JOA backs lacrosse push toward historic LA 2028 Olympic debut
Key Points(5)
- With the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games drawing ever closer, the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) has placed its backing squarely behind one of the country’s fastest-rising disciplines: lacrosse.
- The organization’s leadership has made clear that the sport’s rapid ascent and competitive results have earned it a powerful endorsement.
- “This objective is to pave the road gold to the 2028 LA Olympic Games with the platinum aspirations of our members’ sportsmen and women,” declared JOA President Christopher Samuda.
- “And Lacrosse is positioning itself to be in a front seat on the journey.” <h2>A sport in full ascent</h2> Few disciplines in Jamaica have expanded as rapidly in recent years.
- The growth curve has been unmistakable, highlighted most spectacularly in 2024 when the national Under-20 team delivered record-setting victories over Ireland, New Zealand, and South Korea at the World Championships in Seogwipo on Jeju Island.
With the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games drawing ever closer, the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) has placed its backing squarely behind one of the country’s fastest-rising disciplines: lacrosse.
The organization’s leadership has made clear that the sport’s rapid ascent and competitive results have earned it a powerful endorsement.
“This objective is to pave the road gold to the 2028 LA Olympic Games with the platinum aspirations of our members’ sportsmen and women,” declared JOA President Christopher Samuda. “And Lacrosse is positioning itself to be in a front seat on the journey.”
A sport in full ascent
Few disciplines in Jamaica have expanded as rapidly in recent years. The growth curve has been unmistakable, highlighted most spectacularly in 2024 when the national Under-20 team delivered record-setting victories over Ireland, New Zealand, and South Korea at the World Championships in Seogwipo on Jeju Island.
Those successes followed the senior men’s breakthrough performance in 2023, a campaign that culminated in a top-eight global ranking, an unprecedented milestone that signaled Jamaica’s arrival among the sport’s international contenders.
JOA leadership fully aligned
Ryan Foster, JOA Secretary General and CEO, underscored the organization’s unified commitment to helping shepherd lacrosse onto the Olympic stage.
“As we, the JOA, join lacrosse in the call for LA, the vision is clear: we are in the game for love and victory in inspiring the present and securing the future for the sport,” Foster said.
For the Jamaica Lacrosse Association, a berth in Los Angeles would be historic, not only as the sport’s first Olympic appearance, but as a monumental milestone for one of the JOA’s ambitious members. Samuda echoed that sentiment emphatically: “Lacrosse has earned its stripes, and it's an open secret that our vote is with them.”
Global partners take note
Interest in Jamaica’s progress extends beyond its borders. World Lacrosse President Bob DeMarco, elected in November 2024 and now charged with steering the global organization through the LA 2028 cycle, is expected to visit the island in the near future. His arrival will offer further validation of the nation’s growing influence within the sport.
Eyes fixed on Los Angeles
With international momentum, organizational backing, and a competitive résumé that continues to strengthen, Jamaica’s lacrosse program now sits on the cusp of a defining chapter. For the JOA, the message is unmistakable: Jamaica intends not just to participate, but to compete, and to chart a pathway gilded with ambition.
