The 5 New Olympic Sports Scheduled for Los Angeles 2028

Highlights Flag football debuts at the Olympics in 2028, with NFL stars expected to participate.

Cricket returns to the Games after 128 years, as three other sports also make a comeback.

The swimming events are slated to take place inside an NFL football stadium.

As we reach the twilight of the Paris games, many will already be looking four years into the future when the Olympics travels to the west coast of the United States, with Los Angeles set to host in 2028.

It will have been 44 years since LA hosted the summer Olympic games, and there are sports new and old set to feature on the programme with an eye-opening roster of venues listed to hold all the action. Per the Daily Mail, sports that will be making a comeback at the 2028 edition of the Games are cricket, softball, baseball and lacrosse.

Having a long 128-year wait to make its return, cricket will be revived into a six-team tournament played across the games, and it is expected these games will be played in New York, which has gained valuable experience having played partial host to the T20 World Cup that took place this year.

Lacrosse, having had a similar hiatus of 120 years, will make its comeback alongside baseball and softball, which were both removed from the programme for the Paris Games. However, while covering those making a comeback, we should also mention one making its debut.

Some major NFL names are primed to take part

Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Flag football will feature for the first time at an Olympic Games and there is expected to be a lot of buzz around this from the audience as the stars of the gridiron are expected to be involved, as confirmed by the NFL’s Players Association earlier this year.

Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Jalen Hurts all featured in a promotional announcement video for flag football’s debut in 2028, and Union president Lloyd Howell Jr has said:

"The players want to do it. We’re supportive of the players wanting to do it, We’re all for it."

There is still much speculation about the future of boxing at the Olympics as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has severed ties with its former governing body, the International Boxing Association. Having run the boxing programme for its last two iterations, the IOC has made it clear that if another governing body cannot be found in the interim between games, then there will be no boxing on the sports programme in 2028.

With so many exciting sports included on the 2028 roster, which iconic venues can we expect to see hosting these events?

The SoFi Stadium, currently the home of the Los Angeles Rams, with a 70,000-seat capacity will be hosting the swimming events. This will be the largest swimming event in Olympic history with plans to have up to 40,000 fans in attendance, more than double the average attendance for Olympic Swimming.

The Crypto.com Arena will be the host for Gymnastics, as the current home of LeBron James and the Lakers, this arena has already seen plenty of high-flying acrobatics and sensational athleticism.

For track and field, there could be no other place than the iconic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum which hosted the 1984 Olympics and saw Carl Lewis collect an unforgettable four gold medals in the men’s 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and the long jump. Meanwhile, the returning baseball and softball are to be hosted in Oklahoma City.

The Team USA Stars Hoping to Go for Gold in LA in 2028

After another successful Olympics for the United States, and a world-leading medal total, which athletes might we expect to see return or even make their debuts for the host nation? Team USA is stacked with track stars, with the likes of Noah Lyles, Gabby Thomas, Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone, Kenny Bednarek and Sha’Carri Richardson all expected to make returns to the track in 2028.

Lyles missed out on the track double this year, winning the 100m but only managing a bronze in his favourite event, the 200m, whilst battling Covid, so expect him to return with a vengeance. Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone will be a hot favourite for another 400m hurdles gold, beating her own world record this year to claim gold.

Gymnastics phenom and the most decorated United States gymnast of all time Simone Biles has cast a shadow of doubt over her return in 2028 telling the French press: "The next Olympics is at home, so you just never know. But I am getting really old."

New WNBA superstars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese will be looking to step into the limelight in Los Angeles after missing out on the squad this year.

Los Angeles is also the home of Hollywood so we can be sure to expect to see many A-listers attending the 2028 Olympics. Movie star Tom Cruise is rumoured to be featuring in Sunday's closing ceremony in Paris, where he will take the baton from the current hosts to formally signify the start of the road to LA 2028.

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