Shirt a Phobia

Sample Page

This article is about the sport. For the flag used to signal penalties, see Penalty flag.

Flag football is a variant of gridiron football (American football or Canadian football depending on location) where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier (“deflagging”) to end a down. In flag football, contact is limited between players. The sport has a strong amateur following with several national and international competitions each year sponsored by various associations but is most popularly played in America where it was invented. The international governing body for the sport is the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) with the International Woman’s Flag Football Association (IWFFA) governing the women’s game.

Flag football will be a discretionary event for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the first time any gridiron football code has been a full part of an Olympic program.[1]

History

The best available records to date point to the early 1940s during World War II as the sport’s starting point.[2][3] The game began as a recreational sport created for American military personnel to help them stay fit but was designed in a way that would help prevent them from becoming injured during wartime. At the time it was called “Touch and Tail football”, which then became “flag football” after the war ended.[4]

The first known recorded history of flag football can be traced to Fort Meade, Maryland, USA, which is now generally accepted as the sport’s birthplace. The first national flag football organization, the National Touch Football League (NTFL), was formed in the 1960s in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 1971, the league has had a national championship game.[5] Arizona teachers Porter Wilson and Norman Adams invented flag-a-tag belts and flags[6][7][8] which are the template for the flags used in the game today.

The first intercollegiate Flag Football National Tournament[9] took place in 1979[10] at the University of New Orleans. The winning team was the Humps, from the University of Central Florida.[11] Today, flag football takes place on college campuses around the country, governed by the NIRSA Flag Football Rules Book[12] and takes the form of Intramural Sports and Club Competition.[13]

The International Federation of Flag Football (IFFF) was established in 2000 by Jim Zimolka, then-publisher of FlagMag magazine and, according to The New York Times, “one of the best [flag football] players in the country”.[14][15] The IFFF organized the annual World Cup of Flag Football and its regional qualifying tournaments,[14] offering multiple categories for men, women, and youth, as well as nine-man, eight-man, seven-man, and four-man versions of the game.[16] The United States mainly won the men’s competitions while Mexico dominated on the women’s side.[17]

Two years after the inaugural 2000 IFFF World Cup of Flag Football held in Cancún,[16] the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) organized the inaugural IFAF Flag Football World Championships in 2002.

Following increased concerns of concussions and CTE in American football in the 2000s and 2010s alongside a decline in youth American Football participation during the same period the NFL has spent considerable resources in promoting flag football as an alternative to tackle football for men and women.[18] Efforts by the league related to this include the creation of the NFL Flag which sponsors youth flag football leagues in the U.S.[19] and flag football games being played at the Pro Bowl Games.[20] The NFL has also announced and approved a future professional flag football league for men and women,[21] sponsored the sport’s inclusion in the 2022 World Games, was involved in its push to be included in the 2028 Summer Olympics, and in a partnership with the NAIA helped add flag football as a varsity sport for female student-athletes.[22][23][24]

Basic rules

Children playing the sport in Mexico
Player at the point of taking other player’s flag at a game at Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico City

The specific rules of flag football vary widely by league, though all share in common their replication of the rules of traditional American football with tackling replaced by flag-pulling.[25]

Traditional American football rules are often eliminated or modified to reflect the more recreational nature of the game, the desire to avoid physical contact and injury, and the generally smaller number of participating players per side.

In a standard game of flag football, the match is played in two halves. Time length is determined by the league being played.[26] The clock only stops for injuries, half-time and timeouts. Most leagues have 10 players per team, 5 on offense and 5 on defense; there is no punting team for flag football.

Variations

Flag football is sometimes played on sand.

Chiefly, because there is no dominant sanctioning organization for the sport, the game has mutated into many variations: 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, and 4 players on each side; coed or single-gender; with kicking and punting and with point-after conversions (including some with 1, 2, and 3 point tries) or without; and field sizes that vary from full Canadian Football League (CFL) size, National Football League (NFL) size (120 yards long by 531⁄3 yards wide), to fields a third that size.

An important distinction is whether linemen are allowed to catch passes (“Eligible Linemen”) or, as in the NFL / CFL, are not allowed to do so (“Ineligible Linemen”). Flag (and touch) football may also be divided into “contact” or “non-contact”, depending on whether or not blocking is allowed; if allowed, blocking is usually restricted to the chest.[27]

The ability or inability of the quarterback to advance the ball past the line of scrimmage (LOS) by running is another rule subject to variation by the league.

