Having witnessed the International Olympic Committee (IOC) give a final nod for the inclusion of cricket as an additional sport in the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028, Greg Barclay, Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) said he does not want to see it as a one-off.
The 141st Session of IOC gave its nod for the inclusion of cricket, squash, flag football, baseball softball and lacrosse as additional sports in Los Angeles in its meeting, here on Monday.
“We do not want to see it as a one-off, we are looking to be a permanent member of the Olympic movement,” Barkley told the media in an interaction in the mixed zone at the Jio World Centre here.
With Brisbane set to host the Olympic Games in 2032 after Los Angeles, there is a feeling the Australian organisers may also propose it as an additional sport considering the sport's popularity in the country.
Considering the potential for cricket's growth, Barclay said they were hoping to get a permanent position in the Olympics sports programme, which may not be so easy considering there are already so many sports angling for permanent status on the programme.
Barclay said they were happy to get this opportunity.
“We worked through to satisfy the LA (organising committee) and the IOC to admit cricket into the Olympics. Obviously, they have accepted our considerations and our position and here we are today, which is great,” he said.
Barclay said they want to use the Olympic platform to take cricket to a wider audience.
“That was also a part of our motivation, to use the world’s biggest sporting stage to help further grow our sport. We are one of the fastest growing team sports in the world but we are under-represented in certain regions and countries, and this is an opportunity to address that,” the sports administrator from New Zealand said.
Barclay said he did not want to highlight any particular aspect of the game that swung the vote in cricket's favour.
“I am not going to highlight any in particular, just pleased that we have been able to set aside (with) the IOC that we are a sport that was worthy of admission into the Olympic movement,” he said.
“(I am) not privy to what exactly drove the decision making — I would like to think so. We are an inclusive sport, and our ideals and values line up with the Olympic Movement. Hopefully, there was consideration and it was taken into account.”
“There were issues that we needed to work through, that has been done. We have got 100 per cent support from all of our members and stakeholders. The journey has been pretty easy in terms of the ability to bring them behind us. Great outcome, I am really pleased for all of them,” he said.
“We were hopeful we would get there, we did not take anything for granted at all. It has been a long journey. It is a culmination of that journey but it is not the end of the growth of the game and taking the sport to the globe will continue,” he said.
Asked how things changed in ICC in favour of cricket's inclusion in the Olympics, a move that had faced a lot of opposition from its members a few years ago, Barclay said there was unanimous support for the proposal this time.
With cricket becoming part of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the Asian Games in Hangzhou, this seemed a natural progression as the IOC members were convinced that the T20 format fit the Olympic Games programme.
Commercial strength was not a consideration for including cricket in Olympic Games, says IOC chief Thomas Bach
Cricket's commercial massive strength in India and other member countries was not a consideration for the sport's return to the Olympic Games after 120-plus years at the Los Angeles Olympics, scheduled in July 2028, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said on Monday.
Cricket was last played in the 1900 edition in Paris as a one-off match between Great Britain and France (a team comprising British nationals and two born in France). Its return to the Olympics was approved by the 141st IOC Session in Mumbai on Monday.
According to Bach, the reason the organising committee of the Los Angeles Olympic Games proposed it as an additional sport was cricket's recent development as the fastest-growing team sport in the world and the potential the IOC sees in it.
"Let me make it clear, the commercial aspect is not a consideration for us. The first argument (in favour of cricket) is that we have seen the growing importance of cricket becoming one of the most popular sports worldwide. The second reason for LA to consider is that it had a growing presence in the United States," Bach said.
The IOC president said the IOC member from India, Nita M. Ambani played a key role in this aspect as she advised the IOC about cricket's growth as a sport and impressed on the members how it will be beneficial for both to include it in LA 2028 as an additional sport.
"We have been given good advice by our IOC member from India, Nita Ambani, and we have also seen figures related to cricket in the last few years," he said.
In this regard, the IOC's Director of Sports, Kit McConnell said the Organising Committee for the Los Angeles Olympic Games had discussions with professional cricket leagues like the Indian Premier League and Major League Cricket to get their inputs about the sport.
Asked whether the IOC will go ahead with cricket at LA 2028 even if the top players are not involved, Bach first termed it as a hypothetical question but went on to say that he believes that the best players in the world are enthusiastic about playing in the Olympics.
"At this moment, we have every reason to believe that the best players are enthusiastic about participating in the Olympic Games," Bach said during a press conference on the second day of the 141st IOC Session here on Monday.
The IOC president was also asked whether Afghanistan, which has disbanded its women's cricket team since the Taliban came into power, will be allowed to play in the men's tournament only if they qualify, Bach said there is enough time for Afghanistan to have a women's cricket team too.
"We have seen recently that Afghanistan's contingent at the Asian Games in Hangzhou had a significant number of female participants. So, there has been some development. We are closely monitoring the situation," he said, adding that he had a fruitful discussion with some of Afghanistan's female athletes when he visited the Athletes Village in Hangzhou.
Bach also said that the IOC as expressed in the Olympic Charter, the IOC has good relations with professional leagues around the world as part of the new initiative. He, however, made it clear that the contact with such leagues has been through the respective international federation.
"We want to improve our relations with the professional leagues and do this in cooperation with International Federations. This is happening very well with basketball where we are in good contact with the NBA and doing this in cooperation with FIBA (International Basketball Federation), which has led to very positive development for basketball worldwide and in the Olympics. We would like to have similar relations with other sports. In this regard, I met the NFL Commission during my recent visit to the US and also met the league through the International Ice Hockey Federation recently," Bach said.
