With cricket reportedly set to be included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic programme alongside flag football, baseball and softball, the 141st International Olympic Committee session in Mumbai from October 15 is set to be a game-changer both for the quadrennial event as well as India.
According to a report in The Guardian, men’s and women’s T20 matches will be played in the 2028 edition, opening up a lucrative Asian sub-continent market for the IOC. Cricket has been played in the Olympics only once before, in Paris in 1900, when England and France battled for the gold medal.
India is the game’s biggest market and the formal announcement of its inclusion in Olympics could significantly come at the Mumbai IOC session.
The IOC session is the supreme decision-making body of the Olympic movement. It discusses and decides on the key activities of the global Olympics movement, including adoption or amendment of the Olympic Charter, election of IOC members and office-bearers and election of the host city of Olympics.
The IOC session currently has 99 voting and 43 honorary members. More than 600 members of the sporting world’s elite are expected to be in Mumbai, as well as global media from about 100 nations, representing over 50 sports.
The IOC session is returning to India after a gap of 40 years. New Delhi had hosted the 86th edition of the IOC session in 1983.
An Indian delegation led by Nita Ambani, the first Indian woman to be elected as an IOC member, had made a compelling pitch at the 139th IOC session in Beijing in February 2022, following which Mumbai received overwhelming endorsement for its bid with 99% of the votes.
The Mumbai session will be a landmark moment for Indian sport and will firmly establish India on the global sporting map, opening up multiple opportunities in organising sporting events, world-class training infrastructure, nurturing talent and enriching the lives of millions of Indian sportspeople. It will also be a significant stepping-stone towards India’s aspirations of hosting the Youth Olympics and the Olympic Games in the future, an ambition Nita Ambani dwelled on once Mumbai’s winning bid was confirmed.
“Sport has always been a beacon of hope and inspiration for millions around the world,” she said. “We are one of the youngest countries in the world today and I’m excited for the youth of India to embrace and experience first-hand the magic of the Olympics. It is our dream to strengthen this partnership further and host the Olympic Games in India in the years to come!”
The session will be hosted at the state-of-the-art Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai. Situated in the heart of the city at Bandra Kurla Complex, the JWC is the largest convention centre in India and started operations in early 2022. The grand theatre at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) will host the Opening ceremony while the exhibition hall (pavilion) will be the venue for the session meeting.
Comments
0 comment