If Paris 2024 was about elegance, LA 2028 will be about energy. Two new sports are set to debut and three sports are making a comeback. These five sports don’t just expand the Olympic menu; they inject it with swagger. For Los Angeles, a city built on stories, this is the perfect script: legacy meets novelty, Hollywood spectacle meets sporting grit.
Cricket is poised to make a stirring and historic return to the Olympic stage, marking its first appearance in the Games since 1900. In that edition in Paris, Great Britain defeated France in a solitary match. After more than a century, it will once again be part of the global stage in Los Angeles.The sport’s return was officially confirmed during the 141st IOC session in October 2023.
Cricket at LA28 will be played in the fast and fan-friendly Twenty20 (T20) format. Both men’s and women’s events will feature six teams each, with squads comprising 15 players, totalling 180 athletes.
The inclusion of cricket taps into massive fan bases, especially in South Asia, and brings the sport to a deeply influential global audience. The spotlight of the Olympics may catalyse investment and interest in cricket globally, including in non-traditional regions like the USA and the Americas.
Squash had been nominated for decades, never selected. Until now. In 2028, the glass courts finally get their Olympic spotlight, set against the glitzy backdrop of Universal Studios Lot. Fast, brutal, elegant — squash is every bit an Olympic sport, and its athletes have been waiting a lifetime for this shot. Expect emotional tears, clenched fists, and rallies that defy physics.
Flag football is American football stripped down to its essentials: speed, skill, and a whole lot of swagger. That’s the dream LA28 is selling… and the NFL is backing it to the hilt. Men’s and women’s tournaments in this sport will light up on the global stage.
If there’s one city where baseball belongs at the Olympics, it’s Los Angeles. After years of being in and out of the Games, baseball and softball are back, and this time they’re playing in their spiritual home: Dodger Stadium. Think fireworks, think walk-off home runs, think softball pitchers throwing lasers under the California sun. For American fans, it’s a love letter. For the world, it’s another taste of pure Americana.
Lacrosse is one of North America’s oldest sports, born from Indigenous traditions. Now it’s back on the Olympic programme but with a remix. Lacrosse Sixes is smaller, faster, and made for the TikTok generation: six-a-side, tighter fields, more goals, more chaos. It’s the sport’s heritage colliding with modern spectacle, and in LA, that’s exactly the vibe.
The Olympic Games have always been a mirror to the world: reflecting shifting cultures, new passions, and the timeless thrill of competition. Come Los Angeles 2028, the mirror gets a polish and a glow-up. Five sports are stepping onto the stage, and together, they promise to make the Games younger, faster, and infinitely more global.
LA28 isn’t just adding sports; it’s redefining the Games. Flag football and lacrosse make it younger, squash makes it smarter, cricket makes it truly global, and baseball/softball roots it in Los Angeles’ DNA. Together, they turn the Olympics into something more than a sporting event — a cultural festival where tradition, innovation, and pure entertainment collide. As India bids for the 2036 Games, I wonder if traditional games like kabaddi and kho kho will make it to the world stage!
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