Lacrosse Is Going Back to the Olympics. Here’s the Whole Road to LA28
Last verified: October 14, 2026
Every lacrosse kid has heard the line from a grandparent at some point: “Is that even in the Olympics?” For more than a century, the honest answer was no. That changes in Los Angeles, and the road there has already started. Lacrosse in the Olympics is no longer a someday story; national teams are playing qualifiers right now.
When is lacrosse in the Olympics? Lacrosse will be played at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games from July 24 to July 29, 2028, at Exposition Park Stadium. It will use the sixes format, with six men’s teams and six women’s teams. Qualification runs through continental championships in late 2026, the World Lacrosse Sixes Championships in October 2027 and a final qualifier in early 2028.
Lacrosse in the Olympics: Key Dates
| Event | Dates | Location / format | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pan-American Sixes Championships (continental qualifier) | Sept. 29 – Oct. 4, 2026 (completed) | Oshawa, Canada | Lacrosse Australia’s road-to-LA28 timeline |
| Asia-Pacific Sixes Championships | Oct. 5–10, 2026 (completed) | Sunshine Coast, Australia | Lacrosse Australia timeline (above) |
| European Sixes Championships | Nov. 2–18, 2026 | Salou, Spain | Lacrosse Australia timeline (above) |
| African Sixes Championships | Dec. 1–4, 2026 | Johannesburg, South Africa | Lacrosse Australia timeline (above) |
| 2027 World Lacrosse Sixes Championships (primary Olympic qualifier) | Oct. 4–10, 2027 | Weidner Field, Colorado Springs, CO; 16 men’s and 16 women’s teams | World Lacrosse’s host announcement and USA Lacrosse Magazine’s event details |
| Final Olympic qualifying tournament | Early 2028; dates and venue not announced as of Oct. 14, 2026 | Best six teams per gender not already qualified | Olympics.com qualification explainer |
| Lacrosse at LA28: men’s and women’s tournaments | July 24–29, 2028; both gold-medal games July 29 | Exposition Park Stadium, Los Angeles; sixes | World Lacrosse’s LA28 competition schedule |
What Sixes Is (and Isn’t)
Sixes is a faster, shortened version of outdoor lacrosse built for international and Olympic play. As the name says, each team has six players on the field instead of the ten you see in a standard men’s game, and the field is smaller.
It’s worth being clear about what sixes is not. It isn’t box lacrosse, the indoor game played in the NLL, and it isn’t the ten-a-side field game that high schools and colleges play. Players come from the field game, though, and the skills that matter most in sixes (clean hands, quick decisions, accurate shooting in tight space and fitness to play both ends) are the same skills field coaches spend all spring on.
World Lacrosse sets the sixes rules, and they’ve been refined as the format has developed. If you’re coaching or playing sixes events, go to World Lacrosse for the current rule book rather than relying on a summary.
How the Schedule Works at LA28
According to World Lacrosse, the Olympic lacrosse tournament runs over six days in late July 2028 at Exposition Park Stadium in Los Angeles.
- Men’s tournament: round-robin sessions run from July 24 to July 28, in a midday window (Pacific time).
- Women’s tournament: sessions run in the evening, also starting July 24.
- Medal day: both the men’s and women’s medal games are played on July 29, 2028.
Six teams per gender means every game matters. There’s no long group stage to recover from a slow start.
How Teams Qualify for Lacrosse in the Olympics
The qualifying road is a three-stage funnel, laid out by the Olympic movement and World Lacrosse.
Stage 1: continental championships (Sept.–Dec. 2026). Four regional sixes championships decide who reaches the World Sixes. The Pan-American and Asia-Pacific events are already done. Europe plays in Salou, Spain, in November, and Africa in Johannesburg in early December.
Stage 2: the 2027 World Lacrosse Sixes Championships (Oct. 4–10, 2027). The first-ever sixes world championship brings 16 men’s and 16 women’s national teams to Weidner Field in Colorado Springs. Four men’s and four women’s teams qualify directly for LA28 there.
Stage 3: the final qualifier (early 2028). The best six teams per gender that haven’t already qualified, ranked by their World Sixes finish, play for the last Olympic place in each tournament.
And the hosts? The United States qualifies automatically as host nation, provided its men’s and women’s teams take part in both the continental championship and the World Sixes. Add it up per gender: one host place, four from the World Sixes and one from the final qualifier makes six.
What This Means for Young Players and Families
For most families, lacrosse in the Olympics means something simpler than rosters. It means more kids discovering the sport, more attention on the women’s game, and more players asking how to get better faster.
The honest answer hasn’t changed. Olympians in any lacrosse format are built on years of unglamorous reps: wall ball, shooting, footwork and game sense. A ten-year-old who starts playing now will be a teenager by summer 2028 and in their twenties by the time later Olympic cycles come round, if the sport stays on the program.
How to Get Ready: Build the Skills Sixes Rewards
You don’t need a sixes league to train for the skills sixes showcases. Work backward from the moments on the calendar.
Through the continental championships (now to December 2026). Watch highlights from the regional sixes events where you can find them, and notice how often players shoot quickly from tight angles. At home, keep a short daily wall ball routine going. Our wall ball routine with rep counts gives you a plan for every level.
Leading into the World Sixes (2027). This is a year of real development time. Shoot regularly on an official-size goal so your accuracy is calibrated to a real target. The Gladiator Lacrosse® Official Lacrosse Goal with 6mm Net is a full 6×6 backyard goal that snaps together and comes apart for storage. Girls’ players should practice with the ball colours their own games use; yellow and orange are widely used in the women’s game, and Gladiator’s official lacrosse balls come in both.
Summer 2028. Watch the Games, then go outside and try what you saw.
The Bottom Line
Lacrosse in the Olympics returns July 24–29, 2028, in Los Angeles, played as sixes with six teams per gender. The road there is already underway, with continental championships this fall and the first-ever World Sixes in Colorado Springs in October 2027. Follow it, and use it as a reason to get your reps in.
A Word on Gladiator Lacrosse
Gladiator Lacrosse is a lacrosse-only brand founded in 2012 by Rachel Zietz, who started the company as a 13-year-old player in Boca Raton, Florida. The goals, nets, targets and NOCSAE-standard balls are built for the backyard practice that every high-level player, Olympic or otherwise, puts in long before anyone is watching. If you’re setting up a place to shoot at home, start with the Gladiator Lacrosse® Official Lacrosse Goal with 6mm Net.
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- A wall ball routine with rep counts for every level
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Frequently Asked Questions
When is lacrosse in the 2028 Olympics?
Lacrosse will be played at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games from July 24 to July 29, 2028, at Exposition Park Stadium. The men’s and women’s medal games are both on July 29.
What format will Olympic lacrosse use?
The Olympics will use sixes, a shortened outdoor format with six players per team on a smaller field. There will be a six-team men’s tournament and a six-team women’s tournament.
Is the USA qualified for lacrosse in the Olympics?
The United States receives a host-nation place, provided its men’s and women’s teams take part in both their continental championship and the 2027 World Lacrosse Sixes Championships.
How do other countries qualify?
Continental sixes championships in late 2026 decide the 16 men’s and 16 women’s teams at the World Sixes in Colorado Springs, October 4–10, 2027. Four teams per gender qualify there, and one more per gender comes from a final qualifying tournament in early 2028.
When was lacrosse last in the Olympics?
Lacrosse was last an Olympic medal sport at the 1908 Games, which is why LA28 is described as its return after 120 years. This time it will be played as sixes.