The Olympic Games in 2028 are to be held in Los Angeles. There is great excitement about the inclusion of men’s and women’s flag football in the program. Flag football’s popularity is growing constantly in the U.S. and across the world. The Olympic Games have expanded in recent years to include new sports like skateboarding and surfing. Including flag football will bring new athletes and fan bases to the games.
What is flag football?
Flag football is a short, fast, non-contact sport. It is less physical than traditional football. The inclusive format allows many people of all ages and genders to play. Almost 20 million people in over 100 countries on six continents play the game. Defenders don’t tackle ball carriers but stop the play by removing a flag from their waists. This significantly reduces risks of injury compared to traditional American football where tackling is a fundamental aspect of the game.
Both sports share advancing downfield with strategic plays and scoring touchdowns. They differ not only in physicality but in other ways like team size, field size, and rules about contact and passing plays.
NFL flag leagues give young men and women the opportunity to develop their football skills in an inclusive environment. Twelve states currently sanction flag football as a high school varsity sport for girls. Flag football is one of the fastest growing global sports and LA28 will spotlight it at the highest level.
According to MarketWatch, betting on flag football is becoming popular. Betting online is allowed in Pennsylvania on casino games and sports. While many states in the U.S. have legalized sports betting, only a few allow online gambling for casino games.
The handover
The NFL, in partnership with the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) and LA28, held a handover between Paris and Los Angeles. It featured Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts who is a Global Flag Football Ambassador.
A video shows Hurts with a flaming football lighting the LA Coliseum torch. He is ridiculously strong and follows an intensive training program that includes strength, cardio, and agility training. You need to include all these types of exercises if you want to reach your fitness goals.
Inclusion of flag football in the 2028 Olympics
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced in October 2023 that flag football would be included in LA28. The young, fast, and creative game is played by some incredible young athletes. The inclusion is likely to drive the international popularity of the game. Looking at the results of previous Olympic games shows how inclusion can boost the popularity of a sport worldwide.
A spotlight on flag football
The NFL and IFAF were spotlighting football throughout the summer. At the NFL Flag Championships, about 2,800 players from across the world competed in Hall of Fame Village in Canton, Ohio.
The Pro Bowl Games will return to Orlando, Florida in 2025. Top players in the NFL will compete in skills competitions on and off the field. A flag football game will take place at the Camping World Stadium.
2024 Flag Football World Championships
The 2024 IFAF Flag Football World Championship took place in August in Lahti and Pajulahti, Finland. Elite talent representing 32 nations on five continents took part. Both the U.S. Men’s and Women’s national teams defended their titles and won. The men defeated Austria, and the women defeated Mexico. This was the largest-ever competition held by IFAF.
Accessible and inclusive
Youth participation in sports may have declined over the past decade. However, this is not the case with flag football which has become one of the fastest growing youth sports in America. The NFL believes that including it in the Olympics will highlight its accessibility and inclusiveness. It also hopes that inclusion will help to unite the American football community and grow the game globally.
The growth of the sport has given opportunities to more women to attend college. It is also enabling young people to learn life skills, communication, teamwork, etc.
There isn’t anything bigger than the Olympics where the best athletes represent their countries in front of a global audience of billions of people.
