On Monday in Mumbai at the 141st International Olympic Committee (IOC) session, it was announced that flag football, baseball/softball, cricket, lacrosse and squash would be included at the Games.

It will be the first time that flag football and squash will be in an Olympic Games.
Cricket was included in the Paris Olympics in 1900, while lacrosse was included at St. Louis 1904 and London 1908. Baseball and softball have been in several Olympics, most recently in 2021 for the Tokyo 2020 Games.

“The choice of these five new sports is in line with the American sports culture and will showcase iconic American sports to the world, while bringing international sports to the United States. These sports will make the Olympic Games LA28 unique,” IOC president Thomas Bach said in a statement.

“Their inclusion will allow the Olympic Movement to engage with new athlete and fan communities in the US and globally.”

The IOC explained that the process to decide upon the addition of the five sports took a plethora of different criteria, including looking at how popular the sport is in both the US and globally.

Flag football, baseball, softball and lacrosse are sports which are traditionally popular in the US.

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