The IOC (International Olympic Committee) always tries to innovate on the Olympic Games - it's been happening for over 120 years now! Remember breakdancing and sport climbing at the 2024 Olympics in Paris? Or skateboarding and surfing in Tokyo at the 2020 Games?
2028 will be no exception as the Olympics return to the sunny city of Los Angeles for the third time in the competition's history. Six new sports have been added to the program, while a host of new disciplines to already existing sports will also make their entry!
Old sports will be revived, and new sports will make their Olympic debut, ensuring that in 2028, the Olympic Games will surprise everyone once again.
But which new sports will we see in 2028? Flashscore takes you through all six new sports and the added disciplnes one-by-one.
Baseball and softball at the 2028 Olympics
For the first time since 2020, baseball will make its return to the Olympic Games. The sport unofficially debuted at the 1900 Olympics in Paris, after which it appeared as a demonstration sport at nine Games through 1992, when it was named an official Olympic sport for the Games in Barcelona.
Baseball appeared in five consecutive Olympic Games between 1992 and 2008 and was dominated by Cuba, which won gold in 1992, 1996, and 2004, and silver in 2000 and 2008. The sport was dropped from the Olympic program ahead of the 2012 Games in London, but was reinstated on a one-time basis for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
For the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games, no professional players were allowed to compete, allowing Cuba, where players were not considered full-time athletes and worked other jobs on the side, to field experienced veterans and dominate the early years. Professionals were admitted in 2000, but the top players stayed home, as Major League Baseball refused to release its players between 2000 and 2008.
The 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles will mark the second time baseball has been played at the Olympic level in the United States, after Atlanta 1996. In February 2026, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred stated he was optimistic about players from Major League Baseball being allowed to participate: “I think that we’re a lot closer to an agreement than the last time we talked about it. There are some issues with the MLBPA that we just need to resolve. I sense a lot of momentum towards playing in L.A. in 2028. I think we’re going to get over those issues.”
Softball at the 2028 Olympics
In addition to baseball, softball, its women's counterpart, will return to the Olympic program for the first time since 2020. Like baseball, softball was part of the Olympic program between 1992 and 2008, making LA28 the sixth Olympics to host the sport. It is similar to baseball but played in seven innings on a smaller field with a larger ball, and pitchers throw underhand.
The United States dominated the early years of Olympic softball, winning three straight gold medals, but was overpowered by Japan in both 2008 and 2020.
The baseball tournament at the 2028 Olympics will be a 6-team tournament held at Dodger Stadium, home of the MLB champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, from Thursday, July 13th to Wednesday, July 19th, with both medal events played on the final day.
The softball tournament at the 2028 Olympics will be a 6-team tournament held at OKC Softball Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, making it one of two sports to be played outside of Los Angeles, along with lacrosse. The tournament will be held from Sunday, July 23rd, to Saturday, July 29th, with the bronze medal event taking place on Friday, July 28th, and the gold medal event on Sunday, July 29th.
Cricket at the 2028 Olympics
Cricket will return to the Olympic Games after only appearing in Paris in 1900. The sport was also scheduled to be part of the inaugural Olympics in 1896 in Athens and in 1904 in St. Louis, but was cancelled both times due to a lack of entries. There would be no discussion of cricket's return to the Olympics until 2017, when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), and International Cricket Council withdrew their opposition.
The only nation to ever win an Olympic gold medal in cricket was Great Britain's men's team, which beat France, the only other competing nation, by 158 runs in 1900. There has never been a women's cricket tournament in Olympic history
Casey Wassermann, the Chairperson and President of the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, has said that Indian cricket legend Virat Kohli was one of the main reasons behind the sport's reintroduction.
The return of cricket to the Olympic Games was confirmed in 2023, with both the men's and women's tournaments using the T20 format, held in 6-team tournaments at the Fairgrounds Cricket Stadium in Pomona, California. The women's tournament will be held between Wednesday, July 12th, and Thursday, July 20, with the medal events on July 19th and 20th. The men's tournament will run from Saturday, July 22nd, until Saturday, July 29th, with emdal events on July 28th and 29th.
