Flag football has been announced as a new sport for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. It’s been announced alongside 4 other sports that will also debut in 2028 which include Cricket, lacrosse, softball-baseball and squash.
For those who aren’t quite familiar with the sport, it is a non-contact version of American football. All players wear a tag on both side of their hips. To stop an attacking play, the defending team must rip one tag off an opponent player who has the ball in their hand. The game is also predominantly played in a 5v5 format and a much smaller pitch.
Sellwood highlighted the use of having flag football. “Good way for women to get involved in American football as it isn’t accessible at the moment.”
Flag football is welcoming to people of all ages and gender. It’s very common to see both genders and a mix of ages in a team. This is what makes the sport what it is and why flag is the fastest growing format of the game.
“We’re looking at having two teams and establish a women’s team.” shows how the sport is beginning to grow.
With how fast the sport is moving now, Daniel revealed that his team are starting to look to expand their brand and get as many people on board as possible. Daniel also mentioned that “Several teachers are looking at running flag at school now” This would be huge, and Daniel believes that “(school) gets people involved in sports”.
One of the biggest things that may hurt flag football as a growing sport though is that people do not like change. A lot of people will struggle to see what flag football is and look over it as a softer version of American football. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Daniel let us know how “It’s very different when you actually get playing it”. He also went on to say, “It’s a different sport, it doesn’t have to be one or another.”
Daniel told us how the Cheltenham Neptunes were founded, “The chairman Set the team up because he liked American football and thought it would be a good way to have a chuck around with some mates”. Daniel also said, “It’s crazy to look back” The rapid rise of the club has shocked all within and as flag football gets bigger the Neptunes are only going to rise with it.
