Padel’s Olympic dreams – is Qatar the key?
As Tom Cruise brought the curtain down on the Paris Olympics, debate reignited within the padel industry as to just when our favourite sport will achieve what many see as the ultimate goal – a place at the Olympic Games. After all, if breakdancing can make it 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 ‘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 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.
And if connections and money 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 sway
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, the world’s 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.
🎾This article first appeared in the Summer 2024 issue of The Bandeja padel magazine. Click here to access the magazine.
