The Case for Flag Football As an Olympic Sport

The Olympics are in contrast to some other wearing opposition on the planet. For sixteen days, over 300 activities representing 35 sports and each u. S. On earth compete to take domestic 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 as even though tackle and flag football may be Olympic sports with the aid of the 12 months 2024, however, 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 into the Olympics has not been a clean adventure, observed with the aid of why we agree with flag soccer to be the logical answer and preference as a destiny Olympic game.

72608b7fe707cb927474d33422833a1f.jpg (1280×720)

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 very much like that of Rugby. With the big numbers of members of each group, the “gender equality” codecs wherein each ladies and men take 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 its fee to equip 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 look how either game might be an awesome match for the Summer Olympics. Rugby is lots like Soccer in that very little is wanted to play the sport in phrases of equipment and exercise at the base level and has a much larger international following. This, amongst different reasons, has currently allowed Rugby to be cleared for the Olympics starting in 2016 by using converting the traditional fashion to a less traditional “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

Related Articles : 

Even an increasing number of high school, university, and pro teams are beginning to reduce the number of touch practices, nonetheless wearing the likes of 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 a number of the worries for the game related to it being completely standard into 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 occur incomparable brain accidents later in existence for youngsters examined between the ages of eight-thirteen. Many researchers are suggesting children shouldn’t be playing soccer at all, suggesting that kids’ heads are “a bigger a part of their frame, and their necks aren’t as robust as adults’ necks. So children may be at a more 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 teenager’s sport in the United States, significantly outpacing the growth of traditional tackle football. Many individual excessive faculties are transferring to flag football over the address, getting other colleges in their areas to observe match developing 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 became interviewed using Peter King for NBC’s pregame display and had a few sturdy words on why he believes flag soccer is the solution.

“I sense like flag football can save football,” Brees said. Brees coaches his son’s flag football crew and played flag soccer himself through junior excessive, by no means playing tackle soccer until excessive school. “I experience like (flag soccer) is a wonderful introductory technique for a variety of children into soccer,” Brees referred to. “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 once more. I experienced like when you positioned the pads on, there are just so many different factors to the sport, and you are at the mercy of the instruct in several cases. And to be honest, I do not suppose sufficient coaches are well-versed sufficient 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 comparable sentiments as nicely, making a song praises for 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 own identification and purpose, and it’s time we diagnosed that distinction.

Internationally it’s miles gaining a reputation as nicely, plenty quicker it appears than traditional American soccer. The barrier to access is a lot 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 collaborating simply on the primary school degree. International groups are starting to make the trip to some of the greater popular American flag soccer tournaments, with representation from Panama, Indonesia, Bahamas, Mexico, Canada, and more unusual.

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

At an adult level, it became a documented year for the sport of 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 calendar yr. Sponsors have started taking be aware 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. Women’s participation is at an all-time high, mirroring its reputation on the young people level. It is the favored layout of play for American football in maximum 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 wherein 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 it is match lineup, met this preferred and changed into authorized in 2012, and gained a provisional reputation in 2014. This may want to pave the manner for American soccer to be blanketed as a reliable recreation, and flag soccer as probable a discipline of said sport, but the IFAF has because faced setbacks due to alleged scandal, event mismanagement, and misappropriation of price range that can not bode properly for the sports activities inclusion short term. Fortunately, in 2007, the IOC adopted a brand new, greater flexible rule set allowing applications to be up for evaluation 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 ought to take region not less than 6 years before scheduled Olympic video games.edencthe

Jessica J. Underwood
Subtly charming explorer. Pop culture practitioner. Creator. Web guru. Food advocate. Typical travel maven. Zombie fanatic. Problem solver. Was quite successful at developing wooden tops in the aftermarket. A real dynamo when it comes to exporting glucose in Bethesda, MD. Had moderate success managing action figures in New York, NY. Set new standards for selling crayon art in Salisbury, MD. In 2009 I was getting my feet wet with sock monkeys for the underprivileged. Spoke at an international conference about merchandising toy elephants in Nigeria.