By Oliver Morgan
There is no doubt that squash is a popular sport and has found particular favour in countries such as the USA, the UK, India, Pakistan and Australia. Despite the sport’s long history and global presence though, it has not yet made it into the Olympics. This is something that fans of the game find perplexing when you consider some of the sports that have been selected over time.
While squash was not selected for the 2024 Olympics, sports such as surfing and skateboarding were! This has not deterred the sport’s organisers and there is talk of another bid for Olympic inclusion in the 2028 Games.
Will squash ever become an Olympic sport?
Although it is always difficult to predict anything in world sports, we feel that squash will make it into the Olympics one day soon. But why is this?
The first thing you need to factor in is that squash is an exciting sport to watch and one that contains plenty of fast-paced action. This would make it a sport which could make a real impact in any upcoming Olympics.
Squash is also perfect for online sports betting and this could also make it a popular Olympic sport for those who also like to bet on what they are watching. The visual nature of the play plus the variety of matches and markets to wager on really does lend itself to sports betting. This could help the games reach an even bigger audience and lead to more people tuning in who like to bet on squash matches.
Why else might squash become an Olympic sport soon?
The global reach of squash would also make it a popular choice with those watching the Olympic Games and could help organizers attract a larger audience. This would surely be appealing and enable the Olympics to attract even more viewers.
You also need to factor in the general pressure Olympic organizers will feel from squash itself to be included. This, along with the pressure continued bids to become an Olympics sport should exert, could mean the game is finally selected in the not-too-distant future.
Of course, there are certain things the sport of squash could do itself to boost the chances of becoming an official sport of the Olympics. But what might they be?
Find ways to grow the sport even more
Although it does have millions of fans across many parts of the world, there is still plenty of scope for growing the game of squash. This would really help its bid to become an Olympic sport and make it almost impossible for organizers to ignore any longer.
This could be of immense help as it all comes down to numbers and sheer popularity. If squash grew to become as visible as something like tennis for example, it would be very hard for those behind the Olympics to not select it. If they did, they would appear to be out of touch and face a real backlash for ignoring one of the world’s top sports.
By finding ways to bring more people into the game, such as getting more squash games on TV or getting squash as a sport into the news more, those behind squash could make it something that must be selected. When you consider that the world’s top sports like soccer have billions of followers, you can see how much further squash could grow.
Even more pressure on International Olympic Committee
In addition to finding ways to grow the game of squash overall, those behind the sport could also look at making much more noise around the need to include it in the Olympics. Although this is already happening to some extent with the latest bids for inclusion, we feel that squash in general could make a lot more fuss about being selected.
This could include exerting even more pressure on the International Olympic Committee behind the scenes. If the top IOC officials could be convinced of the need for squash to be recognized in the same way as other popular racquet sports, this could be a real help. It could also be handy for those running squash to plan out public marketing campaigns which highlight its status as one of the world’s best games which should be in the Olympics.
This could help increase the public pressure on the IOC to formally include it in the future. A good tactic could be showing how squash ticks all the boxes set out by the IOC for what an Olympic sport covers. This would make it very hard for squash to be ignored moving forward.
Tennis and table tennis are included
Anyone who follows the Olympic Games knows that other popular racquet sports, such as tennis and table tennis, are included already. Those running squash could use this to convince the International Olympic Committee that their sport is being treated unfairly. If tennis and table tennis are classed as Olympic sports after all, why do the IOC continue to dismiss other similar games?
By pointing out this hypocrisy, those behind squash should be able to highlight the unfair treatment their sport is receiving and call for it to be rectified. Drawing direct comparisons with other racquet sports which are included in the Olympics should make it very hard for those running the games to treat squash differently. If squash can also find ways to appeal to an even bigger audience as discussed above, then this could be a game changer.
Squash can become an Olympic sport soon
When you consider all that squash has to offer and the way it ticks most of the boxes for an Olympic sport, then it is easy to see how it could soon be included in the Games. This is even truer when you consider the huge strides the sport has made recently in terms of being more inclusive and open to everyone. If it can just find a few extra ways to convince the International Olympic Committee of its worth, we should not be waiting too much longer.