The sport is also played on surfaces other than a traditional grass football field, including on sand beaches; beach flag football has previously featured as a discipline at the Asian Beach Games.[28]

International tournaments

IFAF Flag Football World Championship

Main article: IFAF Flag Football World Championship

The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) organise a biannual IFAF Flag Football World Championship.

Olympics

Main article: Flag football at the Summer Olympics

In July 2022, the National Football League (NFL) and the IFAF partnered on a bid for flag football to be included as an optional event during the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The NFL had sponsored the inclusion of flag football as an invitational event during that month’s 2022 World Games.[23][24] The NFL’s executive VP of football operations Troy Vincent stated that the sport was “the future of American football”, as it was inclusive and had fewer barriers to access.[29] Flag football was shortlisted as one of nine sports advancing to the next phase of the bid process.[30] In October 2023, the LA organizing committee proposed the inclusion of flag football as an event,[31][32][33][34] which was officially approved at the 141st IOC Session.[35][36]

World Games

Main article: American football at the World Games

Flag football has been contested at the World Games—a multi-sport event featuring sports and disciplines not currently contested at the Olympics—since the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama. The 2022 World Games featured men’s and women’s tournaments, which were won by the United States and Mexico respectively.[23][24] Flag football returned for the 2025 World Games in Chengdu, China; only a women’s tournament was held.[37]

International Flag Football Festival

The International Flag Football Festival (IFFF) organizes the World Cup of Flag Football featuring teams from the United States, Mexico and several other nations.[citation needed]

Kelly McGillis Classic

The Kelly McGillis Classic is a women’s tournament organised by the IWFFA held each February in Key West, Florida[38] where over 90 women and girls teams participate in 8-on-8, semi-blocking contact flag football.

United States

USA Football

USA Football is the governing body of American football in the United States, the sole US member of the International Federation of American Football,[39] and a recognized sports organization of the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee.[40] Its non-profit mission includes designing and delivering premier educational, development, and competitive programs for American football, including tackle and flag football. USA Football is the only organization that selects and organizes the U.S. national team (men’s and women’s) in federation-sanctioned international competition.[41]

USA Flag

USA Flag currently operates the largest National Championships flag football tournament in the United States, along with a club World Championships every January in Florida that eclipsed over 980 teams this past January 2023, the largest single weekend flag football tournament ever recorded. The USA Flag has grown exponentially each year.

NIRSA

NIRSA is the leader in collegiate recreation and a professional association for hundreds of college and university staff and students. Since 2006, the NIRSA Championship Series has included regional and national flag football tournament. The 2025-2026 version of the rulebook is the 22nd edition and is overseen by the NIRSA Flag Football editorial board.[42]

NFL Flag

The National Football League and its teams have promoted and sponsored flag football leagues in the United States as a youth sport under the branding NFL Flag; in 2020, Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson became a chairman and co-owner of NFL Flag, as part of efforts by the NFL to expand its promotion of the sport into other territories. The program has also placed a particular focus on expanding women’s flag football, due to gridiron football having predominantly been played by men.[19][43]

In 2023, the NFL reformatted its Pro Bowl all-star game as the Pro Bowl Games, which featured teams of AFC and NFC all-stars competing in skills challenges for points throughout the week of festivities, which then carried over into a series of three flag football games on the culminating Sunday.[44] In 2023 and 2024, NFL Flag also hosted its world championships as part of the Pro Bowl festivities.[45][46] In February 2025, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stated that the NFL was considering launching professional flag football leagues, while a source with knowledge of the league stated to ProFootballTalk that Goodell’s statement was an “understatement” and that work on the proposed league is “very much underway”.[47][48] In April 2025 it was reported that ten groups had submitted bids to the NFL to be investors in the new flag football leagues.[49] In October 2025 Goodell stated that the league planned to launch women’s and men’s professional flag football leagues “in the next couple of years.[50] In December 2025 the NFL teams voted in a virtual meeting to financially support the league with the league’s Investment fund 32 Equity to enter into an agreement with a partner to operate a professional flag football league and invest up to $32 million in that league.[51]

American Flag Football League

Main article: American Flag Football League

The American Flag Football League (AFFL) is a flag football organization that offers youth and women’s competition, and in 2023, a men’s professional division.[citation needed]

