Flag Football

NFL Considers Backers for Pro Flag Football Leagues Ahead of LA28

April 2, 2025 by Tara S

Flag football was already a significant priority for the NFL. Now, the sport is about to get another boost in that accelerating development.

By Eric Fisher | Front Office Sports

ALM BEACH, Fla. — The National Football League is actively fielding inbound interest from multiple potential business partners that would be involved in a professional flag football league, sources said. The most probable structure at this point would be an entity that would be heavily supported by, but not operated by, the NFL.

NFL-supported professional flag football leagues, for both men and women, are unquestionably forthcoming. It’s just a matter of when, with soon after the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles becoming an increasingly likely timetable.

The league has made no secret of its intense interest in promoting flag football, both in a youth participation context and a professional one—particularly in the wake of the inclusion of the sport in the 2028 Games and the potential involvement of NFL players there. Now, further steps are beginning to take shape.

“Flag is real. All levels of flag are real. I’m really, personally, bullish on this,” said Chiefs president Mark Donovan. “When you add in all the pieces that are coming, including the things happening around women’s sports, the investment going into that, I think flag is poised to be enormous.”

Donovan continued in his view that the 2028 Olympics will be a watershed moment for the development of flag football, with “rumblings and the creation” of the pro leagues likely preceding that event, and the actual entities following.

“I think the Olympics piece is a compelling point for any [NFL team] owner,” Donovan said. “You’re going to see us get aggressive in establishing the organizing bodies, the accreditations. … There are plenty of people who would want to invest in [this].”

Flag football is a prominent part of the NFL annual meeting being held here this week, with the three-day session kicked off in part by a session focused on women’s sports and flag football that included WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark, women’s tennis icon Serena Williams, and former Giants quarterback Eli Manning.

“It was interesting to hear Caitlin say, ‘If flag football was around when I was growing up, I might not be a basketball player,’” said Chiefs owner Clark Hunt.

NFL EVP of club business Peter O’Reilly similarly reiterated on Monday the importance of flag football to the league.

“It’s an entry point and the way we can scale our game. It’s girls and boys in schools,” O’Reilly said. “Since that Olympic announcement a couple of years ago, investment around the world in flag programs is huge. That obviously has a participation impact, but it also has a fandom impact in a very real way.”

The establishment of professional flag football leagues will also very likely be joined by media contracts fetching interest from multiple bidders.

IOC Session approves LA28’s proposal for five additional sports

October 18, 2023 by Tara S

By: International Olympic Committee

Baseball/softball, cricket (T20), flag football, lacrosse (sixes) and squash have been officially included as additional sports on the programme for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 (LA28). The decision has been taken by the 141st Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The five sports were proposed by the LA28 Organising Committee as a package for their edition of the Games only, and were reviewed and supported by the IOC’s Olympic Programme Commission (OPC) and Executive Board (EB).

For baseball and softball, cricket and lacrosse it will be a return to the Olympic Games, while flag football and squash will be making their Olympic debut in LA.

Baseball and softball have been part of the programme at several editions of the Olympic Games, most recently at Tokyo 2020.
Cricket was on the programme for the Olympic Games Paris 1900.
Lacrosse was included on the programme at St Louis 1904 and London 1908.
Flag football and squash will make their Olympic debut at LA28.

“The choice of these five new sports is in line with the American sports culture and will showcase iconic American sports to the world, while bringing international sports to the United States. These sports will make the Olympic Games LA28 unique,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “Their inclusion will allow the Olympic Movement to engage with new athlete and fan communities in the US and globally.”

“I have long believed that we have an incredible opportunity in Los Angeles to create the most compelling Games, not just for us, but for the world. Our Olympic sport programme, in its entirety, reflects this belief,” said LA28 Chairperson Casey Wasserman. “We are excited to embark on game-changing collaborations with major professional leagues that will unlock massive opportunities to amplify the Olympic and Paralympic story and captivate new audiences.”

This selection of sports is the result of a thorough process and analysis based on evaluation criteria set out before the process began, including gender equality. It considered the utilisation of existing facilities, involving a wide range of sports communities both in the United States and globally, and incorporating some of the most popular sports in the United States and across the globe.

Modern pentathlon and weightlifting

The IOC Session also supported the recommendations made by the IOC EB concerning the status of modern pentathlon and weightlifting, which were not part of the initial sports programme for LA28.

Modern pentathlon: The IOC Session endorsed the recommendation from the IOC EB to include modern pentathlon on the LA28 sports programme, acknowledging the replacement of horse riding with obstacle racing and the optimisation work conducted by the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) to reduce costs and complexity. As noted by the IOC EB, it is essential for the UIPM to continue to implement the necessary changes in governance and modernise as an organisation. Without the replacement of horse riding with obstacle racing, the sport would not have been included in the programme.
Weightlifting: The IOC Session accepted the IOC EB’s recommendation to include weightlifting on the LA28 sports programme following the decision of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) to delegate its anti-doping management to the International Testing Agency (ITA), and its sanctioning to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) at least until the end of 2028. The effectiveness of the anti-doping programmes for the Paris 2024 Olympic qualification and Olympic competition will continue to be closely monitored by the IOC, as will the implementation of the governance and cultural changes adopted by the IWF.

