The initial outrage when the plan was unmasked made it seem unlikely the Swiss would last more than a few days before being forced out.

But 35 days into the crisis, Infantino appears confident not only of surviving, but of winning a third and final full term in office at the elections due next March.

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The aim is to make this diary a comprehensive guide as possible as to what is happening in the Olympic Movement both on and off the field of play.

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From the first day of the Games, home fans were delighted by a procession of Italian success which ultimately brought ten gold medals.

The Italians returned home from the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham with 22 medals, of which ten were gold, pipping host nation Britain to finish top of the table.

The European Aquatic Championships, held in Paris at the same time, yielded 43, including 13 gold, although they had to concede top of the medals table to Britain at this event.

Although they did not win rugby’s Six Nations rugby title, they defeated England for the first time and also beat Scotland.

Failure to qualify for the men’s FIFA World Cup for the third time in succession had been a major blow to the nation’s sporting psyche, but an Italian team wearing the famous blue shirts did take part in a World Cup in 2026.

Their achievement passed largely under the radar at home because the sport in question was cricket.

The World Cup Breakaways

At the International Cricket Council T20 World Cup, they were drawn in a tough group which included the West Indies and England, who had both won the tournament twice. Italy were never expected to progress from the first group stage to the “Super 8”.

In fact, everything seemed to have unravelled in their opening match, against Scotland at the famous Eden Gardens in Calcutta. Inspirational skipper Wayne Madsen dislocated a shoulder whilst fielding early in the match. It was a cruel blow and the Italians eventually lost by 73 runs.

Undaunted, they recovered to win their next match against Nepal by ten wickets. Experts suggested that this was a real milestone in Italian cricket, a first in a major ICC tournament.

Even so, it was almost impossible to find any mention of this or their subsequent matches in the famous Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta Dello Sport. This was because the sporting gaze of the nation was fixed firmly on the Winter Olympics and otherwise on Serie A football.

Cricket itself is set to return to the Olympic programme for Los Angeles in 2028. The Final Olympic Games Qualifying Tournament next year is to decide the sixth and final spot in the men’s tournament.

Only the top eight ranked nations not already qualified will take part. The Italians are 23rd in the ICC ranking, which is not enough.

Even so, the elevation of cricket to Olympic status still offers a beneficial effect for the sport in Italy.

“It has enhanced cricket’s credibility within the broader Italian sports system,” Rakbir Hasan of the Italian Cricket Federation said. “Olympic status helps attract younger athletes and sponsors, transforming cricket from a niche activity to a sport of clear national and international significance.”

Nelson’s Sailors and Rough Grounds

The first recorded match on Italian soil took place back in 1793, when British sailors from Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson’s fleet played at Naples.

A century later, the first Italian sports clubs took shape. During the summer months they often played cricket, encouraged by the British expatriates working in Italy at the time.

The Genoa Football and Cricket Club was founded in 1893 by by a group of British expatriates at the British Consulate in the city. The name is still officially used by the Serie A club, even though they are now best known for football.

In 1899, Englishman Herbert Kilpin founded the Milan Football and Cricket Club, later known as Associazione Calcio - or AC - Milan, one of the most successful clubs in Italian and world football.

Rome was originally chosen as host city for the 1908 Olympics. A cricket tournament at the Villa Borghese was planned as part of the programme.

In the wake of the eruption of Vesuvius in 1906, the Games themselves were switched to London, where organisers concluded that cricket would not attract sufficient interest.

In Italy, there was little further development in cricket until after the Second World War. Then Frank Pogson, an officer in the Royal Navy, married Princesa Orietta Doria Pamphilj from an Italian noble family.

At the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, her ancestral home, a cricket pitch was laid out. Embassy staff from Australia and Britain, supported by enthusiastic churchmen, played on the grounds. The area eventually became a public park in the 1970s.

The FCRI itself was founded much more recently in 1980 by Simone Gambino, an Italian who had fallen for the game whilst in England. Italy became an ICC Affiliated Member in 1984 and an Associate Member in 1995.

When the eminent English cricket journalist EW Swanton published an updated version of his monumental encyclopaedia World of Cricket in the early 1980s, there was only one paragraph giving information on cricket in Italy.

This concluded that the biggest problem was “rough grounds.” There are still no natural grass pitches in Italy and matting wickets are used.

Registered clubs in Italy currently number 100 with an estimated 3,500 players, including women.

