Flag football — yes, flag football — will be part of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after being approved in a vote by the International Olympic Committee on Monday. Other new sports, including squash and lacrosse, were also officially added, while baseball/softball and cricket were given the green light to return.
Although these may seem unusual compared to more traditional events such as basketball, gymnastics and swimming, the Olympics have been increasing in recent years. Ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, new sports were added – including skateboarding, surfing, sport climbing, karate, 3-on-3 basketball and freestyle BMX cycling. Breaking, a new sport for the 2024 Paris Olympics, will not return in 2028.
Karate, kickboxing and motorsports were the other finalists for LA. Surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing will return in 2028.
LA28 Chairman Casey Wasserman said the five additions “spark the imagination on the field and drive the culture off it.”
“They are relevant, innovative and community-focused and are played in backyards, schoolyards, community centers, stadiums and parks across the United States and around the world,” Wasserman said in a statement. “They will bring new athletes to the Games, engage diverse fan bases and expand the Games’ presence in digital spaces, further strengthening LA28’s mission to provide an unparalleled experience.”
How exactly did this happen and what was the process of making it a reality? Here’s what you need to know:
What exactly does it take to become an Olympic sport?
To become an Olympic sport, a discipline must meet all the requirements of the International Olympic Committee Charter. This includes the need for an association that regulates sport worldwide, regularly organizes world and continental championships and is committed to promoting young talent. The sport must also meet World Anti-Doping Agency standards.
If these requirements are met, federations can apply to the IOC for future inclusion in the Games. A voting process is then initiated for approval.
Flag football, for example, is governed worldwide by the International Federation of American Football.
The sport made its international multisport event debut at the 2022 World Games. This year, IFAF held regional championships for all continents for the first time in advance of the 2024 IFAF Flag Football World Championships in Lahti, Finland.
In recent years, the IFAF has “doubled down” on governance issues such as anti-doping measures, said USA Football CEO Scott Hallenbeck, as well as on inclusion strategies.
“(Inclusion) is a significant step forward for football,” Hallenbeck said. “Most of the world sees this as just an American sport and primarily a men’s sport.”
The IFAF now hosts championships in women’s tackle and women’s flagfighting and runs youth development programs in various countries around the world.
According to the IFAF, an estimated 20 million people in more than 100 countries currently play flag football. As for the United States specifically, a 2022 participation study by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association found that 7.1 million people participated in flag football, while seven states have sanctioned girls’ flag football as a varsity sport.
Will new sports impact core sports and their athletes?
Yes, possibly. According to the IOC, around 10,500 athletes from 206 national Olympic committees will compete at the Paris Games in 2024 – and at the Winter Games there are usually around 2,900 athletes from more than 80 NOCs. Adding more sports and countries could reduce other sports or competitors.
Flag football’s relatively tight rosters were a factor in the decision to include it in the games – more on that later.
The process of adding flag football to the Olympics
The effort to bring football to the Olympics actually began about two decades ago with the idea of American tackle football, Hallenbeck said.
But Hallenbeck said he realized around 2018 – given sports like rugby, which have multiple disciplines with different numbers of players on the field (15s rather than 7s) – that organizers were looking at flag football as a possible alternative to Tackle had to be considered and explored.
“There has been a lot more receptivity to the five-on-five flag,” Hallenbeck said, partly due to the IOC’s cap on the number of athletes at the Summer Games.
The IOC was “interested” in the idea of adding American football, and then the next step was to introduce the NFL around 2019.
While the pandemic stalled efforts for about a year, “all the stars were aligned” and officials faced LA 2028 organizers and the IOC with “a real enthusiasm for the idea of supporting flag football at the Games ” opposite.
Hallenbeck, who previously worked for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and took his current position in 2005, said he personally considers this “a lasting moment.”
“I’ve always wanted to position USA Football as the governing body of soccer, and of course the way to do that is to see your sport – or a discipline of your sport – in the Olympics,” he said. “It’s a dream come true.”
Why is the NFL involved?
Members of the NFL have specifically advocated for flag football in the Olympics as part of the league’s efforts to make football a global game.
Peter O’Reilly, executive vice president of the NFL, told Portal earlier this month: “A number of great young stars in the league have said how great it would be to represent their country and play for the flag.”
“We couldn’t be more dedicated to flag football overall, as it is an accessible, incredibly fast-growing discipline of our sport that we believe will help us grow,” he added. “The LA Olympics would be a huge boost for flag football around the world and in this country.”
Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, wrote an op-ed in July encouraging the sport’s development because it is non-contact, inexpensive and easy to learn.
“Girls, women, people with disabilities, youth who can’t afford helmets and pads – anyone who wants to play football can participate. They can even aspire to an elite level,” said the five-time Pro Bowler in history. “If you think flags belong in the same discussion as two-handed touch or family Thanksgiving games, listen to the young women who have discovered the sport and are now competing for varsity teams in their hometowns.
