LA28 will mark the first time that women receive more than half of the quota spots in an Olympic Games after the IOC’s executive board approved changes to the sport program on Wednesday.
Expanding the women’s fields in soccer and water polo represent the most significant differences from previous Games, with those changes helping to bring the women’s share of quota spots to 50.5%.
With five sports added for its edition of the Games, LA28 will have 11,198 athletes.
In coordination with FIFA, the IOC approved increasing the field from 12 to 16 teams for women’s soccer and reducing the men’s field to 12 from 16.
The executive board also approved increasing women’s water polo to 12 teams and boxing to seven weight classes, putting those sports on equal footing with the men.
“For every single one of those quota places in the Olympic Games, there are a number of countries that are investing in women’s sport to chase that quota place,” said IOC Sport Dir Kit McConnell.
“When we add four women’s Olympic football teams, that’s not just another four countries that are chasing those places.”
The changes also included the addition of mixed team events in six sports: archery, golf, gymnastics, rowing, table tennis and track and field.
It also voted to expand the 3x3 basketball tournament to 12 teams, among other changes to the program.
Over the past decade, the IOC has increasingly relied on mixed events -- with men and women competing together for medals -- to promote gender equity in the Games.
The push for gender equity in the Games has been a key focus for the IOC under Agenda 2020+5. The Paris Olympics last summer marked the first time the IOC had equal quota spots for men and women.
The IOC’s core program of 31 sports remained capped at 10,500 athletes, with 5,333 spots for women and 5,167 for men.
The IOC approved 698 spots for the five additional sports put forth by LA28, a team-heavy lineup that includes baseball and softball, T20 cricket, lacrosse (sixes), flag football and squash.
“All of these decisions are also supported by the numbers, are supported by the ticket demand that we’ve seen for women’s sport at recent Games,” McConnell said.
“We’ve seen the broadcast numbers for women’s sport being absolutely equal, if not even stronger, than for men’s sport around the Olympic Games, and we’ve seen the media coverage increase exponentially as a result of ours, and working with federations and with hosts, but working together to promote women’s sport.”
