{"id":14897,"date":"2023-10-17T00:13:07","date_gmt":"2023-10-17T00:13:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/massive-day-as-cricket-approved-for-la-games-the-express-tribune\/"},"modified":"2023-10-17T00:13:07","modified_gmt":"2023-10-17T00:13:07","slug":"massive-day-as-cricket-approved-for-la-games-the-express-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/massive-day-as-cricket-approved-for-la-games-the-express-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Massive day\u2019 as cricket approved for LA Games | The Express Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nMUMBAI:
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Cricket will feature as one of five new sports at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, organisers announced Monday.<\/p>\n

A vote of the International Olympic Committee’s<\/a> session in Mumbai approved cricket, together with baseball\/softball, flag football, squash and lacrosse.<\/p>\n

The IOC’s executive board last week accepted a proposal by LA organisers for Twenty20 cricket, the sport’s shortest format, to be included along with the four other new events.<\/p>\n

But the final choice still had to be voted on Monday at the IOC session in Mumbai, one of the global centres for cricket, as India hosts the men’s 50-over Cricket World Cup.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles chiefs have proposed a six-team event, in both men’s and women’s T20 cricket.<\/p>\n

The United States is set to field sides as the host nation, but no firm decision has been made on the number of teams, or how they will qualify.<\/p>\n

Cricket<\/a> last featured at the 1900 Paris Olympics, when a team from Britain beat a side representing France.<\/p>\n

Adding cricket to the Olympic programme is an obvious move, financially speaking.<\/p>\n

It would tap into the lucrative South Asian market, attracting fans in countries such as India and Pakistan.<\/p>\n

The Indian Premier League, featuring cricket’s global stars, has helped India become the unquestioned economic driving force of the sport, thanks to legions of fans and lucrative broadcasting deals in a nation where the game is almost a religion.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile Major League Cricket, a professional Twenty20 League, launched in the United States in July.<\/p>\n

“It’s a win-win situation,” International Cricket Council chairman Greg Barclay told reporters in Mumbai of cricket’s inclusion in the LA 2028 programme.<\/p>\n

“It’s a massive day for cricket,” the New Zealander added.<\/p>\n

“We’ve got global sport, what I think is the fastest-growing global sport, but getting onto the biggest sporting stage in the world, the Olympics, is a massive shot in the arm for the game.”<\/p>\n

But the IOC said Monday the status of boxing at the 2028 Games remains “on hold” after it stripped the International Boxing Association (IBA) of its recognition following a dispute over how the sport is governed.<\/p>\n

Boxing has been part of every Olympics since 1920 and will feature at next year’s Paris Games.<\/p>\n

But in June, the IBA was effectively expelled from the Olympic movement following a bitter dispute between Games chiefs and its Russian president, Umar Kremlev.<\/p>\n

That move came following concerns over the credibility of IBA-sanctioned tournaments, as well as the boxing governing body’s finances and governance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n