Varsity flag football

Main article: College flag football
People playing flag football

By May 2020, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), in partnership with the NFL, had begun the process of adding flag football as a varsity sport for female student-athletes.[22] The NAIA became the first collegiate governing body to sanction the sport at the varsity level. NAIA women’s flag football began during the 2020–21 season as an emerging sport with at least 15 teams, and the NAIA and NFL also expected an upgrade of the sport to an invitational level sport by 2022 with at least 25 teams.[52]

Person pulling an opponent’s flag

In 2023, the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) began to sponsor flag football as an emerging women’s sport.[53][54]

In the spring of 2025, the Atlantic East Conference of NCAA Division III began independently sponsoring women’s flag football, with support from the NFL and the Philadelphia Eagles.[55] In July 2024, Conference Carolinas (CC) of NCAA Division II announced that six of its 16 member schools would sponsor women’s flag football, starting in the spring of 2026.[56] By the time CC started its first flag football season, two more full members and three associate members (one of them Division I Mount St. Mary’s) had also joined its flag football league.[57][58][59] In February 2025, the NCAA’s Committee on Women’s Athletics recommended that the association’s three divisions add flag football as a varsity sport under its Emerging Sports for Women program; at the time of the recommendation, approximately 65 NCAA member institutions had varsity- or club-level flag football teams.[60] At the January 2026 NCAA convention, all three divisions approved this addition, with the first season under “emerging” status being held in spring 2026.[61]

On March 21, 2026, the Big South Conference announced it would start sponsoring flag football in the 2028 season (2027–28 school year), making it the first Division I conference to make such an announcement. At the time of announcement, five full members (Charleston Southern, Gardner–Webb, Radford, UNC Asheville, USC Upstate) had either already added the sport or committed to adding it in the near future.[62]

Canada

Varsity flag football

The Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), a U Sports conference in Quebec, began sponsoring university women’s flag football independently of U Sports in 2021.[63] Additionally, the RSEQ is also a member of the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and has sponsored college women’s flag football since 2009 and men’s flag football since 2017.[64][65] The version of flag football played by the RSEQ is a hybrid of American football and Canadian football rules, utilizing Canadian fields and scoring rules with the 4 downs seen in the American game.[66]

Canadian Flag Football League

Main articles: Canadian Flag Football League and Football Canada

The Canadian Flag Football League (CFFL) was established in 2019 and runs Canada’s CFFL National Championship.[67] The league is affiliated with Football Canada, the national governing body for football in Canada and its variants. The winners of the CFFL National Championship also gain the opportunity to represent Canada in international competition.

The league’s major objective is to help integrate existing adult flag leagues on a nationwide basis. Depending on the region, teams compete in their Regional Championships, either Eastern, Western, or Central. The top two teams from each division advance to the national championship.

There are three divisions for the CFFL: male, female, and mixed.

Flag Football National Championships

The Canadian Flag Football National Championships (FFNC) was established in 2007 to provide athletes with the opportunity to develop their skills and compete in national team competitions and eventually the Canadian Flag Football League (CFFL) which was established in 2019. Since its inception, the format of the championship has undergone several changes.[68]

In 2011, in response to the growth of flag football and the development of Football Canada’s Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model, the under-15 co-ed division was replaced by separate boys and girls under-16 divisions. These divisions supplemented the pre-existing under-18 divisions that were added in 2010.

By 2013, the championship featured three divisions: male and female under-16 divisions and a female under-18 division.

In 2017, with the introduction of the Under-16 Regional Flag Challenge, the championship shifted to an under-18 format with male and female divisions.

Europe

IFAF European Flag Football Championship since 2003. Last in 2025, when Italian men’s and British women’s national teams win their respective European Championship titles in Paris, France.

United Kingdom

Flag football competition in the United Kingdom is, mostly, 5-a-side. There are two main organizations: the adult-only Outlaw Flag League,[69] which run Tournaments from March to October, culminating in playoff and championships. Secondly, there is the NFFL, the National Flag Football League, organized by the British American Football Association (BAFA). At a senior level, there are sixty teams divided into two leagues – NFL Division One: Highlands, North A, North B, Midlands, South East, and South West[70] and The Premiership: Highlands, North, South East, and South West, with the top teams qualifying for playoffs at the end of the season. BAFA also runs The Youth Flag Football League (YFFL)[71] and organizes teams competing at under 17, under 14, and under 11.[72][73] Flag football games in the UK are played with five players on each side with no contact, and are officiated according to the IFAF flag football rules with a few minor variations.[74] The U17s and U14s, and U11s, compete in the National Youth Flag Football League, which runs from April to August, with teams playing in four conferences; Scotland, Northern, Middle England, and Southern to qualify for National Finals Day and ultimately be crowned National Champions.

