Lacrosse’s Olympic aspirations came into focus on Thursday with the announcement of two major partnerships set to increase the sport’s global visibility. The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) announced a partnership with The World Games 2022, while World Lacrosse revealed a major broadcast deal with ESPN.
The PLL partnership with The World Games 2022 will see the league release its players during the all-star break allowing them to fill the rosters of national teams competing at the multi-sport event.
The World Games 2022 will be an important international showcase of the sport ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics. Players will contest the newly developed “Sixes” format of the sport, which was developed by World Lacrosse with Olympic inclusion in mind.
“The next few years will be pivotal to lacrosse’s international growth strategy,” claimed PLL Co-Founder and President Paul Rabil. “Critical to its success are partnerships, and we’re proud to build with The World Games to amplify lacrosse in Birmingham this July.”
He confirmed, “more than a dozen PLL athletes will be representing their nations during our All-Star break.”
Lacrosse competitions, featuring both men and women, will take place July 8-12 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s PNC Field.
The World Games 2022 CEO Nick Sellers commented, “under Paul Rabil’s innovative leadership, The Premier Lacrosse League is one of the fastest rising professional sports leagues in the world.”
“The World Games 2022 will showcase the best lacrosse players in the world - many of whom are active players in the PLL.” He noted, “this will be a huge platform for lacrosse in front of the International Olympic Committee.”
World Lacrosse was granted full recognition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last year. While lacrosse is not a sport synonymous with the Olympic Movement, it was included on the official sports program of the 1904 and 1908 Olympic Games.
The sport’s last appearance at the Olympic Games was as a demonstration sport in 1948. However, efforts are ongoing to see the sport re-introduced to the Olympic sports program.
World Lacrosse looked to back up those efforts with a newly announced global media rights deal with ESPN. The agreement will see games from the 2022 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship, 2022 World Lacrosse Men’s U21 Championship, and 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship distributed globally via the network’s regional broadcasters.
World Lacrosse CEO Jim Scherr stated, “this is truly a historic day for World Lacrosse, and the millions of lacrosse players and fans in all corners of the world.”
“ESPN is the ideal partner to further showcase our great sport around the globe as we experience exponential growth and interest in the game. This unprecedented coverage also provides a significant boost to our Olympic proposal as we seek to gain inclusion in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.”
Organizers of the LA28 Summer Olympics have been tight lipped in regards to any hints or final decisions about the makeup of the sports program. LA28 CEO Kathy Carter described the selection process as “objective,” during a recent interview with Around the Rings.
She added, “we’re looking [at] how or what we could do to be relevant to Angelenos, and certainly to the broader United States, to continue to make our [Olympic] Games the most accessible, interesting, and exciting Games of all time.”
She noted, “we have an opportunity, but we don’t actually have an obligation to put new sports in. So, we’re still determining whether that’s going to be something that we’re going to do.”
Lacrosse will have to wait a while longer to find out if its Olympic aspirations will come to fruition. Nonetheless, the sport will put itself center stage over the next year in hopes of impressing Olympic decision-makers.