There is even a club in the Vatican City. It was founded by John McCarthy, a barrister appointed as Australian ambassador to the Holy See. Priests and seminarians now play for St Peter’s, although the side is known as “The Pope’s XI”.

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Global Passports, Local Passions

Italy’s cricketing progress against the odds in a relatively short space of time has been remarkable. In 2013, they had come close to qualifying for the T20 World Cup Finals when they defeated Denmark to win their first European title.

“Over the past decade, Italian cricket has been focussed on improving governance, strengthening national structures and creating clearer pathways,” said Hasan.

Just as in football and rugby, the Italian diaspora has been a source of players.

Skipper Madsen was born in South Africa but qualified for an Italian passport through his grandmother.

“Players and coaches from nations with a traditional cricket tradition have brought technical expertise, professional standards, and a strong cricket culture that has helped accelerate development,” added Hasan.

Apart from Madsen, Italy’s squad for the World T20 also included two bands of brothers. Anthony Mosca and younger brother Justin, both born in Australia, stiffened the batting.

They were joined by all-rounder Harry Manenti, who had already played in the Big Bash with the Adelaide Strikers. His older brother Ben won the Sheffield Shield with South Australia in 2025.

Jon-Jon (JJ) Smuts had played for South Africa at Under 19 level, but claimed his spot because of his wife’s Italian heritage.

Maternal family connections also opened the door for Kent’s Grant Stewart, born in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. It prompted one wag to suggest “not to be confused with Cagliari”.

Emilio Gay, a current England Test opener, previously represented Italy due to his maternal heritage, notably hitting a 19-ball half-century against Scotland during the European Qualifiers to secure a World Cup spot for the team.

Despite missing the tournament due to a hamstring injury, his performance garnered attention, leading to his eventual declaration for England.

Even though the cricketers played in a World Cup while the national football team languished at home during the summer, Italian cricket officials are under no illusions.

“Football’s dominance is undeniable, but that doesn’t stop other sports from growing,” claimed Hasan. “Cricket’s approach has been pragmatic rather than competitive with football, positioning itself as an inclusive, community-based sport with international opportunities.

“Emphasis is also placed on visibility, leveraging the successes of national teams to encourage participation and demonstrate that cricket offers real opportunities for international growth.”

By Philip Barker

Apologies for the pause in publishing this week due to illness. Normal service will resume on Monday.

If you enjoyed this article please consider hitting the “like” button or leaving a comment as it helps with our ranking on Substack.

If you have any comments or suggestions pleased contact Duncan Mackay via the Substack App or email him at duncanmackayjournalist@gmail.com.

The aim is to make this diary a comprehensive guide as possible as to what is happening in the Olympic Movement both on and off the field of play.

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That was until last week, when the American caught everyone off guard by selling his majority stake in the NBA’s most famous and popular team, Los Angeles Lakers, for $12.5 billion to a partnership team led by Josh Kushner, founder of the venture capital firm Thrive Capital, and former Walt Disney chief executive Bob Iger.

It is just one of several top franchises that Walter owns or has a significant interest in and speculation is now rampant as to which one he will have to offload next.

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But in three years’ time, if India is celebrating being awarded the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games, it could look back and have a team of “monkey whisperers” to partially thank for its success.

When the Badminton World Championships start today at the Indira Gandhi Arena in New Delhi, alongside all the other personnel employed to make sure the event runs smoothly, there will be a small group of men tasked with making sure monkeys do not disrupt the matches.

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The aim is to make this diary a comprehensive guide as possible as to what is happening in the Olympic Movement both on and off the field of play.

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The historic sponsorship of the biggest bank in the United States, and the world’s largest by market capitalisation, was hailed as a major commercial victory for the Olympic Movement.

But now, less than 16 weeks after the deal was announced amid much fanfare, there are questions about whether the International Olympic Committee should even be proceeding with the $200 million sponsorship, after JPMorgan was unmasked as a key architect in the secret proposal to sell off a stake in the FIFA World Cup.

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London’s bid to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships is due to give a crucial presentation this week, along with rivals Munich, Nairobi and Rome.

The World Athletics Bid Evaluation Panel, chaired by Finland’s Antti Pihlakoski, will today begin hearing from each of the four candidates via video, with London due to present its plans tomorrow.

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That is the position Gianni Infantino finds himself in after the FIFA President tried and failed to sell off part of the World Cup to private investors, causing such an outburst of anger that even international leaders have called for him to resign.

