American football at the Olympic Games, but without dangerous tackles and collisions? Los Angeles seems to be getting the scoop on flag football in 2028, a variation on the most popular sport in the United States. Two teams of five, same oval ball and rules. However, the attacking party receives two ribbons on its belt. Taking away a ribbon replaces the tackle. New Olympic spectacle?
Flag football is one of five sports that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) wants to add to the Summer Games program in 2028. At the 141st Congress, which started this weekend in Mumbai, India, the approximately one hundred IOC members will decide on a proposal from the board to make cricket, baseball/softball, lacrosse and squash Olympics in addition to flag football in 2028.
“These proposals have been accepted by the board as a total package,” IOC President Thomas Bach said at a press conference after the board meeting prior to the congress. The purpose of additions to the program, according to Bach, is to show “iconic American sports to the world and at the same time to bring international sports to the US.”
Los Angeles 2028 only
The proposal to add the five sports to the Olympic program comes from the Los Angeles 2028 organizing committee. “We want to bring new athletes to the Games, engage new fan bases and increase the digital visibility of the Games,” said chairman Casey Wasserman of Los Angeles 2028 in the run-up to the IOC congress on the website Inside the Games. The addition of the five sports only applies to the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
Cricket, which returns after being an Olympic event in Paris in 1900, represents the greatest financial value to the IOC of the five sports added to the Games. According to the AP news agency, approximately 100 million dollars (approximately 95 million euros) will be involved in the sale of television rights to India, where cricket is the most popular sport.
“For the Olympic movement, this is an opportunity to connect with a community of fans and athletes to which we have had little or no access until now,” Bach said in India, where the Cricket World Cup is currently taking place.
At the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Games, cricket will be played by six teams for both men and women, in the shorter Twenty20 format. The US teams have been automatically seeded, meaning not all traditional cricket powerhouses can qualify – even India is not guaranteed Olympic participation.
The other added team sports also involve competition between six countries for women and men. Baseball (men) and softball (women) have previously been Olympic events, both were also on the Tokyo 2020 program but were canceled for Paris 2024.
Lacrosse, especially popular in Canada and the US, was officially an Olympic sport in Saint Louis 1904 and London 1908. In 2028 the ‘sixes format’ will be played, six against six. “We look forward to the opportunity to showcase lacrosse on the highest platform of international sport and inspire future generations,” said the international association World Lacrosse.
Squash will make its debut at the Games after previous unsuccessful attempts in 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024, as will the relatively unknown flag football. Bach praised the variant of American football, which, according to him, is growing in popularity worldwide “especially among girls and women.” “Flag football also avoids the injury challenges that American football faces.”
Questioned
The IOC board confirmed that in addition to the five additional sports, the previously discussed weightlifting and modern pentathlon will remain part of the program. However, in the modern pentathlon, the equestrian component is replaced by an obstacle race.
Boxing also remains part of the Games, although the IOC banned the international boxing association IBA earlier this year because it refuses to implement reforms in the areas of integrity and finance. “We have no problem with boxing,” Bach said in Mumbai. “We also have no problems with boxers. We just have a big problem with the governance of the sport.”
The addition of five sports in 2028 and the retention of other sports will exceed the existing limit of 10,500 athletes in Los Angeles. According to the Reuters news agency, the IOC will consider a new limit on the number of participants in 2025.