PSA CEO Alex Gough On What Olympics Inclusion Means for Squash

After squash’s place on the LA2028 Olympic Games roster was officially confirmed on Monday, we sat down with PSA CEO Alex Gough to discuss the historic decision.

Below he talks us through the process behind the LA2028 bid, why squash suits the Olympic Games so well, and how the decision can grow the sport moving into the future.

After a long time and a long journey, squash is finally in the Olympic Games. What was your reaction when you saw the news?

“Probably one of disbelief, first of all. No, obviously massive, massive excitement.

“It’s been a long, long journey. Squash has probably been trying to get into the Olympic Games now for almost 20 years. And, yeah, it’s just huge, huge news for the sport.”

A lot of work has been done behind the scenes by the PSA, the WSF and US Squash for the bid. Are you able to give an insight into the process? 

“We’ve had lots of experience over the years and we’ve worked closely with World Squash with the last couple of bids, and then with the games being in the United States for LA2028, it was natural for US Squash to be a part of all of those conversations.

“It’s been a fantastic collaboration, there has been a lot that has gone on in the background. 

“One thing that we were sort of told very early on, with an LA2028 point of view, was that they wanted everything to be much more behind closed doors, so no big campaigns from any of the sports that were on the list, and I think that has actually put us in good stead.”

Bids for squash to be in the Olympics have fallen in the past, what was different this time? 

“There’s been a multitude of reasons over the years why squash hasn’t been successful, some have just been down to bad timing, some have been down to not being managed that well and some have just been unlucky. 

“This time, the collaboration has been fantastic, the work behind the scenes has been fantastic and it’s probably been a culmination of all of those years of putting ourselves, putting the best foot forward.

“LA 2028 really did believe in squash and put us on that proposed list and then the IOC have then ratified it and said yes to squash.”

How important is this decision for the growth of squash around the world?

“It’s always been seen as one of those pivotal moments for the sport, and one of the main reasons being, well one of them, is the profile that the Olympics brings. It really does bring sports – especially sports that are lower down in the sporting ladder – it really does give them that recognition and that platform to the wider sporting stage. 

“And then, quite simply in terms of funding, the national federations and the regional federations will get much more support locally, from governments and from different funds, and the same will happen with world squash as well. 

“There will be a big influx of support financially, which will hopefully help move the sport forward.”

What do you think makes squash the perfect sport for the Olympics? 

“We’ve always been firm believers in how amazing our sport is and the athletes we have in the sport, on both the men’s and women’s front. 

“When you look at the average statistics of an average heart rate being 170 beats per minute, an average match length of 50 minutes, and the ball being in play around 63% of the time, and the level of athleticism is just phenomenal. 

“For us to be able to display squash to a much wider audience is amazing and I think squash really deserves to be there.”

You used to be at the top of the game yourself, are there any regrets that you weren’t able to compete for an Olympic medal? 

“I guess so. I was lucky enough to play in three Commonwealth Games and the multisport games truly are fantastic for any athlete, no matter what sport you are in. 

“You just get that sense of camaraderie between all of the sports, and the Olympics is the pinnacle of that, so there will be lots of past and famous players in our sport, the Nicole David’s of the world, the Ramy Ashour’s, the Nick Matthew’s, you know the list will go on and on of players who will be a bit gutted that they never got the opportunity. 

“However, they will also be the first in line to be very excited that this sport has finally made it. It has been their legacy over the last 10 to 20 years that has helped put us there.”