See also

References

  1. ^ “Flag Football”. LA28. Retrieved March 24, 2026.
  2. ^ “Academics, Physical Education, Course, Team-Sports, Flag Football” (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 9, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  3. ^ “Flag Football” (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 9, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  4. ^ “6 Things You Didn’t Know About Flag Football”. i9sports.com. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  5. ^ “When did flag football start in the United States?”. idswater.com. July 5, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  6. ^ “US Patent for Flag football device Patent (Patent # 5,709,621)”. patents.justia.com. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  7. ^ “Flag Football Belt Device Patent Grant Wilson May 25, 1 [Wilson; Porter C.] – USPTO .report”. uspto. report. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  8. ^ “Flag football belt device”. patents.google.com. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  9. ^ “The end of an era: 39 years of flag football at UWF – NIRSA”. nirsa.net/. January 16, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  10. ^ Bird, Beverly. “History of Flag Football”. SportsRec. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  11. ^ “Extramural Sports • Recreation and Wellness Center • UCF”. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  12. ^ “Flag Football Rules Book: Rules Only – NIRSA”. nirsa.net/. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  13. ^ “How NIRSA’s New Championship Series is Promoting Women’s Flag Football”. Athletic Business. April 8, 2026. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  14. ^ a b “About us”. International Federation of Flag Football. Archived from the original on February 12, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  15. ^ Ballard, Chris (December 3, 1999). “Weekend Warrior; The Tackling Is Theoretical, but the Winning Is Real”. The New York Times. Retrieved March 28, 2026.
  16. ^ a b Kotala, Carl (December 20, 2000). “Top flag football event set”. Florida Today. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Williams, Joe (September 5, 2004). “Raising the flag”. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  18. ^ Wendover Productions (November 20, 2025). The NFL’s Concussion Crisis. Retrieved January 4, 2026 – via YouTube.
  19. ^ a b “Women fueling flag football’s surging popularity: ‘It’s accessible and inclusive’“. Los Angeles Times. September 19, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  20. ^ “‘The Pro Bowl Games’ reimagine NFL’s all-star game by virtue of flag football”. NFL.com. Retrieved January 4, 2026.
  21. ^ “NFL teams approve investment in new professional flag football league”. NFL.com. Retrieved January 4, 2026.
  22. ^ a b “NAIA to sponsor women’s flag football with NFL partnership”. ESPN. May 4, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  23. ^ a b c “World Games flag football medallists honored at season-opening NFL game”. www.insidethegames.biz. September 9, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  24. ^ a b c “NFL partners with The World Games to add flag football in 2022”. NFL.com. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  25. ^ “About NFL FLAG”. NFL FLAG. Retrieved March 24, 2026.
  26. ^ “Flag Football Rules”. NFL Flag. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  27. ^ “Flag Football Plays – Lineman and Blocking”. Best Flag Football Plays. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
  28. ^ “Phuket 2014 – Flag Football”. Olympic Council of Asia. 2014. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  29. ^ “IFAF partners NFL to launch flag football bid for Los Angeles 2028 inclusion”. www.insidethegames.biz. July 13, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  30. ^ “Motorsport, cricket and karate among nine sports on shortlist for Los Angeles 2028 inclusion”. Inside the Games. August 3, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  31. ^ “Cricket recommended for 2028 LA Olympics spot”. BBC Sport. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  32. ^ Ingle, Sean (October 9, 2023). “Cricket, squash, lacrosse and flag football all set for 2028 LA Olympics”. The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  33. ^ “Los Angeles 2028 proposes five new sports for 2028 Summer Olympics”. insidethegames.biz. October 9, 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  34. ^ “International Olympic Committee approves cricket and four other sports for 2028 Games in Los Angeles”. Sky Sports. October 16, 2023.
  35. ^ “International Olympic Committee approves cricket and four other sports for 2028 Games in Los Angeles”. Sky Sports. October 16, 2023.
  36. ^ “FFRC”. November 13, 2023.
  37. ^ “GB women seal seventh place at Flag Football Worlds”. BBC. August 30, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  38. ^ Kelly McGillis Classic
  39. ^ “International Federation of American Football”. IFAF Member Federations.
