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Take a look at the 32 sports being contested at the Paris Olympics and the 35 in Los Angeles and it becomes clear that the Olympics now cover a wide spectrum. So is there room for chess, darts or snooker in 2032?

All three sports are certainly keen to participate in the Olympic Games in the future, not only because there is a huge boost to the participation of any sport in the Olympic Games (just think of the success of rugby sevens or BMX at the last Games), but also because they want to retain Olympic status.

“Any country in the world could open an academy to provide sports funding for medal contenders,” explains Jason Ferguson, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. “This would change our landscape in the UK because the funding we receive for projects to develop snooker in this country is minimal compared to other sports that compete in the Olympics.”

“It’s always a struggle when you see snooker clubs closing and being converted into apartments. Thankfully we have stopped the decline, new ones are opening but it’s a constant cycle. We should have a national training centre with a national academy. That’s high on our agenda and I think it would change everything.”

The aim of launching snooker – classified as a precision sport by the International Olympic Committee – in Brisbane in 2032 is seen as “realistic” after previous problems with other billiards sports moved closer to being resolved following the split of the World Snooker Federation.

It is possible that snooker could even return to the Paralympics before 2032. Although snooker has never been part of the Olympic Games, it was one of the first Paralympic disciplines in 1960 and was held until its last event in Seoul in 1988.

Since the founding of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) 100 years ago, chess has been a marginal topic at the Olympic Games, although the governing body remains committed to playing a role in future Olympic Games.

A FIDE spokesperson told Telegraph Sport: “There are many reasons for including chess in the Olympic Games: it is a competitive sport with national and international competition, it requires skill and extensive training, it has a rich history and it is hugely popular and recognised worldwide.

“As with Olympic sports, chess has doping controls. While chess is primarily a mental exercise, it also requires significant physical endurance, and many top players train physically to improve their endurance and manage stress. We firmly believe that chess deserves a place in the Olympic Games, and we are confident that we will one day achieve that goal.”

And what about darts? Darts is now a major sport in the UK and has a global reach that might surprise those who only tune in at Christmas for the PDC World Darts Championship. More and more top players are calling for the sport to be included in the sport, including world number one Luke Humphries.

“At the moment in the UK it’s probably the second or third most popular sport and in many other countries it’s growing and becoming more popular,” he said. “So yes, it’s probably the biggest sport not in the Olympics and it probably should be.”

This means that from 2032 onwards you could spend your personal Olympic marathon on the couch following the action as it moves from the rowing lake to the chess table or from the velodrome to the snooker hall.

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