Flag football at the 2028 Olympics
Flag football will make its Olympic debut in Los Angeles in 2028. The sport is the non-contact version of American Football, popularised by the National Football League (NFL) and the most popular sport in the United States, in which opponents try to rip away a piece of cloth (a flag) from the belt ring, which counts as a de facto 'tackle'. Games will be played in two halves of 20 minutes each on a 70-yard-long field.
The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) was recognised by the IOC in 2013, laying the path for American Football to be added to the Olympic program. American Football itself was rejected, prompting the IFAF to campaign for the inclusion of flag football, with the NFL's support. The sport was approved by the IOC as one of the additions to the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
In May 2025, both the NFL and CFL (Canadian Football League) voted to allow their players to play in the Olympics, allowing stars such as Philadelphia Eagles quarterback and Super Bowl LIX champion Jalen Hurts, the flag football ambassador in its Olympic bid, and Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who called playing flag football at the Olympic Games "a dream", to play at the Olympics.
Both the men's and women's tournaments will feature 6 teams and be held at Exposition Park Stadium between Saturday, July 15th, and Saturday, July 22nd. Both medal events for the men's tournament will be held on Friday, July 21st, while both women's medal events will take place on July 22nd.
Lacrosse at the 2028 Olympics
Just like cricket, lacrosse will make its Olympic return after more than 100 years. The sport was played at the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis and for the last time at the 1908 Olympics in London, with Canada winning gold on both occasions. The sport was held as a demonstration event in 1928, 1932, and 1948, but disappeared from the Olympic stage for the next 80 years.
In 2028, lacrosse will return in the sixes format, played on a smaller field than traditional field lacrosse and with a shorter game time, making for a faster-paced game across four 8-minute quarters.
The men's and women's tournaments will each feature 6 teams that qualified for the Olympics via the 2027 World Lacrosse Sixes Championships. The United States are automatically qualified as the host nation and will be accompanied by four teams from the WLSC, while one slot in each tournament will be determined at a final qualifying tournament in early 2028.
Lacrosse will be held at Exposition Park Stadium from Monday, July 24th, to Saturday, July 29th, with both medal events held on the final day.
Squash at the 2028 Olympics
After four consecutive failed applications, squash has officially been named an Olympic sport for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
Squash is a sport akin to both tennis and padel, with two players hitting a small ball in a four-walled area on either side of a center line. The goal is to hit the ball at the wall opposite you before it bounces on the floor twice. Games are played in a best-of-five format, with a player winning a set if they reach 11 points or by at least two points.
The men's and women's tournaments at the 2028 Olympics will be individual tournaments with 16 players each. Squash will be held at Universal Studios from Saturday, July 15th, to Monday, July 24th, with all medal events scheduled for the final two days.
New disciplines at the 2028 Olympics
In addition to all the new sports, the 2028 Olympic Games will see several sports being expanded with new disciplines.
The athletics tournament will be expanded with the introduction of the 4x100m mixed relay, which makes the second mixed relay event after the 4x400m. The 4x100m mixed relay will take place on Monday, July 17th.
In the men's and women's swimming tournaments, the backstroke, butterfly, and breaststroke events will all feature 50-metre sprint races, which were first only available in the 50m freestyle. The new 50-metre races will take place between Saturday, July 22nd, and Saturday, July 29th.
In the sport climbing tournament, the boulder-and-lead event from 2024 will be split into several disciplines, adding to the speed discipline, bringing the total to six medal events.
The rowing tournament has been changed with the addition of coastal rowing, or beach sprint rowing, which will replace the lightweight double sculls category. Meanwhile, modern pentathlon will see obstacle course racing replace show jumping.
Mixed-team competitions will make their entries in several sports, including archery (where it'll appear in the newly added compound discipline), all-round artistic gymnastics, golf, and table tennis.
