Cricket has ‘no chance’ for Olympic inclusion in 2024 and 2028
July 26, 2017
Two International Olympic Committee (IOC) members have claimed that cricket is unlikely to be included in the Games before 2032.
IOC members Sir Craig Reedie and Adam Pengilly believe cricket’s road to an Olympic return will be long and filled with obstacles.
“I don’t think cricket has any chance in 2024 or 2028 because neither of the hosts, Paris and Los Angeles, will be very interested and the sport isn’t top of the list of those waiting for a chance,” Reedie told Sky Sports.
“That said, India is the biggest reason for bringing cricket in and the Games are driven by television, so it is not beyond the realms of possibility but I would suggest 2032 is a more realistic timescale.”
#WWC17 wasn’t just an exciting tournament – it was a record-breaking one!https://t.co/liqXSFMbgP pic.twitter.com/NQBggwTPFY
— ICC (@ICC) July 25, 2017
The last time that the sport was included in the Games was in Paris in 1900, but the International Cricket Council (ICC) are reportedly close to announcing a formal application to join the programme for 2024.
Earlier this year, ICC chief executive David Richardson said the “time was right” for cricket to make a push for Olympic inclusion.
However, Pengilly believes the sport will struggle to make a valid case for inclusion: “I think there are still too many factors working against cricket: it’s not global, it’s not particularly ‘youth’ and it doesn’t meet many of the key Olympic themes.
“If the next host was Australia, it might have a chance. But France and the US don’t play much cricket, and I can’t see there being much support in countries that don’t play cricket.”