As Paris hands over the torch to Los Angeles as host of the 2028 Summer Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has already adjusted the event schedule.

In 2023, the IOC approved proposals for five new sports at the 2028 Olympic Games, some of which – including lacrosse and cricket – had not been seen at the Games for over 100 years. As of August 2024, these five sports have been approved for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

“The sports proposed by LA28 inspire imagination on the field and drive culture beyond. They are relevant, innovative and community-focused, and are played in backyards, schoolyards, community centers, stadiums and parks across the United States and around the world,” said LA28 Chairman Casey Wasserman in a press release last year. “They will bring new athletes to the Games, engage diverse fan bases and expand the Games’ presence in the digital space, further amplifying LA28’s mission to deliver an unparalleled experience.”

Read on to find out which sports will be at the 2028 LA Olympics, which will not, and which will make a comeback:

Flag football

Flag football, a non-contact sport played in teams of five, will make its Olympic debut for both men and women at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. While the U.S. women’s flag football team is a two-time world champion, Mexico defeated Team USA to take the title at the 2022 World Games.

Squeeze

Squash will also make its Olympic debut in 2028, although it was only played as an exhibition at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games held in Buenos Aires. Squash is a racket sport played by two people in four enclosed spaces. The first player to reach a score of 11 wins a game, and the first to win three games wins the whole match.

lacrosse

Lacrosse will return to the Olympics for the third time in the games’ history in the form of Lacrosse Sixes, a faster version of field lacrosse for the modern player. The ancient sport was previously only represented at the 1904 and 1908 Olympics. World Lacrosse President Sue Redfern said in a statement to World Lacrosse in 2023 that inclusion in the 2028 Olympics would be a “groundbreaking achievement” for the sport.

“After decades of hard work and dedication, lacrosse is back on the Olympic stage at LA28,” said Redfern. “This is a defining moment for our sport and marks the beginning of a new era that will inspire future generations of lacrosse players around the world.”

cricket

Cricket was featured once at the 1900 Paris Olympics and was never played again after that. However, the 2028 Olympics will bring the round-robin team sport into the 21st century, as cricket returns to the Games for the first time in over 100 years. According to the Olympics website, the proposed Twenty20 (or T20) format, with 11 players per team, will be played in Los Angeles.

Baseball/Softball

Baseball and softball will return to the Olympics in 2028 as a combined sport with two disciplines: men’s baseball and women’s softball. However, the 2028 baseball/softball competitions will not be held in Los Angeles, but in Oklahoma City, according to NBC Los Angeles, in order to utilize existing sports facilities.

Although the two sports are related, they have historically been separate at the Olympic level: baseball was a men’s sport, while softball was a women’s sport.

Baseball was first introduced as a demonstration sport before it was officially included in the Olympic program at the 1992 Games in Barcelona. Softball, on the other hand, was introduced as a women’s-only discipline at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. It was not until the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo that the discipline returned as a combined sport: baseball/softball.

Break

Four years after its debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics, breaking will not return to Los Angeles. Although viral star Raygun (real name Rachael Gunn) from Australia made a splash with her unique breaking style, the event didn’t seem to make enough of an impression to bring the sport back for a second time.

Boxing

Although the IOC has not officially excluded boxing from the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, without a current world governing body for the sport, there is a risk that it will not be included in the next Summer Olympics.

Until 2020, the International Boxing Association (IBA) was the governing body responsible for overseeing the qualification and competition rules at the Olympic Games. However, due to allegations of corruption and a lack of reforms in governance and finance, the IOC withdrew recognition from the IBA in 2023.

“We would like to see boxing, we want to see boxing on the program in LA,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said in a press conference in August 2024. “Now it is up to the boxing community to organize for the sport and the athletes.”