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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will shortlist 2-4 sports for Olympic inclusion from 2016 at an executive board meeting at the Intercontinental Hotel in Berlin from 9.00 to 13.00 today.

A minimum of two sports, with a maximum of four, can be put forward by the 15-member board to a vote by members of the IOC in Copenhagen on October 9 when the final decision on inclusion will be made.

The sports up for consideration are Rugby Sevens, baseball, softball, squash, golf, karate and roller sports. Both baseball and softball were voted off the Olympic programme at a 2005 IOC session in Singapore but a number of sources have tipped Rugby Sevens as one of the favourites to get the decision in their favour.

The executive board will make its decision based on a number of criteria, including the universality of the sport and its appeal to both genders, but commercial considerations have played a major part in the IOC's deliberations.
Sevens has run a tenacious campaign since missing out on the last programme in 2005 and has made much of its appeal to the corporate market.

Rugby Union, which was last played at the 1924 Olympics in the full 15-a-side format, hopes to return in the faster, short-format seven-a-side version for both men and women, which is part of the Commonwealth Games and demonstrated its ability to host both tournaments at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai in March.

The compact format of a sevens tournament means it could also comfortably be scheduled in the main Olympic stadium in the first week of the Games.

Golf, another of the favourites, has made a late surge in their bid but one of the main issues has been whether top players will compete in the Olympics when they already have a full schedule, but superstar Tiger Woods indicated on Tuesday he would play. Rugby Sevens has the backing of its own superstars though.

“I have spoken with many of my fellow top players and each one agrees that competing at the Olympics would be an amazing experience. We would all be there and would be proud to call ourselves ‘Olympians’,” said South African Rugby World Cup winner Bryan Habana.

An announcement is expected to be made at 14:00 today.