  40. ^ “United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee”. USOPC Affiliate Organizations.
  41. ^ “International Federation of American Football”. IFAF Membership. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  42. ^ “Introducing the 22nd edition of the NIRSA Flag Football Rules Book – NIRSA”. nirsa.net/. July 18, 2025. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  43. ^ NBC Sports. “Seahawks QB Russell Wilson becomes co-owner and chairman of NFL FLAG”. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  44. ^ “2023 Pro Bowl Games skills competitions announced”. NFL.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  45. ^ “NFL to host international 12 youth flag football teams at 2024 Pro Bowl games”. www.insidethegames.biz. January 27, 2024. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  46. ^ Alvarado, Jairo (January 27, 2023). “NFL Hosting Community Events During 2023 Pro Bowl Games Week”. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  47. ^ “NFL considering pro flag football league”. www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. February 3, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  48. ^ “Source: Goodell’s claim that league is “considering” a pro flag football league is an “understatement”“. NBC Sports. February 4, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  49. ^ “Groups submit bids to NFL for men’s, women’s pro flag football”. ESPN.com. April 2, 2025. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  50. ^ “Roger Goodell: NFL to launch professional flag football leagues ahead of 2028 Los Angeles Olympics”. NFL.com. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  51. ^ “NFL teams approve investment in new professional flag football league”. NFL.com. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  52. ^ Kerkhoff, Blair (May 4, 2020). “With NFL’s backing, women’s college flag football will debut at NAIA schools in 2021”. The Kansas City Star. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  53. ^ “NJCAA approves emerging sport updates” (Press release). National Junior College Athletic Association. May 5, 2022.
  54. ^ Turbeville, Ryan Wyatt (May 9, 2024). “Florida Gateway College flag football team wins back-to-back championships”. WCJB.
  55. ^ DiAmore, Isabella (June 5, 2023). “Atlantic East Conference announces plans to offer NCAA Division III varsity women’s flag football in 2025”. The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  56. ^ “Conference Carolinas announces the addition of women’s flag football for 2025-26” (Press release). Conference Carolinas. July 2, 2024.
  57. ^ “Barton announces the addition of women’s flag football” (Press release). Conference Carolinas. October 17, 2024. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  58. ^ “Erskine announces the addition of women’s flag football” (Press release). Conference Carolinas. November 18, 2024. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  59. ^ “Conference Carolinas adds three associate members in women’s flag football” (Press release). Conference Carolinas. April 2, 2025. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  60. ^ “Women’s flag football endorsed as emerging sport”. ESPN. February 12, 2025.
  61. ^ “NCAA to add four new championships” (Press release). NCAA. January 16, 2026. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  62. ^ “Big South Conference to Begin Sponsoring Women’s Flag Football in 2027-28” (Press release). Big South Conference. March 31, 2026. Retrieved April 3, 2026.
  63. ^ Tomalty, Conor (November 19, 2024). “Concordia flag football’s fight for varsity recognition”. The Link.
  64. ^ “Conférence Sud-Ouest – Flag-football collégial féminin division 1 – 2009”. RSEQ. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  65. ^ “Conférence Sud-Ouest – Flag-football collégial masculin division 3 – 2017”. RSEQ. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  66. ^ “Livre des RÈGLES DE JEU Flag Football 7 contre 7” (PDF). Football Quebec. 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  67. ^ “League – Football Canada”. footballcanada.com. Football Canada.
  68. ^ “Domestic Events | U18 FLAG FOOTBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP”. Football Canada.
  69. ^ “Outlaw Flag League – Home”.
  70. ^ “National Flag Football League – 2021 schedule and alignments”. Britishamericanfootball.org. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  71. ^ “Youth Flag Football League – 2021 schedule and alignments”. Britishamericanfootball.org. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  72. ^ “BAFACL Flag South”. BAFA Community Leagues. Retrieved May 5, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  73. ^ “BAFACL Flag North”. BAFA Community Leagues. Retrieved May 5, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  74. ^ “BAFA Rules Committee – Flag football”. British American Football Referees’ Association. Retrieved September 17, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)