| Flag football at the Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC Code | FFB |
| Governing body | IFAF |
| Events | 2 (men: 1; women: 1) |
| Summer Olympics | |
| |
The2028 Summer Olympics will introduce the sport offlag football for the first time. Two events, one for men and one for women, will be held. Flag football, anon-contact variant ofAmerican football in which players remove flags attached to the ball carrier instead oftackling them, was previously contested at the2022 World Games and was featured at the2025 World Games.
Out of themajor professional sports in the United States, onlyAmerican football has never been an official sport at theOlympic Games.[1] It has been ademonstration sport at theSummer Olympic Games twice: at the1904 Summer Olympics, several games were played atFrancis Olympic Field betweencollege football teams, and the status of these matches as Olympic is dubious; and at the1932 Summer Olympics,one game was played between East and West All-Stars.[2][3] Althoughseveral American football players have been Olympians, American football itself has never been an official Olympic sport.[4][5] The sport is widely considered as incompatible with the Olympics for several reasons, among them the high risk of injury, inconvenience in the time period the games are held and its lack of global popularity.[6] American football was also an invitational/demonstration sport at the2005 World Games and2017 World Games.
In 2013, theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) gave provisional recognition to theInternational Federation of American Football (IFAF), setting up a possible future vote for the sport to be at the games.[7] The IFAF applied to the Olympics for 2020, but was denied, with controversy in the2015 IFAF World Championship contributing to the decision.[4][8]
After American football was declined as an Olympic sport, the IFAF launched efforts to introduceflag football, a non-contact variant of the sport where players pull off flags from the ball carrier instead oftackling them.[9][10] TheNational Football League (NFL) began to push for the sport to be held at the2028 Summer Olympics inLos Angeles as a way to showcase the sport and boost its global popularity.[11][12] In 2022, they jointly launched the group "Vision28" to lobby for flag football to be added to the program.[13] The NFL and IFAF considered flag football a viable alternative to American football for its limited contact, low costs, and due to it being playable by both men and women.[14][15]
AtSuper Bowl LVII, the NFL held a five-on-five flag football event between players from the Mexican and American national teams in front of Olympic officials, and the sport was featured at the2022 and2025 World Games.[12][16] It moved closer to being at the Olympics when the IOC Executive Board gave the IFAF approval to be considered as an optional sport at the IOC Session in March 2023.[17] By that August, flag football was one of nine sports in consideration for the 2028 games, along withcricket,motorsport,baseball/softball,karate,breakdancing,kickboxing,lacrosse andsquash.[18] In early September, the list of sports was finalized by the IOC[19] and in mid-October, flag football was approved by the IOC at their meeting inMumbai,India, as one of five additions to the 2028 program, along with cricket, squash, baseball / softball and lacrosse, with only two out of 90 members voting "no".[20] The approved version will feature two events, one for men and one for women, with the games being played five-on-five on a 50-yard field with nolinemen.[21][22][23]
Philadelphia Eagles quarterbackJalen Hurts was named the sport's ambassador for the 2028 Summer Olympics, and featured in an NFL teaser where he lit the torch at theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum by throwing a flaming football.[24] CommissionerRoger Goodell stated that there had been interest from NFL players in participating in the tournament, and that he would be working with theNational Football League Players Association (NFLPA) to secure an agreement.[25][26] In May 2025, theCanadian Football League (CFL) and theCanadian Football League Players Association (CFLPA) allowed their players to participate in the Olympics.[27] Also that month, the NFL officially allowed their players to play in the Olympics, with the league hoping to showcase its sport on the global stage.[28]
| Summer sports | |
|---|---|
| Winter sports | |
| 2026 optional | |
| 2028 optional | |
| Past sports | |
| Demonstration sports | |
| Unofficial sports |
|
InternationalAmerican football (flag football) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Africa |  | |
| Asia | ||
| Americas | ||
| Europe | ||
| Oceania | ||
