There are still two and half years to go before LA 2028, but are we already seeing tangible signs of a positive Olympic legacy for squash?
For the answer, let's head to Uganda in East Africa, where squash's inclusion in the Olympic family can already be directly linked to future grassroots development and growth of the game.
Michael Kawooya, who has represented Uganda in four Commonwealth Games, has just become the first ever squash player to graduate from the Sport Administrators and Advanced Sports Management of Olympic Sport Organisations course delivered by the Uganda Olympic Committee.
Earning this qualification in Olympic sport governance, made possible by IOC Solidarity funding, will enable Kawooya to develop squash infrastructure and participation across Uganda, particularly among juniors and under-privileged sectors in society.
"This will give me more opportunities to push squash around the country," Kawooya told Squash Player. "It's about capacity building, administration, getting more kids involved and spreading the game of squash in communities around the country.
"I am looking forward to sharing the knowledge I have learned from the course and giving it back to the community.
"I thank the Uganda Olympic Committee and my mother body, the Uganda Squash Racquets Association. I believe that the knowledge I have attained will help me as I transition from active playing to sports administration.
"My mission is growing the sport and creating more opportunity for poorer people to play squash. As I always say, 'Squash is life!'"
Kawooya takes on Joel Makin at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
Dr. Donald Rukare, President of Uganda Olympic Committee, said: “To all graduates, please apply what you have learned to make a positive impact in your communities. Remember, success is not just about medals it’s about the integrity and leadership you bring to your organisations.”
Kawooya is already something of a legend in African squash and is a relentless ambassador for the sport in his home nation.
He first competed in the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010, then in Glasgow 2014, Gold Coast 2018 and Birmingham 2022. His fondest memory is playing Wales's Joel Makin on the glass showcourt in Birmingham in the singles second round.
He was voted 'Squash Player of the Year' four times at the Uganda Sports Press Association gala.
Mike is based at Kampala Club where he runs numerous junior squash programmes, including those for under-privileged children whom he gives free rackets and shoes to take part.
"People in our country call me the 'Ambassador of Squash' in Uganda!" Kawooya says. "We go to areas where people don't know the game and use squash to help communities. I tell my story about when I started playing squash. The kids want to be like me!"
Along with the Ugandan government and the Ugandan Squash Rackets Association, Kawooya has contributed to an ambitious project to build a 10-court squash centre on land at the Namboole National Sports Stadium. "It's a big project for us," he says.
Kawooya is currently the only qualified Level 1 coach in Uganda and his "dream" is to get an opportunity to take the Level 2 course to equip himself with more sophisticated coaching skills to raise playing levels across his home nation.
There was another early example of grassroots impact of squash's Olympic status recently in Malta, where Olympic Solidarity funding enabled ex-world no.1s James Willstrop and Laura Massaro, plus Laura’s husband Danny, to host a coaching programme for 15 male and female players aged under 23 and five coaches.
Organised jointly by the European Squash Federation, Malta Squash Association and World Squash, participants were specially selected from National Olympic Committees who sent fewer than 50 athletes to the Paris 2024 Olympics — thus ensuring that athletes who need it most receive expert tutelage from some of the best coaches in the sport.
