The Bandeja summer 2024 issue

Photo credit: IOC Greg Martin.
to padel’s Olympic dreams?
If breakdancing can make it to the Olympics surely there’s
a place for padel? Duncan Mackay reports on how it could
be who you know and how big your socials are that count
on the path to Olympic glory.
For a sport to be added to the
Olympic programme there used
to be a well-defined process.
Become a member of SportAccord,
now the Global Association of
International Sports Federations,
demonstrate that you had signed
up to the World Anti-Doping
code, get International Olympic
Committee recognition and then try
to persuade them to vote for you to
join the Games.
Some, like rugby sevens, taekwondo
and triathlon, were successful. Others,
like squash, were not.
Then Thomas Bach was elected
President of the IOC in 2013 and this
system was ripped up. His mantra
of ‘change or be changed’ and
Could padel be celebrating Olympic inclusion any time
soon? (Photo courtesy Premier Padel)
‘getting the couch potatoes off the
couch’ was designed to ensure
the Olympics appealed to a new
generation of youngsters.
AI & Esports
The Olympic Games have endured
the test of time, evolving from
their ancient origins, through the
19th century, flourishing in the 20th
century and now trying to redefine
themselves in the 21st century. While
television ratings may be shifting,
this change signifies an opportunity
to diversify viewership platforms
and engage younger audiences
while emphasising the essence of
unity that the Olympics represent.
Indeed, Bach’s references to the
use of artificial intelligence and
exploration of Olympic Esports
Games represent a visionary step
towards the future.
New sports
With the implementation of Olympic
Agenda 2020, adopted in December
2014, ‘the process of establishing
the Olympic programme changed
to enhance the popularity of the
Games while ensuring that the
numbers of athletes, and the cost
International Olympic Committee President
Thomas Bach.
and complexity of the event, remain
manageable’, according to the IOC.
As part of this new process the
Organising Committee of a specific
edition of the Olympic Games may
propose to the IOC the inclusion for
such edition only of one or more
additional sports.
For Tokyo 2020 the IOC voted to
add baseball / softball, karate, sport
climbing, surfing, and skateboarding
as optional sports. For Paris 2024, the
Organising Committee proposed
the inclusion of breaking (break
dancing), skateboarding, sport
climbing and surfing.
But it is the process for Los Angeles
2028 that offers real hope for
padel’s Olympic ambitions. Baseball/
softball was an obvious addition
due to its importance in American
society, but cricket, flag football,
lacrosse and squash probably all
owed more to the fact that they
each had powerful backers able to
put the case for their sport.
Premier Padel connection
If connections are to be the driving
force then surely few are better
placed than Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, head
of Qatar Sports Investments, which
last August bought out the World
Padel Tour, encompassing it within his
worldwide Premier Padel tour. Among
the many hats worn by Al-Khelaïfi
are chairman of beIN Media Group,
President of Paris Saint-Germain FC
and the Qatar Tennis Federation.
Social Media
Is the previously held notion that
Olympic acceptance is all about how
many countries a sport is played in
now being replaced by social media
following? Cricket, for example,
may be played in relatively few
countries but the International Cricket
Council consistently comes top of
international federation social media
rankings. In the latest list published
in January, the ICC had a total of
106,519,541 followers on Facebook,
Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, TikTok,
YouTube and X. That’s nearly 50
million more than FIFA.
The International Padel Federation
(FIP) currently has, according to
my calculations, just over 200,000
followers on its social media channels.
The sport needs to take a lesson from
cricket and get its numbers up into
the tens of millions otherwise the IOC
may not even consider it.
The next opportunity padel will
have to bid to be on the Olympic
programme is for Brisbane 2032.
Perhaps a better chance may be
2036 when it is widely expected the
Games will be heading to Doha. If
they do, then Al-Khelaïfi is certain
to have a say in which sports Qatar
adds to the Olympic programme.
And that could be very good news
for padel. •
Duncan Mackay has been covering
the Olympic movement for more
than 30 years. He was the founder
of insidethegames, a leading
independent source for news on the
Olympic Games, and is a former
winner of the UK Sports Journalist
of the Year and UK Internet Sports
Journalist of the Year awards.
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