Following the IOC Session decision to withdraw recognition of the International Boxing Association (IBA), the IOC has not recognised another governing body for Olympic boxing. Therefore, the IOC EB decided that any decision regarding the inclusion of boxing on the LA28 sports programme is put on hold, so there was no discussion of this by the IOC Session.

The other 28 sports that are part of the LA28 Olympic programme were approved by the IOC Session in February 2022.

The discipline programme was approved by the IOC EB on 13 October 2023, while the programme of events and athlete quotas will be finalised after Paris 2024. The OPC will now work on ensuring that the final athlete quota numbers for the Olympic Games LA28 remain reasonable and below the overall quota for Tokyo 2020.

Southern California high school girls’ flag football teams make official debut as popularity continues to rise

September 19, 2023 by Tara S

By: Will Conybeare, Patrick O’Connor | KTLA5

Thousand Oaks and Agoura High Schools have been battling on the gridiron since the 1960s in boys football, but a new group of players took to the field on Thursday.

Girls flag football was recently sanctioned as a high school sport in California after a unanimous vote from the California Interscholastic Federation last spring.

According to Thousand Oaks High School girls football head coach Mike Leibin, the program was popular from the start.

“The second day we got out here, we had 51 girls,” he said. “Obviously there’s a big interest…it’s popped up at virtually every school.”

Coaches aren’t the only ones going all in on the gridiron; the girls are having a blast too.

“It’s nice to have another opportunity and learn new skills,” said Morgan Humphrey, who plays running back and strong safety for Thousand Oaks.

Unlike the boys, there is no blocking, tackling or kicking in the girls’ game. Teams play seven-on-seven on an 80-yard field, and when a touchdown is scored, the girls can either attempt a one-point conversion play from the three yard line or a two-point conversion play from 10 yards out.

Other than that, it’s just football, trash talk included.

“You can definitely hear a little bit of trash talking here and there,” said Humphrey, who now holds the school record with three interceptions in one game. “But I think that’s fun.”

Southern California girls flag football teams make official debut — Thousand Oaks High School girls flag football coach Mike Leibin addresses his team in Thousand Oaks, California on Sept. 15, 2023. (KTLA)

The playbooks traditionally used by high school boys football teams translate well to the girls, evidenced by a well-executed hook-and-ladder by Thousand Oaks that resulted in a 40-yard gain.

“On offense, we’re running four verticals, tosses and sweeps,” Leibin said. “On defense, we play a true cover two…all stuff that translates to the boys’ game.”

Leibin, who spent 10 of his 25 years as a head coach in Ventura County with the Thousand Oaks High School’s boys team, says that he loves his new role as head of the girls team, and he credits that to being the father of two daughters.

Despite stepping down as Thousand Oaks’ head coach in 2018 so he could spend time with his daughters, Leibin knew he had to jump at the opportunity to coach the girls.

“Somebody came out to practice [and said] ‘I can tell instantly that when you’re coaching those girls, you’re talking to your daughters’,” he said. “So, that’s definitely helped.”

There were some struggles at the beginning; Leibin and assistant coach Jason Brown recall having to teach the girls — many of whom are experienced athletes in other sports — some of the basic fundamentals of football.

“We had to teach them how to catch,” Leibin said. “I have a ton of great soccer players on my team who have never used their hands in their life!”

And while the boys’ side of high school football has grown into a multi-million-dollar industry, these girls just want to have fun.

“They aren’t out here trying to get a scholarship,” Leibin said. “They’re out here in the purest form…they want to come out and compete and learn a sport and play together, and as a coach, that’s the dream.”

get a scholarship,” Leibin said. “They’re out here in the purest form…they want to come out and compete and learn a sport and play together, and as a coach, that’s the dream.”

These Girls Are Ready For Some Football

September 20, 2021 by Tara S

Oxford preparing for its first season of girls flag football, open its season at home Tuesday night

By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today

Girls flag football got underway in Alabama this week. Oxford plays its historic first games next Tuesday in a three-team date at Lamar Field.

All of the Lady Jackets’ games will be three-team affairs. They play at home twice this 12-game season – Tuesday and the final week of the regular season Oct. 28. A statewide, one-classification championship game will be played the Wednesday of the Super 7.

“It’s been fun,” Oxford coach Wes Brooks said of the run-up to the season opener. “You think about a girl her whole lifetime thinking what it’s like to play football and now they’re getting that opportunity.”

Nearly 60 schools around the state have declared to play the sport in this first year it’s being offered by the AHSAA. Oxford and Anniston are the only teams in Calhoun County on that list, but they will not be playing each other.

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