It should surprise nobody who is even vaguely aware of the modus operandi of the IOC and ICC that the push to include cricket in the Olympics is all about money.
Despite the best efforts of their corporate spin doctors, the International Olympic Committee and International Cricket Council have thoroughly earned a reputation for making the pursuit of a dollar their favourite sport.
There is a relatively sudden push for cricket to be included in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles with eight nations in each of the men’s and women’s competitions going for gold in the T20 format.
Any cricket nuffie worth their linseed will tell you that the sport could be re-introduced, not introduced, after it was played at the Paris Games in 1900.
On that occasion it was contested by two teams – England and the host nation. Not surprisingly, the French team made up almost entirely of expat Englishmen pocketed the silver medal.
A decision on whether the IOC will be green-lighting a return was due later this week but has been delayed.
Virat Kohli. (Photo by Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The organisers in LA are reportedly pushing for flag football – the non-contact version of gridiron – to also get the nod.
At a time when the IOC is trying to reduce the number of competitors at each Games, bringing in a couple more team sports would be at odds with that supposed goal.
But the underlying reason is the usual one – filling the coffers.
The IOC wants to hit it big in the world’s newly crowned most populous, and increasingly prosperous, nation of India.
And the best way to stir India’s beating heart is via cricket.
Step one: cricket becomes an Olympic sport. Step two: An Indian city, likely Ahmedabad with its 132,000-seat stadium, will win hosting rights for the 2036 Games. Step three: Rake in the cash with rupees flowing from the subcontinent.
According to a report in The Times earlier this week, the IOC’s proportionally minuscule TV rights contract with Indian television of $US20 million for next year’s Paris Games could multiply tenfold for LA four years later.
What the broadcast rights would fetch by the time the Olympics lobs in India in 2036 would be measured in billions, not millions.
Brisbane is hosting the Olympics in 2032 and if cricket is in the mix they will need to stump up cash for another stadium upgrade or perhaps switch those matches to the Gold Coast because the Gabba will be in use as the main track and field venue.
With the extra funds coming into the IOC coffers, there should be spare cash lying around to help the Queensland government out there.
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The final decision on cricket’s inclusion at the Olympics looks set to be sealed when the IOC meets next month. In Mumbai.
IOC president Thomas Bach has been quietly laying the groundwork for cricket’s rise to Olympic status.
He was photographed playing cricket during a break in the Oceania National Olympic Committees meeting in Fiji last year in what the German former fencing competitor claimed was a chance encounter.
“It could make sense,” Bach told CNBC-TV18. “You know, I cannot hide that, I’m really a fan of cricket, I was even playing once.
“I was in Fiji. We were walking across a sports field.
“There were women playing cricket and then my spokesperson, who is an ardent fan of cricket said, ‘now you have to play’. So we went to this women’s cricket team and they allowed me to play with them for some moments.”
Phew, cricket fans. If not for that supposedly chance encounter in a Fijian field, the IOC boss would never have gone on the front foot for the sport.
For the ICC, the chance to be promoted on the Olympic stage every four years could accelerate the sport’s desire to expand its boundaries away from its traditional Commonwealth powerhouse nations.
Being part of the LA Games represents an opportunity to build on the momentum generated by the recent launch of Major League Cricket tournament in the US and some matches in next year’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean being played in Florida, Dallas, North Carolina and New York.
And by becoming an Olympic sport, it means cricket will get extra funding from national governments who have previously been reluctant to provide financial support.
Australia celebrate their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup triumph. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
For powerhouse nations like India, Australia and England, this won’t make much of a difference but for the other nine Test-playing nations and ICC associate members, particularly with female players, extra government support could be monumental.
For the West Indies however, they would not be allowed to compete as a collective at the Olympics so the chances of the individual Caribbean nations qualifying would not be high.
It’s unlikely that an Olympic gold medal will instantly become a pinnacle for cricket.
Other global behemoths like tennis, football, golf and basketball, which have been part of the IOC’s mission to achieve greater popularity in recent decades, still don’t value Olympic gold as the ultimate reward.
The other major issue for the ICC is how to fit in an Olympics tournament to an already crowded international schedule which is under growing pressure from the proliferation of T20 leagues scattered across the globe, orbiting the IPL.
Conveniently the current Future Tours Programme expires in the year before the LA Olympics.
Ravindra Jadeja bats for Chennai Super Kings against Gujarat Titans. (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)
With each Olympiad a four-year cycle, the ICC could have a white-ball champion each 12 months – the T20 World Cup every second year with the ODI version and the Olympics in the intervening years.
But the schedule-makers would have to stringently adopt the recommendation that ODIs are pretty much removed from the calendar except in the 12 months leading up to the World Cup.
Something’s got to give.
But such issues are always going to be secondary in the eyes of administrators when there’s gold on the horizon in the form of astronomical broadcast rights deals.
Cricket has a chance to finally become a truly global sport if the ICC can cash in on the IOC’s not so altruistic overtures.
But the massive financial gains need to be spread throughout the cricketing world where it’s needed the most.
Whether the ICC and IOC can be trusted enough for that to happen is very much up for debate.
