Image Credit- ACB
In the absence of a women’s team, will the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) permit the Afghanistan men’s cricket team
to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Games? In the war-torn nation, which has
been ruled by the Taliban since August 2021, IOC President Thomas Bach has
stated that the governing organisation will continue to “monitor very
closely” how much access and support women receive to enjoy sport there.
Bach was asked about Afghanistan on Monday at a media
meeting in Mumbai, shortly after IOC members decided to include T20 cricket in
the LA Games in five years. Officials from the LA Local Organising Committee
had recommended cricket as a team sport in addition to baseball/softball,
lacrosse sixes, and flag football as part of its presentation, which also
emphasised the value of gender equality to the Games. In its presentation to
LA28, the ICC had also emphasised inclusivity as a crucial element.
A working committee of the ICC, under the direction of
vice-chairman Imran Khwaja, has met with Taliban representatives to address the
issue and has advised the court that, rather than punishing the ACB,
communication should continue in the hopes of coming to a resolution. The
ultimate goal of supporting women’s cricket in Afghanistan was maintained by
the ICC board during its meeting in July, which broadly endorsed that
recommendation.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has warned
Afghanistan’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) that it risks suspension if
female athletes’ access to sports is further restricted. The IOC has not yet
approved athletes from Afghanistan to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics in
Paris. James Macleod, the IOC’s head of Olympic Solidarity and National Olympic
Committee Relations, emphasised this issue once more. To address a “very
complex situation,” Macleod has been in contact with the Taliban’s
director of physical education and sport.
“We have had ongoing conversations and
discussions with the Afghan government authorities since that regime
change,” Macleod told IOC members on Sunday on the first day of the Mumbai
session. “And we’ve been insisting on removing existing barriers from the
government that hinder women and young girls from accessing sport opportunities
in the country. The IOC executive board took a very clear position on this in
December 2022, and we have reiterated that position with the government
authorities on numerous occasions, including last week, where we met the new
Director of Sport and Physical Education to reiterate the IOC’s position on
that.”