PLL Plans World Classic Of Lacrosse En Route To ’28 Summer Olympics
Wednesday, July 29, 2026 at 06:45PM By Barry Janoff
July 29, 2026: Stating that “this event will do for lacrosse what the (NHL) 4 Nations Face-Off and World Baseball Classic have done for their respective sports." the Premier Lacrosse League and Women's Lacrosse League have unveiled plans for the Lexus Global Lacrosse Games.
The new competition featuring the best men's and women's lacrosse players in the world representing four nations will be held in co-promotion with the National Lacrosse League and is sanctioned by World Lacrosse and USA Lacrosse.
The Lexus Global Lacrosse Games are scheduled for Dec. 8-13, 2026, at The St. James, located outside Washington, D.C.
The Lexus Global Lacrosse Games will replace the Championship Series in the PLL and WLL competition calendar for the next two years leading up to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
"What makes this exciting for me is that every top player in North America will be available to represent their country, and the Lexus Global Lacrosse Games is where that fierce, proud and historic national competition will culminate," Paul Rabil, PLL co-founder and president, said via the organization.
“Lacrosse hasn't competed as an Olympic medal sport since 1908, so we're not taking LA28 for granted. Our hope is that this event will do for lacrosse what the 4 Nations Face-Off and World Baseball Classic have done for their respective sports."
In October 2023, the International Olympic Committee approved lacrosse’s inclusion in the 2028 Olympic Games. LA28 will feature the sixes format of Lacrosse, in which teams of six players keep the action coming across four 8-minute quarters.
LA28 will mark the third Olympic appearance for the sport that is now played in nearly 100 countries after it was contested in 1904 (St. Louis) and 1908 (London). Lacrosse was later featured as a demonstration sport in three Olympics: Amsterdam 1928, Los Angeles 1932 and London 1948.
"What makes this exciting for me is that every top player in North America will be available to represent their country."
The news follows the PLL's recent $100 million Series E financing round led by Joe Tsai and Ares, called the largest capital raise in professional lacrosse history. The investment was “designed to accelerate the league's growth as lacrosse approaches its return to the Olympic stage, with the Lexus Global Lacrosse Games representing the latest expansion of the PLL and WLL competition platforms.”
"The Lexus Global Lacrosse Games set a new global stage to showcase lacrosse and build commercial value for governing bodies, players and partners as we count down to LA28," Mike Rabil, PLL co-founder and CEO, said via the organization.
"We're grateful to our partners at Lexus for their continued support for Olympic lacrosse, and are proud to work alongside the NLL to bring this platform to life for the world's best lacrosse players."
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