Tim Carter
Roar Pro
England wouldn't be competing either; it would be Great Britain. Even if Scotland don't have a single player make the squad, GB would have a qualification process independent of the ICC ratings, just like the Caribbean nations.
Rusty Brooks
Roar Rookie
The wicket itself would likely be some sort of artificial turf.
Paul
Roar Rookie
Michael that's a really good point. I know Major League Cricket had to invest a lot of dollars converting a baseball stadium for cricket. A baseballing nation like the USA or Japan might be okay, but yes it would otherwise be a big logistic challenge.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Yet again overkill. Those sports that have their World Cups ie. Cricket , rugby , football or well established Majors like tennis or golf do not belong in the Olympics . Its becoming quite ridiculous . Its also reaching a point if it hasn't already that the number of Cities that are now able to host an Olympic Games is diminishing fast ...
Michael Coote
Roar Rookie
The problem for non-Cricket playing Cities like Tokyo, Paris and LA, is Cricket requires specialist facilities to play it, you need a large-ish Oval ground that requires a pitch to be put in the middle of it several weeks before use, not hard for Sydney, London or Brisbane they already have those grounds and pitches in place, most of the money would go into temporary facilities off the playing surface.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
That's nine years away, both organisations want to be in maximum overdrive by the time it hits a traditional cricketing nation with subcontinent auto, tech and energy sponsorship revenue flowing in both the front and back door by then!
Tony
Roar Guru
Cricket? Flag football? Surely the Olympics are done.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Interesting on the financial background, but I suspect wrong about being a chance to promote the game. No one takes much interest in non-mainstream sports at the Olympics – they don’t get much extra media publicity in non-playing countries. Every country is very parochial – Australians watch the swimming because we win, in Azerbaijan and Iran it’s probably wrestling. Athletics is probably the only sport that most countries take an interest in. And people only watch Olympic sports on TV like tennis, golf, football if they are already fans. Too many other choices. Cricket will be like that, a sport where the Olympics by definition can’t be the pinnacle because you break up the Windies into about 12 different teams – even a couple of the Windies provincial sides like the Leeward Islands (Antigua, St Kitts, Virgin Is and others) and Windward Islands (Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Dominica) are composed of several tiny countries and territories, most of which would be very weak alone. Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados and Guyana are the only ones who could field mildly competitive teams, to add to Aus, NZ, India, Pak, Eng, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Ireland, Zim and maybe Netherlands. Room for one more to make 16 – UAE, Kenya, Namibia, PNG. Don’t see how the remote prospect of getting a team to squeak into the Olympics is going to be much incentive for governments in poor associate countries to give extra funding. Olympics will never be seen as anything like the World Cups. The global boost to cricket will only be marginal, though it sounds like it could get the Olympics into India. But the Olympics would be better if it culled sports like football, tennis and golf, where the Olympics isn’t the pinnacle and not add others like it such as cricket.
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
This story paints a very sad but depressingly true version of how the ICC in particular sees the game - as a money making venture. It's no longer a sport to be enjoyed by many but more about how much can be made. The reality is, cricket's already played globally. There are close to 100 nations who are associate members with the ICC, so I'd have thought this would be reason enough for the sport to be a fixture at the Olympics, but it's only now, when big business has entered the fray in the IPL and other T20 competitions, we're seeing a real push to get it more globally recognized. They see it as a cash cow and so does the ICC. That also means that any money that flows back to the ICC won't be spent on non-profitable countries so only places like everywhere bar India, England & Australia stand to gain. After all big businesses aren't charities.
Shire
Roar Rookie
Don't really see how this works unless they replicate what they do with Football and make it U19s or something like that. Otherwise it's just a replication of existing tournaments and completely favours the big three.
13th Man
Roar Rookie
Wouldn’t surprise me if other states hosted cricket games similar to what they do with the football to be honest
13th Man
Roar Rookie
If you look at India’s performance in the Olympics they woefully underperform via per capita - New Zealand with a population of under 5 million has won vastly more medals than India. It makes perfect sense to bring a sport in that appeals to the biggest country in the world - currently they only have hockey but they’ve been overtaken by Australia and European powers like Belgium and Germany. Starting it in the USA is also a master stroke - huge Indian and south Asian population and they can build momentum from the T20 World Cup. Do I think cricket should be an Olympic sport? Not a chance, same as golf, soccer and tennis - but it’s one that is inevitable due to India’s population and drawing power. Having Kohli at the Olympics would be almost as big as having Messi there.
13th Man
Roar Rookie
I suspect they’d play the cricket down in Florida where they played the Major league cricket - with a T20 World Cup there next year it makes sense to continue that momentum. Huge Indian, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan population in the USA - may as well make the most of it.
Michael Coote
Roar Rookie
Surely Brisbane 2032 would be a far better option, while the Gabba couldn't be used, there are a plenty of other options, Carrara Stadium on the GC, AB field and several grounds around SE Qld have plenty of room for temporary stands, broadcasting facilities etc.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Absolutely spot on Paul, the 'scent of a rupee' is definitely the motivator, for both organisations. The recent T20 comp in the US was supported almost wholly by expat Indians and sub continent fans. There could be no other reason to investigate introducing cricket to the Olympics in a US Games.