Cricket, lacrosse to officially return to Olympics after century-long break

Cricket and lacrosse are Olympic sports again. Flag football gets in for the first time.

Five sports were added to the 2028 Los Angeles Games by the International Olympic Committee on Monday with baseball-softball and squash also confirmed for the program.

The slate of sports cleared a final hurdle from the Olympic body's full membership at a meeting in Mumbai, India, after being proposed by Los Angeles officials one week ago and recommended by the IOC executive board on Friday.

The decision to elevate cricket to Olympic status for the first time since 1900 was made in one of the hotpots of the sport where the IOC is meeting while India hosts the sport's World Cup.

Adding cricket to the Olympic program is expected to raise the value of India's broadcasting rights for the IOC by more than $100 million US. The Olympic tournaments for men and women should each have six teams playing the shortened and dynamic Twenty20 format.

"The innings has just begun and we can't wait to see where this incredible journey leads," International Cricket Council chairman Greg Barclay said.

Flag football and baseball-softball could put NFL and MLB players on the Olympic stage in five years' time. Football in its full-contact form was a demonstration sport at the 1932 Olympics when Los Angeles first hosted the Summer Games.

"The NFL is committed to working together to strengthen flag football's place in the Olympic movement long term," the league's commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.

Lacrosse was hailed as the first game played on the American continent by its native people. The sport has been played twice at the Olympics, though not since 1908. In L.A., lacrosse will be played in a six-a-side format.

Squash will make its debut