After the completion of an exciting World Snooker Championship, which saw the first Asian player, Zhao Xintong, win the title, there has been much talk of the sport expanding its appeal. The latest idea to widen its global reach is to seek admission to the Olympics. Jason Ferguson, chair of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), suggested snooker should be included at the Brisbane Olympics in 2032, citing the sport’s massive (and growing) popularity in China as potentially pivotal in their quest.
For a sport to be admitted into the Olympics, many hurdles must be cleared, and it could prove more of a marathon than a sprint. But the prize could be highly significant in terms of attracting millions of new fans to a sport that still isn’t quite as global as the organisers would like. In this article, we’ll take a look at snooker’s chances of being accepted as an Olympic sport at the 2032 Games, and we’ll take a glance at the other sports that are vying for inclusion alongside – or more likely instead of – snooker.
Will Snooker Appear at Brisbane 2032?
At the time of writing (May 2025), we still have a little while to go before any decisions are made about the programme of sports to be included at the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games. Unless the rules change, there will be all the mandatory sports plus up to six additional optional ones. These additional sports are usually picked to improve popularity in that particular area of the world, so in this case, Australia, and, perhaps crucially, the general Asia-Pacific region.
The process by which the sports are chosen is a little opaque, but decisions will be taken at a session of the International Olympic Committee sometime in 2026. This will no doubt include input from the Brisbane Organising Committee for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games and perhaps also consider representations from the various sports that are eager to be included.
The WPBSA certainly feel that now is the right time to make their pitch to the IOC and the Brisbane organisers, on the back of Zhao Xintong’s groundbreaking victory at the Crucible. The hope is that the groundswell of support for snooker in Zhao’s homeland will feed its way to China’s IOC members who would be in a position to influence their contemporaries and thus gain inclusion in the Olympics (essentially, if China think they could win a medal or two, they will be well up for including the sport!).
Of course, snooker isn’t the only sport aiming for inclusion at the Brisbane Summer Games. Let’s take a look at some of the others that have made noises about seeking a spot at the 2032 Olympics.
Other Sports Seeking Entry to Brisbane 2032
Around a dozen other sports have joined snooker in at least suggesting they’ll seek inclusion in 2032, with many also aiming for a place at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles too (though that is too soon for snooker, according to their governing body). Here are some of the contenders.
Baseball/Softball
Baseball was included as a demonstration sport at various summer Olympics over the years before it made its debut as a medal event at Barcelona 1992. Softball joined baseball in Atlanta four years later and both featured at the next three Olympics. They were dropped from the programme for London 2012 and Rio 2016, but returned for Tokyo 2020. Another omission followed as they were left out of the Paris Games, but they’re included for the LA Games in 2028 and have hopes of sticking around after that.
Rugby League
Although rugby union featured at four Olympics in the early 20th century, and rugby sevens (a format of union) has been included in 2016, 2020 and 2024, rugby league has never featured. The International Rugby League (IRL) are hoping to change that for Brisbane as they attempt to capitalise on the relative popularity of that code of the sport Down Under.
Cricket
Cricket is massive in Australia, so given it is lined up to be included in 2028, it’s almost certain to feature in 2032. Having said that, it wasn’t picked for London 2012 despite the sport’s origins in the UK, and it’s only appeared at one Olympics to date, at Paris 1900.
Netball
Basketball has long been a mainstay of the Summer Olympics, but netball has never had a look in. The sport’s governing body is lobbying for inclusion in 2032, but they could face problems in relation to the IOC’s rules on gender parity as there isn’t really an established men’s version of the game.
Squash
Squash has, perhaps surprisingly, never featured at the Olympics and is set to make its debut in Los Angeles in 2028. Their governing body will be pushing hard to become a permanent addition to the programme.
Breakdancing
After making its debut at Paris 24, the World DanceSport Federation is hoping to gain inclusion on the Brisbane programme. We’re not sure if the much-mocked performance of Aussie dancer Raygun will help or hinder that ambition.
Other Hopefuls
A couple of sports that are hopeful of inclusion but almost certainly won’t feature include: “flying disc sports” (frisbeeing!), “lifesaving sports” (think Baywatch, on the clock), and touch football (a bit like rugby league, but loads less interesting to watch).
Strange Sports at the Summer Olympics
Of course, many would argue that some of the sports that currently feature at the Olympics are pretty darn weird and could probably be pushed aside to make way for cricket, rugby league, snooker and even darts. It’s astounding that Olympic medals are still awarded for horse dancing, for instance!
Powerboat Racing
If we go back a few years, however, there were plenty of weird and wonderful events on the programme. Back in 1908, three medals were awarded for powerboat racing. We’re not sure what the Paris 1908 organisers were taking at the time, but they included ice skating on the summer programme! Antwerp 1920 went one better, however, when they included both ice skating and ice hockey!
Tug of War
Finally, a sport we’d like to see return to the Olympics is the tug of war. It featured at every Olympics from 1900 to 1920, and Great Britain won it twice, more than any other nation! Come on Brisbane, do the right thing and bring it back!