October 8 - An exclusive poll on insidethegames.biz, which is read by the key decision makers and opinion-formers from around the world, has found that golf is only the fourth choice of readers to be included in the Olympic Games for 2016 behind rugby sevens, softball and squash.



Only 210 readers out of the 29,305 people from more than 150 countries who voted thought that golf should be added to the programme for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
 

That was less than one per cent of the vote.
 

That was significantly less than the 1,815 and 1,444 who voted for softball and squash respectively.
 

Those two sports were rejected by the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) ruling Executive Board who voted in August to recommend that rugby sevens and golf should be added to the 2016 Games.
 

Baseball, karate and roller sports were also bidding for inclusion in the Olympics.
 

The full membership of the IOC will vote on the recommendation at its 121st Session in Copenhagen tomorrow.
 

Duncan Mackay, the publisher and editor of insidethegames.biz, said: "There is some opposition to the idea of adding golf to the Olympic programme for Rio 2016, although I still expect it to receive the necessary support from the IOC members to be included.
 

"It was interesting that a large number of readers in Asia voted for both softball and squash, which suggests that the IOC have missed a great opportunity to expand their brand in a key market."
 

Rugby sevens was the overwhelming choice of readers to be included on the programme.
 

They polled a remarkable 25,368 votes, which was 86.6 per cent of the vote.
 

Mackay said: "This just proves how much appetite there is among the rugby community to see Sevens in the Olympic Games in 2016, something that I believed is shared by the IOC members and which will be reflected in the vote tomorrow.

"That is a testament to the very professional campaign run by the IRB, particularly Mike Miller and Bernard Lapasset, who have worked so hard at getting their message across and really selling the benefits of the sport to the IOC.

"This is an exciting moment for rugby and will see the sport really develop around the globe."


Final result
Rugby sevens 25,368 votes (86.6 per cent)
Softball 1,815 (6.2)
Squash 1,444 (4.9)
Golf 210 (0.7)
Baseball 203 (0.7)
Karate 169 (0.6)
Roller sports 96 (0.3)