• ICC hopes cricket’s Olympic inclusion is permanent.
• Brisbane 2032 organizers may also propose cricket.
• ICC wants to use Olympics to grow cricket globally.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is hopeful that cricket’s inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games will be a permanent one, according to ICC Chairman Greg Barclay.

Cricket was one of five additional sports approved for the 2028 Games by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday, marking the sport’s return to the Olympics for the first time since 1900.

“We do not want to see it as a one-off, we are looking to be a permanent member of the Olympic movement,” Barclay said.

With Brisbane set to host the Olympic Games in 2032, there is a feeling the Australian organisers may also propose cricket 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.

“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 they want to use the Olympic platform to take cricket to a wider audience and to help further grow the sport.

Barclay said he did not want to highlight any particular aspect of the game that swung the vote in cricket’s favour, but was pleased that they had been able to convince the IOC that cricket was a sport that was worthy of admission into the Olympic movement.

“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,” he said.

Barclay said that the ICC had received 100% support from all of its members and stakeholders for the proposal to include cricket in the Olympics.

“We were hopeful we would get there, we did not take anything for granted at all. It has been a long journey,” he said.

Barclay said that the ICC would continue to work on growing the game globally, and that the inclusion of cricket in the Olympics was a natural progression.

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