The drastic changes coming to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games with five new sports being added to the schedule as two sports could be scrapped to make way

And just like that the 2024 Paris Olympics are done and dusted, last night saw the curtain be drawn on an exhilarating summer of sports in the French capital.

The Games may be over but Olympic fever is well and truly still alive, with attention now turning to Los Angeles who are set to host the 2028 edition of the Olympics.

The Summer Olympics will return to the southern California city for the third time and it won’t be the only thing returning.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has given the go-ahead for several new and old sports to make their debut or infamous return in LA.

Here is every sport which is set debut or return to the Summer Olympics in 2028 and the few that featured in Paris which may not be revived. 

The next edition of the Olympic Games will be hosted in Los Angeles in 2028

This will be the third time the city has hosted the Summer Games but the first since 1984

Flag football

Flag football is one of two sports set to make their debut at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

The non-contact variant of American football will feature men’s and women’s medal events, with team playing five-vs-five on a 50-yard pitch, the IOC stated.

People are holding out hope that the debut sport will feature some of the superstars of the NFL. 

The league’s Players Association confirmed earlier this year that ‘The players want to do it. We’re supportive of the players wanting to do it,’ union president Lloyd Howell Jr. said back in February. ‘So, we’re all for it.’ 

Howell went on to admit that there are a few hurdles to overcome, including training camp dates overlapping with the Olympics and potential injuries to star names.

Yet fans may well see the likes of Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts – who recently starred in a promotional video to announce flag football’s inclusion for 2028 – at the LA Games.

The non-contact variant of American football will feature men’s and women’s medal events at the 2028 LA Olympics

Many are hopeful that many NFL stars such as Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill and Patrick Mahomes will feature on the men’s team in its debut Olympics

Squash

The racket-and-ball sport which has rapidly gained popularity in recent years will feature at its maiden Olympic Games in LA in 2028.

The sport which can be played in both singles and doubles format has previously been rejected by the IOC  on four occasions in a row.

However it will finally make its much anticipated debut in LA, with the inclusion of men’s and women’s singles medal events in 2028. 

Squash is the other sport set to debut at the 2028 Olympic Games in LA

Cricket

As I mentioned, LA will not only be debuting new sports but it is also reviving some old sports which were previously included at the Games, one of which is cricket.

Cricket is set to make its return to the Games after a 128-year absence. However this will only be the second time the sport will be played at the Olympics.

Its sole appearance prior to this was in 1900 in Paris. The bat-and-ball game will will make its slow integration back into the event via a six-team tournament.

Despite its return, it may take place over 2,000 miles away from the host city in New York.

This is because, the Big Apple is expected to host some matches since, its stadiums will already have the correct layout since it is hosting several T20 World Cup games the same year. 

Cricket is set to make its return to the Games after a 128-year absence and will mark only the second time the sport has been included in the Games as a medal event

Baseball and Softball 

Cricket is not the only bat-and-ball sport returning to the Olympics in 2028 as both baseball and cricket are set to feature once again after getting the snub in Paris.

The two sports have had a very turbulent, on-again, off-again relationship with the Olympics, appearing most recently at the 2020 Tokyo Games before being dropped in Paris.

Despite making its Olympic debut as a demonstration sport for several years, baseball was only included as a medal event at the 1992 Olympic Games staged in Barcelona. 

From there it featured at every games up until the 2008 Games, where it was dropped for the following Olympics and didn’t make its return until Tokyo.

As for its sister-sport softball which has appeared on the Olympic schedule five-times, it will also make a valiant return in 2028. 

The sport which made its debut in Atlanta in 1996 will actually not be played in Los Angeles however. Instead it will take place in Oklahoma City over 1500 miles away.

Baseball has been once again included in the Olympic schedule for the 2028 Olympic Games despite getting the snub in Paris 

Both baseball and softball last appeared in the Summer Games at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Lacrosse

The fourth and final sport set to make its return in LA in 2028 is lacrosse. The contact sport will feature as a sixes tournament, the more fast-paced shorter version of field lacrosse.

LA will mark the first time in 120 years that medals will be awarded in the sport. Only three nations have previously contested for the gold medal, with Canada claiming the only two gold medals up for grabs in 1904 and 1908.

They beat the United States in the their first outing in 1904 before claiming back-to-back Olympic titles by beating Great Britain four years later. 

Both those games were formatted as field lacrosse games but as mentioned before the proposed sport for 2028 is World Lacrosse Sixes.

The fourth and final sport set to make its return in LA in 2028 is lacrosse, the contact sport last featured at the Summer Games over 120 years ago in 1904

Which sports are not returning?

Breaking 

Breaking made its highly-anticipated debut on the world stage at the 2024 Paris Olympics and it looks as those it is poised to be a one hit wonder. 

The sport which went viral thanks to Australia’s Raygun’s awkward routine where she scored a remarkable zero points will not be part of the program in LA in 2028.

Although the sport is not on the line-up for the 2028 Games, we could see its return in 2032 as Raygun’s home Olympics in Brisbane.

However leaders say it is unlikely we will see the sport again.

‘It was a miracle that we were even in Paris to begin with,’ Zack Slusser, vice president of Breaking for Gold USA and USA Dance, said per NBC.

Despite only debuting in Paris ‘Breaking’ will not make a return at the 2028 Summer Games

Boxing

Another sport which gained the world’s attention for all the wrong reasons was boxing. 

The sport which has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since its introduction at the 1904 Games besides 1912 is in serious doubt ahead of the 2028 Games.

This is because the International Olympic Committee has severed ties with the International Boxing Association following a disastrous campaign which was doused in controversy after the eligibility of two female boxers was questioned. 

Boxing’s future at the Olympics is in doubt after the IOC severed ties with the International Boxing Association following a controversy filled Olympic Games

This means the IOC needs to find a new boxing federation to run the event by the time the next Olympics come around. 

The IOC has delayed their decision on whether or not boxing will be included into the schedule until 2025.

Giving themselves time to allow the formation of a new governing body.