Opinion: Olympic organisers' hit and miss approach to selection sports still baffles

The International Olympic Committee are set to mull over the latest proposals for new sports to be included at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, and on the list is Twenty20 cricket, American flag football, lacrosse, squash, baseball and softball.

Some of those sports - baseball, softball, cricket and lacrosse - have been Olympic sports before, with the latter two last appearing at the Games more than 100 years ago, while squash and flag football will be looking to make their debut.

The decision on which sports make the cut won't be announced by the International Olympic Committee until next Monday, October 16.

So what exactly goes into each Olympic Committee member's decision-making to know what is or isn't a sport worthy of inclusion?

What it appears to have become is a sports-themed popularity contest, where trying to get as many headlines and eyeballs on the Olympics is the goal, and where tradition is certainly a strong theme, but can be tweaked on a whim, depending on what's 'in' right now.

The result is an ever-growing list of sports - including some that might test that definition of 'sport' - being added to the Olympics, even when there seemed to be no need for immediate change.

Breakdancing is a fine example of the IOC misfiring in trying to make the Olympics appeal to new and younger audiences.

The Paris Games may yet prove it to succeed in those objectives, but unfortunately the experiment isn't going to last longer than one Olympics cycle, with breakdancing to be cut following the 2024 event.

Evolution is inevitable, of course. From 43 events in nine sports and 241 athletes (all men) in 1896 to 329 events in 32 sports with 10,500 male and female competitors in Paris, the Olympics has become a major event.

At times though, Olympics organisers have lost sight of what exactly sets the Games apart, and makes it so special.

For instance, does cricket really need the Olympics?

The sport already has two Worlds Cups in different formats and a Tour Championship on a jam-packed calendar with barely any months left to squeeze in more cricket.

The last time cricket was contested at the 1900 Olympics, only two teams played, with Britain beating the French team mostly made up of English expats.

There's certainly more nations playing cricket today, however it is probably more suited for the Commonwealth Games.

Similarly, while formerly Olympic sports, baseball and softball have limited international exposure, and lacrosse and flag football - a smaller scale version of gridiron - are even more niche with their US roots.

Squash returning to the Games makes far more sense, with the sport a genuinely global affair played in 185 countries.

It shows there are some changes to Olympic sports that appear justified, but a few others seem to miss the mark.

When breakdancing was added as an Olympic sport in 2020, squash legend Michelle Martin said the IOC were making a "mockery" of the Olympics and questioned: "Where's the Olympics going?"

The answer to that still doesn't seem very clear to be honest.

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