded after the delay.
Kickboxing
In the martial arts world, it’s a young discipline dating back to the 1960s. The World Association of Kickboxing Organizations recognizes several forms, but K-1 Rules made its debut as a medal event at last year’s World Games in Birmingham, Ala. That’s three rounds in a boxing ring with punches, kicks and knee strikes allowed, but no throws, head-butts and elbow strikes.
The sport’s governing body received full IOC recognition last year, an important step, and says making the L.A. shortlist has already been a game-changer. It doesn’t require a costly venue, but there are already several other combat sports in the Olympics: judo, taekwondo, wrestling and boxing (if it manages to stay).
Karate
After decades of trying to get into the Olympics, this ancient martial art, which traces its roots to the Japanese island of Okinawa in the 15th century, made its Games debut in Tokyo with two events: kumite, the sparring discipline, which had three weight classes for men and women; and kata, the solo demonstration form.
The Tokyo competition was not without controversy: the men’s heavyweight champion was knocked out by a kick from the competitor awarded silver.
Unlike other sports that debuted in Tokyo — such as surfing, skateboarding and climbing — karate won’t be included in the 2024 Paris Olympics, but the World Karate Federation is hoping L.A. will feel differently. The U.S. won bronze in men’s kata in Tokyo.
Breaking
Break dancing traces its roots to the streets of New York and the hip-hop culture of the 1970s. Breaking will make its Olympic debut in 2024 — the latest youthful, freestyle, judged sport to be included.
In Paris, b-boys and b-girls will compete over two days at Place de le Concorde, a prestige downtown venue. Vancouver’s Philip Kim (known as Phil Wizard) hopes to be there after winning last year’s world championship.
It doesn’t require an expensive or specialized venue, and the competition is short, high energy and easy to broadcast — all things that appeal to the IOC. Just 32 athletes in total will vie for the first Olympic medals, making it easy on the athlete quota.
Squash
This fast-paced racket sport, played by 20 million people globally, has been part of the Commonwealth Games since 1998 and the Pan Am Games since 1995. (Canada tops the Pan Am medal table in the sport.)
It has been shortlisted for the Olympics multiple times, but never made it. Most recently, it was passed over in favour of break dancing, climbing, skateboarding and surfing.
Squash has many points going for it: global reach, ability to deliver the sport’s best athletes, a merged men’s and women’s professional tour and equal prize money at world championships. But past bids reportedly failed because the sport isn’t spectator-friendly. Since then, it has moved to glass courts, a simplified scoring system, shorter games and introduced balls that TV cameras can pick up at speeds exceeding 200 km/h.
Lacrosse
Modern lacrosse descends from games played by North America’s Indigenous Peoples. It was an Olympic medal event in 1904 and 1908, and Canada won both times. (Bronze, too, in 1904 — when two of the three teams in the men’s-only tournament were Canadian). The Winnipeg Shamrocks took the gold, a local team from St. Louis the silver and players from the Six Nations of the Grand River near Brantford, Ont., the bronze.
World Lacrosse recently introduced a six-on-six version that features shorter games, a smaller field and faster tempo that might appeal to the IOC. Sixes was played at the last World Games, sometimes a testing ground for potential Olympic sports. Canada’s men and women beat the U.S. in both finals.
World Lacrosse launched a public campaign to promote the sport and its Olympic-worthy heritage: “Indigenous Made, Globally Played.” The governing body’s president, Sue Redfern, said “members, athletes and the wider global lacrosse community are overwhelmingly united in their support for our efforts to bring the game back to the world’s greatest stage.”
Flag football
This past summer, the NFL joined forces with the International Federation of American Football to push for inclusion of flag football in the 2028 Olympics. It’s played five-on-five with no contact — flags pulled from waist belts replace tackling. Games are played in 20-minute halves with rosters up to 15, and can be held in a range of venues — from stadiums to urban sports parks — making it a flexible, low-cost contender for Olympic attention.
Flag football made its major multi-sport event debut at last year’s World Games, with eight women’s and men’s teams from 10 countries. Flag football federation president Pierre Trochet calls it “America’s sport with a Californian spirit.”
What football may lack in global appeal it more than makes up for in local interest as America’s most popular, and profitable, sport.
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