The Swiss has one weapon left in his armoury, but he must know that if he pulls the trigger on it, then it will cause such a seismic explosion that world football may take decades to recover from it.

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Since Manchester 2002, nearly every major multi-sport event in the United Kingdom has seen athletes vanish from their team bases to seek asylum.

However, the five international athletes who stayed behind after the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games represent a remarkably low figure compared to previous events.

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The aim is to make this diary a comprehensive guide as possible as to what is happening in the Olympic Movement both on and off the field of play.

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“It was decided to include in the programme of the 1928 Olympic Games, events in athletics sports reserved for women,” a resolution stated.

World Athletics was then known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and led by future International Olympic Committee President Sigfrid Edstrom of Sweden.

There were immediate indications that there was a long way to go to real equality.

“There are many sportsmen who are not enthusiastic about the prospect of masculine women training and straining for world championship titles,” reported Athletic News, then a prominent British sports newspaper.

Finnish IAAF delegate Lauri Pihkala spoke “with vigour” against women taking part as “contrary to the classic Olympic idea.”

The Olympic athlete, who had represented his country at London 1908 and Stockholm 1912 in a variety of different events, including the 800 meters and discus, also “feared that their participation might throw some measure of ridicule upon them.”

Pihkala was well known back home for using sport as a means to integrate the working class into society, but drew the line at females, it seems. He assured the IAAF Congress that in Finland “women themselves were opposed to the idea of athletics for women.”

“Women’s role is to crown the victors”

Opposition from the very top had hindered female participation ever since the modern Olympics began at Athens in 1896.

“As for the admission of women to the Games, I remain strongly against it,” affirmed Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the French aristocrat who had driven the Olympic revival. “Their role should be, above all, to crown the victors.”

Women had already begun to assert their rights. In Britain, the “Rational Dress Society” called for clothing which made taking part in sport easier.

At the 1900 Olympics in Paris, women competed in golf and tennis. Other sports, including swimming and diving, were added but athletics, the showpiece sport of the Games, had still denied them.

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The Rogue “Olympiads” of Alice Milliat

In response, French sportswoman Alice Milliat established the Federation Internationale Feminine Sportive and, in 1921, she organised a five-day event in Monte Carlo.

The Daily Telegraph in London noted how “the feminine athletic movement has made considerable progress in France.” Milliat was described as “a living example of a modern woman.”

The Monte Carlo Games were successful, so the exercise was repeated in 1922 at the Stade Pershing on the outskirts of Paris. In press reports, they were often described as “Women’s Olympiads”.

This angered IOC grandees, who spoke of the “feminist movement and the abuses and excesses to which it has given rise.”

At the 1924 IOC Session in Paris, it was concluded that, “At a time when efforts are being made to reduce the already overburdened Games programme, opening it up more widely to women’s participation would significantly increase that burden.”

Drafts of IAAF minutes show how Edstrom warned that if his organisation did not incorporate women’s sport, it “would lose control.”

During the 1926 IOC session in Lisbon, he secured agreement from his IOC colleagues for moves to include athletics at the Olympics.

At an Olympic research symposium, Canadian professors Kevin Walmsley and Guy Schultz suggested that Edstrom recognised the “threat” of a women’s games or even a “rogue organisation” representing a women’s world championships.

In March 1926, an IAAF “Special Committee for Female Sport” convened for the first time, led by William Prout, president of America’s Amateur Athletic Union and the American Olympic Committee.

The FSFI were invited to send three delegates to join it and this mixed group met in Paris a month later, where it was agreed that the FSFI “shall conduct women’s athletic sport by delegation from the council of the IAAF.”

Shortly before the IAAF Congress, they met again in the Dutch coastal town of Scheveningen to confirm, “Women’s sports should be organised in every country by the member of the IAAF, either by itself or by delegation to the women’s federation.”

Prout was unable to attend but his compatriot Murray Hulbert, an influential American politician and federal judge, told the congress that women’s athletics competitions had been organised successfully in the United States.

For French Athletics Federation President Paul Méricamp, women’s athletics were a “great reality.”

British women had taken part in Milliat’s World Games and a Women’s Amateur Athletic Association was formed in 1922, but officials were against any merger with the existing men’s organisation.

Swedish Athletic Association President Bo Ekelund, winner of an Olympic bronze medal in the high jump at Antwerp 1920, felt it “would be fair to give the women a chance of showing what they could do, if only as an experiment.”

