Five additional sports will appear at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Cricket, baseball and squash sound familiar, but what exactly is flag football? What does lacrosse look like? We’ll explain it to you
Lacrosse: “The fastest sport on two legs”
It’s no coincidence that lacrosse is on the Olympic calendar in Los Angeles, of all places. The sport has its origins in North America, where it is very popular and increasingly played in schools.
In lacrosse, two teams of 10 players each compete against each other. Each player holds a stick ( Cross) With a net at the end in which the ball fits. The goal is to use the stick to shoot the ball into the opponent’s goal.
Lacrosse is a tough sport and is sometimes compared to grass ice hockey. Physical contacts are not avoided. The pace is so high that lacrosse players sometimes claim to be playing the fastest sport on two legs.
Big players can push the ball towards the goal with tremendous speed. The fastest shot ever recorded reached speeds of more than 200 km/h!
Lacrosse is not appearing on the Olympic agenda for the first time. This actually happened in 1904 and 1908. It subsequently became a demonstration sport at the Games three more times, most recently in 1948.
Box Lacrosse may be selected for Los Angeles Olympics. This is a variation of regular lacrosse played on a smaller field and with only 6 players per team.
Flag Football: The Brave Alternative to American Football
Nor is there a coincidental newcomer in the land of American football: flag football. Call it the good version of American football, where tackling or blocking is prohibited.
Players wear a flag tied to a belt with tape. “Pull the tail,” to put it in Al-Shabaab terms. Players can stop the ball carrier by pulling the tape (“flag”) from the belt.
In flag football, teams of 5 players compete against each other. Just like in American football, the goal is to score points by getting into the end zone with the ball (and the flag).
Like lacrosse, flag football is very popular in North America. Because it is safer than its big brother American football, it is often played by children.
The sport was on the program for the World Games in 2022. Not surprisingly, the American men won the gold medal, while Mexico won the women’s event.
The fact that soccer will also become an Olympic event in 2028 is also down to the NFL, which has exerted significant pressure behind the scenes. The fact that American football’s little brother is on the program in Los Angeles may have some NFL stars dreaming of Olympic gold.
Baseball and cricket are back
The Olympics are also back: baseball and cricket. Baseball has been an exhibition sport several times in the past century, until it was added to the official program in 1992.
There was no baseball in 2012 and 2016, and it is not on the agenda in Paris next year.
In Tokyo 2020, this sport was included in the Olympic program. It is no coincidence, because baseball is the most popular sport in Japan. Precisely for this reason, he will be added to the program again in 2028 in baseball-mad America.
Cricket’s Olympic past is very modest. Only in 1900 was it included in the program of the Olympic Games.
In Belgium, cricket is a fairly young sport, but make no mistake: it is the most popular sport worldwide after football. Cricket is unparalleled in popularity, especially in the British Commonwealth.
Cricket is very popular in Commonwealth countries.
Completely new: squash
For squash, 2028 will be a baptism of Olympic fire, because racket sport was never included in the Olympic Games program.
Squash is a global sport, mainly dominated by Egypt in recent years. The North African country produces the best squash players on the assembly line, for both men and women.
Belgium also has two of the world’s best squash players. Sisters Nele and Tinne Gilis are currently among the top ten in the world.
