Cricket could be an Olympic sport by 2024 if Italy has its say
The dream of watching our favorite cricketers perform at the Olympics could be realized soon, if one is to believe Simone Gambino, president of the Federazione Cricket Italiana. Gambino has assured that cricket will be included in the 2024 Olympics, if Rome wins the hosting rights of the event.
"If Rome hosts the Olympics, cricket will be included. We have had a firm commitment from the organising committee," Simone Gambino told EspnCricinfo.
Rome will be competing with Los Angeles, Paris, and Budapest for the hosting rights of the quadrennial event in 2024. Under the new regulations, the hosts will have the opportunity to add five new sports to the games, and the Italians are willing to include cricket. Bologna, located 375 kms south of Rome, had hosted World Cricket League Division 4 matches back in 2010, and that city is likely to be the main venue for cricket, if Italy wins the hosting rights.
The ICC has faced a lot of obstacles and opposition over the years in their bid to get cricket enlisted as an Olympic sport. The governing body is currently hosting their annual conference, where a lot of radical and revolutionary ideas will be discussed regarding the future of the sport. Inclusion in Olympics is expected to be a big agenda as well.
The body is keen on applying directly through the IOC, rather than applying through local organizing committees of individual games. If the IOC accepts this request, this would surely assure cricket’s involvement for at least two Olympic editions. If cricket is included in the near future, a major issue to be faced is that every Olympics edition will need to be hosted by a country where this sport is a part of the culture, according to ESPNcricinfo.
Earlier this month an IOC statement said: "The Organising Committee for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 proposed the new sports in response to the new flexibility provided by Olympic Agenda 2020, the IOC's strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement, to encourage innovation in the Olympic programme. Olympic Agenda 2020 gives host cities the option of suggesting new sports and events for inclusion in their edition of the Games. The host city selections are not binding on future Games hosts," reported ESPNcricinfo.
As a result of the government’s intervention, recent meetings between ICC and BCCI have now suggested that the Indian Board is reluctant to work with the Indian Olympic Association "in any way at this point in time". Despite this, the BCCI has pushed the ICC management to talk to the IOC regarding its inclusion without BCCI’s agreement with the IOA, ESPNcricinfo wrote. Also cricket’s governing body will request the IOC to give a green signal to this proposal without the unanimous support of member nations. It is believed that both these possibilities are uncertain.
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