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A Fragile Compromise in The Hague

Eventually, the motion to include women’s athletics in the Olympics was passed by 12 votes to five with opposition coming from Britain, Ireland, Finland, Hungary and Australasia.

It was agreed that the programme was to include the 100m, 800m, a 4x100m relay, high jump and discus. Edstrom believed that these “could easily be included” in Amsterdam.

A few weeks after the IAAF Congress, the FSFI gathered in Gothenburg for their third World Games, attended by some 100 athletes from nine nations.

FSFI officials also met to discuss what had happened at The Hague. Milliat reported that she had “offered to do away with the word ‘Olympic’ and replace the same with ‘Second Ladies World Games’.”

She assured delegates that they would recover “full liberty of action” in the event that the agreements made with the IAAF did not turn out satisfactorily.

British athlete Sophie Elliot Lynn, a long jump medallist at the 1924 Women’s Games, argued “the Ladies Games are a great success in the whole world and that women propaganda had nothing to gain in our participation in the Olympic Games.”

Germany’s Walter Bergmann, vice-president of the IAAF, had authored a sports-sociology paper in 1925 titled Die Frau und der Sport (Woman and Sport), which supported the acceptance of female participation.

The IAAF’s Olympic offer was duly accepted and Milliat was invited to the 1928 IAAF Congress at the time of the Games.

“We hope that good cooperation between the two federations will continue, and we are looking forward to the time to come, when Madame Milliat and her friends will unite with us completely,” Edstrom said.

The Myth of the 1928 800m and the 32-Year Ban

At the Amsterdam Olympics, Lina Radke of Germany won the 800m in a world record 2 min 16.8 seconds, but some reports on the race highlighted that others finished exhausted.

In the New York Evening Post, John Tunis described them as “eleven wretched women”, although only nine actually took part in the race and every single starter successfully crossed the finish line.

Media accounts completely ignored the fact that some men had also finished their races in a similar state of collapse.

The sensationalised reporting was enough to give ammunition to those who opposed female participation.

IOC President Henri de Baillet-Latour was felt by many to be against women’s athletics.

At the 1929 IOC Session in Lausanne, he read a message from Denmark’s Ivar Nyholm.

This gave details of a meeting of Scandinavian countries where “a resolution was passed urging a complete suppression of all women’s events from the Games.”

Ernst Krogius of Finland, an Olympic sailor who had won a bronze medal at Stockholm 1912, had sent a letter in a similar vein.

The Finnish Olympic Committee had voted for “the exclusion of women entirely”.

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The Century-Long Sprint to Parity

In 1930, another women’s World Games took place in Prague.

When the IOC met in 1931, there was further discussion on whether women should continue to take part in the Olympics.

A vote to retain athletics passed by 16 votes to three, but the 800m was dropped.

At the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, no race for women was longer than 100m, although the javelin was added to the field events. American Mildred “Babe” Didrikson won gold in the 80m hurdles and javelin and added silver in the high jump.

Her haul might have been even greater had she been allowed to compete in other events.

In 1934, the final World Games took place in London and the IAAF subsequently assumed control of the sport for both sexes.

Women still often required chaperones when they attended the Olympics and other events until near the end of the 1960s, and it was not until Rome 1960 that any distance longer than half a lap was open to them again in the Games.

They had to wait even longer for a women’s marathon to be introduced.

“There are no relevant sports medical grounds against marathon running for women,” Austrian Professor Ludwig Prokop, a world-renowned pioneer of sports medicine, wrote in the IAAF Bulletin.

Even so, the memoirs of 1984 Los Angeles Olympics Organising Committee President Peter Ueberroth claimed, “The IOC did its best to reject a women’s marathon.”

Ueberroth eventually had his way, with the United States runner Joan Benoit winning the first gold medal in the event.

But it was not until 2008 that women competed in all track and field disciplines, with the introduction of the 3,000m steeplechase.

Only at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, more than a century after Milliat had launched her pioneering events for female athletes, did the addition of the mixed walk relay ensure that women finally contested the exact same number of events as men.

Philip Barker

If you enjoyed this article please consider hitting the “like” button or leaving a comment as it helps with our ranking on Substack.

If you have any comments or suggestions pleased contact Duncan Mackay via the Substack App or email him at duncanmackayjournalist@gmail.com.

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