Flag football will be played for the first time at an international multi-sport event next week at the World Games in Birmingham, Alabama.
The NFL may be the biggest fan of the sport.
“When we talk about the future of football, there is no doubt about the flag,” NFL CEO Troy Vincent told The Associated Press. “Especially when asked what the next 100 years will look like when we look at the flag, not professional football, in the last 24 months. This combination and true “football for all” slogan. There is a place for everyone in flag football,” he said.
Vincent points to an increasing number of men and women playing flag football around the world. He encouraged six states – Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and New York – to impose sanctions on flag football as a college sport, and 20 other states to engage in the piloting process for penalties.
Some NFL clubs support high schools in their states to fund the initiative. In May, the Atlanta Falcons unveiled the women’s flag wall in their stadium. The league reported that 450 schools across the country and more than 10,000 girls participated in flag football.
This was an important step forward when the National Intercollegiate Athletic Association announced women’s flag football as a new sport in 2020. The National Junior College Athletic Association did the same.
“It’s a cost-effective sport that anyone can play,” Vincent said.
With the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles in mind, the NFL has partnered with the International Federation of American Football to bring flagship football to the World Games.
“The ultimate goal is to make flag football an Olympic sport,” said Vincent.
Sixteen of the world’s best football teams will compete for gold for the first time at the World Games, which kick off at Birmingham’s historic Legion Field on Sunday. Flag football is one of 33 sports included in the Olympic-style multi-sport event program following its inclusion by the International World Games Association in 2020.
“We are extremely pleased that flagship football is joining the official World Games sports program for the first time,” said IFAF President Pierre Trochet. “This is an important milestone in the evolution of the sport and a great opportunity to showcase the flag as a truly world class international sport.”
The World Games returned to the United States for the first time since 1981. The United States men’s and women’s teams qualified for the tournament by winning the gold medal at the 2021 IFAF World Championships in Jerusalem in December. A record 39 national teams from four continents competed. The remaining 14 teams took their places in the IFAF international qualification process.
Austria, France, Italy, Mexico and Panama also qualified for the men’s and women’s teams. Denmark and Germany have outstanding men’s teams. Brazil and Japan have two more women’s teams.
“Football is not something we dominate as it is America’s national pastime,” Vincent said. “You watch these boys and girls playing in another country. They came to play. It is a transition sport. It is a cross-functional sport. The best flag players come from football, lacrosse, cricket because they are men and women of tremendous efficiency. This is a dynamic space game. You don’t need to play for years. you can build. You can transfer the skills you learned in football, lacrosse, cricket to flag football.”
Source: Breitbart
