The Case for Flag Football As an Olympic Sport

The Olympics are in contrast to some other wearing opposition on the planet. Over 300 activities represented 35 sports for sixteen days, each of them you. S. On Earth, they compete to take their prized medals, and I have looked forward to the Summer Olympics every four years, considering that as far back as I can remember. But there’s continually been something missing. One of the United States’ most popular sports and a top 10 recreation in the course of the sector, it appears that even though tackle and flag football may be Olympic sports with the aid of the 12 months of 2024, difficult obstacles nevertheless remain for that to turn out to be a truth. First, we’re going to stroll through a few reasons why the street to getting American Football included in the Olympics has not been a clean adventure, observed with the aid of why we agree with flag soccer as the logical answer and preference as a destiny Olympic game.

WHY ISN’T AMERICAN FOOTBALL ALREADY AN OLYMPIC SPORT?

According to an editorial using NFL.Com, the biggest logistical troubles facing the game of American Football being protected in the Olympics are like that of Rugby. With the large number of members of each group, the “gender equality” codecs wherein each lady and man takes part in each recreation, and the compressed three-week schedule that would be hard with an extra bodily game like football and Rugby. Furthermore, for American Football, the barrier to access is high because of the fee for equipping all gamers with pads and equipment. Therefore, it has also been sluggish to undertake in many foreign international locations, mainly of the poorer range.

Knowing all this, it’s tough to see how either game might be an awesome match for the Summer Olympics. Rugby is much like soccer in that very little is wanted to play the sport in terms of equipment and exercise at the base level, and it has a much larger international following. This, amongst different reasons, has currently allowed Rugby to be cleared for the Olympics starting in 2016 by converting the traditional fashion to a less conventional “sevens” layout that is faster-paced with fewer humans, which could help carve a comparable path for American Football or flag football greater mainly.

TACKLE SAFETY CONCERNS

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Even an increasing number of high school, university, and pro teams are beginning to reduce the number of touch practices, nonetheless wearing smooth-padded headgear and shoulder pads for delivered safety. But what if we could restrict the contact players see earlier than excessive school and middle faculty while also addressing some of the worries for the game related to it being completely standard in the Olympics? There’s a variety of talk around the protection of address soccer, and now not just inside the NFL in which concussions are a primary problem. Starting as ways again as the teen’s soccer level, the latest evidence has surfaced assisting the idea that even short of a concussion, repeated head influences and collision can cause incomparable brain accidents later in existence for youngsters examined between the ages of eight and thirteen. Many researchers suggest children shouldn’t be playing soccer at all, suggesting that kids’ heads are “a bigger part of their frame, and their necks aren’t as robust as adults’. So children may have a higher chance of head and mind accidents than adults.”

DREW BREES BELIEVES FLAG FOOTBALL CAN SAVE FOOTBALL

As of 2015, studies show that flag football is the fastest-growing teenage sport in the United States, significantly outpacing the growth of traditional tackle football. Many individuals’ excessive faculties are transferring to flag football over the address, getting other colleges in their areas to observe matches and develop prepared leagues and divisions. It’s even an officially identified varsity sport in lots of states. With ladies specifically, flag football is a way to allow less difficult participation versus the bodily nature of tackle. And he is now not the handiest one. Recently, Drew Brees was interviewed using Peter King for NBC’s pregame display, and he had a few sturdy words about why he believes flag soccer is the solution.

“I sense like flag football can save football,” Brees said. Brees coached his son’s flag football crew and played flag soccer through junior high school, but he did not play tackle soccer until high school. “I experience like (flag soccer) is a wonderful introductory technique for a variety of children into soccer,” Brees said. “Otherwise, I experience it is spotless to move in and have a horrific experience early on after which now not need ever to play it again. I experienced that when you positioned the pads on, there are so many different factors to the sport, and you are at the mercy of the instructor in several cases. And to be honest, I do not suppose sufficient coaches are well-versed regarding the real basics of the sport, specifically while the pads pass on at the children stage.” Many other pro athletes and coaches have expressed similar sentiments as nicely, making a song praising the sport of flag soccer, and the upward push in the sport’s reputation echoes that.

Flag football isn’t a fluke or only a leisure development device that feeds into tackle soccer. It is a full-fledged movement with its identification and purpose, and it’s time we diagnosed that distinction.

Internationally, it’s miles gaining a reputation as nicely, and it appears plenty quicker than traditional American soccer. The barrier to access is much better with the need for complete pads and gear. In Mexico, for instance, flag soccer is booming in recognition, where most consider it to be the #2 game of soccer and final speedy, with an estimated 2. Five million kids are collaborating simply on the primary school degree. International groups are starting the trip to some of the more popular American flag soccer tournaments, with representation from Panama, Indonesia, Bahamas, Mexico, Canada, and more.

Everywhere you look, participation and hobby in the sports flag soccer are exploding.

At an adult level, it became a documented year for flag soccer. New predominant tournaments are stoning up internationally, seeing thousands of groups competing throughout all age groups, formats, and styles. Cash prizes were at an all-time high, expected to eclipse over $100,000 in group giveaways within the subsequent year. Sponsors have started being as properly, with the likes of EA Sports, Nerf, Hotels.Com, Red Bull, and different main brands seeing the cost and boom from flag football to reach their target audience in big numbers successfully sucmen’s participation is at an all-time high, mirroring its reputation on the young people’s level. It is the favored layout of play for American football in most Central to South American nations.

So, how does this all lead again to the Olympics and getting American soccer blanketed as a respectable game? First, let’s overview a bit of history and where the game stands today with the International Olympic Committee or IOC.

Historically, To be covered in the Olympic games as an indication of recreation, you have to have an International Federation and have held a World Championship opposition. The International Federation of American Football, ordinarily focused on tackle football but consists of the flag in its match lineup, met this preference, changed it into authorized in 2012, and gained a provisional reputation in 2014. This may pave the way for American soccer to be blanketed as a reliable recreation and flag soccer as probable a discipline of said sport. Still, the IFAF has faced setbacks due to alleged scandals, event mismanagement, and misappropriation of the price range that can not bode properly to include sports activities in the short term. Fortunately, in 2007, the IOC adopted a new, more flexible rule set allowing applications to be evaluated after each Olympics starting in 2020, clearing a course for all sports activities to offer their case for being covered by using prevailing a simple majority vote. This should take no less than six years before scheduled Olympic video games. even the