Now the men's and women's lacrosse teams will be able to compete at the World Games if they qualify to do so under the criteria set by World Lacrosse and approved by the IWGA.

It comes after Iroquois Nationals and other Haudenosaunee Nation people called for a boycott of the Games due to the team's exclusion from the Games, scheduled to take place in Birmingham in the American state of Alabama from July 7 to 17 in 2022.

These calls were taken seriously, which led to the IWGA Executive Committee recognising the indigenous group as a representative of the Haudenosaunee Nation.

The Iroquois Nationals are also a full member of World Lacrosse, the sport's global governing body, while the Haudenosaunee - a Confederacy of six First Nations: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora Nations - invented lacrosse.

In a joint statement, World Lacrosse said: "In making this request to the IWGA, WL emphasised the position of honour held by the Haudenosaunee Nation, as the originators of the game.

"The IWGA Executive Committee, Coordinating Committee and management team, recognising also the strong desire from the international lacrosse community to see the Iroquois Nationals compete in the World Games 2022, quickly reviewed the formal request from WL and rendered a favourable decision."

"On behalf of World Lacrosse, I would like to express our deep appreciation  to the leadership of the IWGA and The World Games 2022 Organising Committee for their favourable response to our request to allow the Haudenosaunee Nation to compete in the World Games 2022," said World Lacrosse President Sue Redfern.

"It is clear the leaders of these organisations are committed to upholding the highest ideals of international sport, and we are grateful."

The men's Iroquois Nationals team has won bronze medals at the past two World Lacrosse Championships in 2014 and 2018.