Snooker fans often wonder: if skateboarding made it, why not snooker? Short answer, it’s not in the Olympics because of limited global reach, tricky rules, and logistical hurdles. From its roots on a Pool Table to its ongoing push for global recognition, snooker’s Olympic journey is as fascinating as it is frustrating.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is famously strict about what makes the cut. Snooker has history, skill, and millions of fans, but it hasn’t convinced the IOC it ticks all the boxes. To join the Games, a sport must prove it’s global, inclusive, and Olympic-ready, snooker isn’t there yet.
That hasn’t stopped the World Snooker Tour from trying. They’ve spent years lobbying, polishing the sport’s international image, and working alongside the World Snooker Federation. The aim is simple: to prove snooker deserves a spot next to athletics, gymnastics, and even newer entries like surfing. The campaign continues, but progress is slow.
Walk into a pub in Sheffield or a sports bar in Beijing, and you’ll likely see a snooker match on TV. But travel across South America or much of Africa, and the sport barely registers. The IOC wants sports that unite continents, snooker is still too regional.
For the IOC, it’s not enough to be big in a few places. They want thriving competitive scenes in every corner of the world. That means more players in the Americas, more tournaments in Africa, and more visibility in regions where snooker has barely scratched the surface. Until then, it’s stuck on the sidelines.
Snooker’s biggest stars, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Stephen Hendry, Mark Selby, have almost all been men. Women’s snooker exists, and talents like Reanne Evans are helping push it forward, but the gap between the men’s and women’s circuits remains stark.
The IOC makes equality a dealbreaker. If men and women don’t get the same platform, a sport is unlikely to qualify. Snooker must boost women’s participation, funding, and visibility to stand a chance. That means more investment in tours, prize money, and TV time.
Ask a snooker fan and they’ll tell you: it’s a sport of stamina, precision, and nerves of steel. Ask a critic and they’ll say: it’s players leaning over a table for hours. The question of athleticism has haunted cue sports for decades, and the IOC has yet to be convinced.
Recent Olympic additions like skateboarding and breakdancing weren’t chosen by accident. They appeal to younger audiences and bring energy to the Games. Snooker, with its slower pace and traditional image, struggles to hit that mark. To keep up, it needs to rebrand itself as cool, exciting, and youth-friendly.
The Olympics can’t accept every sport, no matter how passionate its following. Each Games has a limited number of slots, and snooker is battling against sports that claim broader popularity or faster action.
Darts faces the same uphill battle. Both darts and snooker have devoted fan bases but suffer from questions about global reach, athleticism, and youth appeal. When you add in stronger lobbying from other sports, cue sports find themselves repeatedly edged out.
Unlike football’s FIFA or basketball’s FIBA, cue sports don’t have a single unified voice. Instead, there are separate federations for snooker, pool, and carom billiards, each pushing its own agenda. To the IOC, this division looks messy and uncoordinated.
A joint bid from all cue sports would look far stronger. Imagine pool, snooker, and carom presenting themselves as one global movement with millions of players across continents. That’s the kind of case the IOC finds hard to ignore. Until then, cue sports remain fractured.
No, Paris 2024 already set its line-up, and snooker didn’t make the cut. The Games prioritised sports like breakdancing, climbing, and skateboarding instead.
Los Angeles 2028 could be snooker’s next big chance. With a stronger international base and perhaps a united cue sports bid, the IOC might finally give it a serious look.
If there’s one Olympic Games snooker fans should circle, it’s Brisbane 2032. Australia has a strong cue sports culture, and the extra time gives governing bodies a chance to fix the current gaps. If snooker is ever going to make the leap, 2032 feels like the best shot yet.
For snooker to finally join the Olympic family, it needs a serious makeover. That means:
Expanding participation beyond its UK and China strongholds
Building stronger women’s competitions
Refreshing its image for younger fans
Joining forces with pool and carom to show unity
Do all that, and maybe, just maybe, the next time someone asks “is pool in the Olympics or is snooker in the Olympics?” the answer could finally be yes.
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