Olympic Bodies Express Concern of Cricket in 2028 Olympics

Olympic Sports Bodies Express Concern Over Inclusion of Cricket in 2028 LA Olympics, Seek Talks with IOC

Since cricket and other new sports were introduced to the program, Olympic sports organizations have sought immediate talks with the IOC about the possibility of reductions in their revenue shares and medal events at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

(Cricket News) Last month, the International Olympic Committee accepted the following sports for 2028: boxing, modern pentathlon, weightlifting, flag football, squash, baseball/softball, and lacrosse. The approval of these three sports has been questioned.

The plan to expand to a record 36 sports has “raised several questions” among its members, who jointly received $540 million of IOC-allocated money at each of the past two Olympics, according to the umbrella group of current Summer Games sports, known by the abbreviation ASOIF.

The Tokyo Games in 2021, postponed due to a pandemic, offered between $13 million and $17.3 million to the majority of Olympic sports. It amounted to over half of some people’s total income over a four-year period.

By adding four team sports in 2028, the IOC’s recommended cap of 10,500 athletes at a Summer Games will also be exceeded, and this will probably put pressure on the main Olympic sports to reduce their medal events or athlete quotas. Early 2025 is the deadline that the IOC has set for final quota confirmation.

After meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Monday, the ruling council of ASOIF decided “to raise these urgent matters with the IOC leadership.”

The presidents of the premier Olympic sports, World Athletics, World Gymnastics Federation, and World Aquatics, are on the council.

Following the Tokyo Games, track and field received $38.5 million, while swimming and gymnastics received roughly $31.4 million each of the IOC’s $7.6 billion in revenue from sponsors and broadcasters. It is anticipated that adding cricket will increase the IOC’s Indian broadcast agreement by at least $100 million.

“Revenue share, athlete quotas, Olympic qualification systems and games optimisation” are important concerns for Olympic sports as the games continue to grow, according to ASOIF President Francesco Ricci Bitti. The latest Olympic buzzword for cutting expenses and services to assist organisers in keeping spending under control is optimisation.

In a statement, Ricci Bitti stated, “These are the issues that have a huge impact on (international federation) operations and have far-reaching effects on the entire Olympic Movement.”

A request for comment regarding the ASOIF request was not immediately answered by the IOC. Following the competition, the Olympic committee will confirm revenue-sharing monies from the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

ASOIF issued a warning to its members on Monday regarding their participation in a possible rival to the Olympics, since Russia intends to hold a World Friendship Games a few weeks after the Paris closing ceremony. The games are scheduled to take place in September in Moscow and Yekaterinburg.

“During these difficult times, the Russian multisport event is not conducive to dialogue within the sports world,” according to ASOIF.

The IOC has suspended the Russian Olympic Committee, although several sports still allow people to be asked to participate as neutral competitors in international competitions if they have no connections to the military or state security agencies and do not openly support the conflict in Ukraine.