the NFL and the IFAF are working to integrate flag foot into the Olympic program in Los Angeles

If flag football is successful in being added to the schedule for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent said Wednesday that the league will not prevent NFL players from vying for a spot in their national team.

« Absolutely…that’s what it’s all about: the choices, and the options of each player »said former NFL player Troy Vincent during an online press conference as part of the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, where flag football is making its debut in this global multi-sport event.

Derived from American football, flag football is played on a smaller 70-yard field with two teams of five players and is characterized by no contact and two. The matches last less than an hour with two periods of twenty minutes. Practiced in a hundred countries, it is very popular with young people.

“It is the ultimate recognition for any athlete to participate in the Olympics, to represent his country. So yes, we believe in it, and you want this competition to be open to all for the best to compete with the best, to represent their flag. he continued.

A partnership between the NFL and IFAF

To lend weight to this bid with the Los Angeles 2028 Games Organizing Committee (IOC), the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) and the National Football League (NFL) have signed a unique partnership through a lobbying group called “Vision2028”.

“Flag football is a rising sport in the world for good reasons. It’s fast, creative, requires a lot of physical skills and it’s fun. It’s the quintessential American sport, but with a Californian spirit. The flag will be a defining choice for Los Angeles 2028 which will embody the vision of the Olympic Games of a new era, blending sport and entertainment.”explains Pierre Trochet, French president of the International Federation of American Football, in a press release.

Eight women’s and eight men’s flag football teams representing 10 countries from three continents compete at the 2022 World Games in Birmingham.

The governing body also said flag football is adaptable to a wide range of venues – stadiums, indoor arenas and temporary urban sports parks – making it a flexible and inexpensive project for organizers of multi-sport events.