‘LA 2028 excellent opportunity for cricket to re-enter Olympics’

The Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees(CANOC) President Keith Joseph re-iterated his belief that Los Angeles 2028 (LA28) can offer cricket “an excellent opportunity to re-enter the sports program of the summer Olympics in style.” He officially backed the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Cricket West Indies (CWI) campaign for inclusion in the Los Angeles 2028 (LA28) Olympic Games.
Joseph also spoke about the 2024 T20 World Cup, which will be hosted in the West Indies, and said it would “set the foundation” for cricket’s Olympic return.
“We strongly believe the sport’s inclusion in the program will have far-reaching impacts on the development of sport, youth, and peaceful communities in our region,” Joseph said.
“The T20 format, in particular, has offered dinct appeal and attraction for both men and women,” he added.
Speaking about the format, Joseph said, “The competition format is compact and exciting and provides quick results in a relatively short time, which are all ideal for multi-sport Games focused on innovation, entertainment, and universal engagement.”
“This sport promises to attract over one billion cricket fans to the Olympic Games and open up new sporting and commercial markets worldwide,” he added.“It promises an incredible expansion of the reach of Olympic values and to elevate new nations onto the medal table,” he said.
In the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the Caribbean nations competed as individual teams, and only Barbados competed in Women’s T20 cricket in the past. It is expected the same if the game attains Olympic status.However, Joseph mentioned how the West Indies cricket team has played a role in unifying the Islands over the years. “This team has been and is referred to as the embodiment of our collective aspirations, hopes, and dreams, being one of the finest examples of regional integration, collaboration, and cohesiveness demonstrated through sport in any part of the world,” Joseph said.
He further said, “Whatever our fortunes in cricket contests anywhere in the world, the peoples of the Caribbean and our global diaspora remain insent that the West Indies cricket team is truly representative of us and stands for us.”
Speaking of the talent produced the Islands, Joseph said, “The region has produced outstanding players in every aspect of the game, rising to the top of the sport, proving ourselves extraordinarily talented and capable of achieving monumental success against other highly legitimate world-class opponents.”

“The sport of cricket is intricately interwoven into the horical and socio-cultural fabric of what is now popularly known globally as Caribbean culture,” he added.