“They are strong competitors. You want to compete against the best of the best. Girls are leading the way in making flag football one of the fastest growing sports today.”
According to Vincent, about 474,000 girls under 17 played flag last year – 63 percent more than in 2019. The NFL even changed its Pro Bowl format last season to include three seven-on-seven flag football games instead of one tackle -Football game.
“USA Football has worked closely with the NFL and the NFL Players Association throughout our existence (nearly 20 years),” Hallenbeck said.
USA Football has contacted the NFL about including flag football in the Olympics for several reasons, including that it would likely be easier to allow from an athlete numbers standpoint (five-a-side). Five vs. 11-on-11). , from the perspective of inclusivity and the ease of spreading the sport around the world.
“In short, without the NFL we probably wouldn’t see this day,” Hallenbeck said. “They were strong – from Roger Goodell to the owners to the NFL clubs – they all certainly championed the concept of flag football in the Olympics and as an opportunity to promote the sport around the world.”
All of the work went through the international association and national governing bodies around the world, but the NFL’s involvement was “probably the linchpin,” Hallenbeck said. “That’s when things really started.”
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Official 5-on-5 Flag Football Rules
About the USA Football Rulebook:
Field size
The field is 25 yards by 50 yards with two 10-yard end zones, making a total field size of 25 yards by 70 yards.
Scoring Basics
As in tackle football, a touchdown is worth six points. Although there are no kickers, after touchdowns, teams can go for an extra point with a pass play from the 5-yard line or go for 2 points with a run or pass from the 10-yard line. The team that scored a touchdown must declare before the snap whether they want to attempt a one-point or two-point conversion.
In extra time, a coin toss decides which team will act first on offense or defense. Each team takes turns receiving a play from the defense’s 5-yard line for 1 point or from the defense’s 10-yard line for 2 points. If the second attacking team fails to beat or keep up with the first team in overtime, the team that was first on offense wins.
Timed coordination
Adult five-on-five games consist of two 20-minute halves. Each time the ball is spotted, a team has 30 seconds to hit it. In addition to injuries, the “Pro-Style” watch is stopped for the following reasons:
Who will take part?
There will be separate men’s and women’s disciplines at the Olympic Games. The pool of athletes is “dynamic and fascinating” and has different sporting backgrounds, said Hallenbeck.
For men, this also includes tackle football, but also basketball, volleyball and track and field. Flag football takes up the concept of “talent transfer” from other top sports, said Hallenbeck.
For women, flag football is quickly developing into an independent discipline. There are even discussions underway with the NCAA to designate women’s flag football as an emerging sport, Hallenbeck added.
And USA Football is working to develop the first “high performance pathway” specifically for flag football.
“The honest truth is that flag is played at intramural levels or adult weekend tournaments, but this is a truly elite pathway that, like any other sport, focuses on high performance development,” Hallenbeck said.
Key current U.S. national team members to watch:
- On the men’s team, QB/C Housh Doucette, WR/DB Bruce Mapp
- On the women’s team: QB/WR Vanita Krouch (pictured above), WR/DB Jo Overstreet, DB/C Ashlea Klam
So could NFL players actually end up on Olympic flag football rosters? Hallenbeck said USA Football is “certainly extremely interested and excited about how this might work,” noting that many details surrounding these rules need to be worked out between the NFL and the NFL Players Association.
“Talking to both parties shows enthusiasm and interest in exploring this, but that’s about it,” Hallenbeck said. “It’s super exciting and we’re definitely open to it, but there are still a lot of things that need to be sorted out to see if this will be feasible for everyone involved.”
Biggest hurdles to public acceptance
Hallenbeck understands that the shattering of its reputation as a recreational, amateur and intramural sport presents a real hurdle for flag football in gaining public approval before games.
“That’s it,” Hallenbeck said, “but now there’s a chance to build on it.”
“We used flag as part of our football development model, so at the youth (youth level) as an entry point into playing football and you can progress from playing flag to tackling, so it has a lot of strategic adjustments,” Hallenbeck said . Now the sport wants to move on to establishing “truly top-notch, world-class athletes” – and that has been evident at both World Championship and continental levels over the last five years.
“It’s a different style of football. Yes, there’s passing and catching and route running and backpedaling – mostly referring to quarterbacks, receivers and defensive backs – but it’s dips and spins and those incredibly quick cutting moves that make flagging very difficult.” Hallenbeck said. In addition to emphasizing the high scoring nature of the sport.
“The game proves itself when people can see it at this level. People are falling in love with the sport.”
(Top photos: Frazer Harrison / Getty Images and USA Football)