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2028 Olympics considering adding flag football, baseball, lacrosse and more

Nick Profile Picby:Nick Geddes•10/09/23•

NickGeddesNews

Olympics
Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY Sports

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is considering adding flag football, as well as five other sports on the program for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

According to the Associated Press, the IOC will vote on the proposal at meetings in Mumbai, India, later this week. The other sports under consideration are baseball, softball, lacrosse, cricket and squash.

“USA Football is grateful to LA28 for recommending flag football for inclusion in the Olympic Games,” USA Football said in a statement. “As the governing body of football in the U.S. and the organization responsible for selecting and organizing U.S. National Teams for international competition, USA Football is excited for this important step in the process of potentially making flag football’s Olympic dream a reality.

“While we know there are still further steps in this process, Olympic inclusion would be an incredible opportunity to showcase the fast, exciting, competitive and inclusive nature that makes flag football one of the fastest growing sports in the world.”

Los Angeles chairman Casey Wasserman called the new sports, “relevant, innovative and community-based, played in backyards, schoolyards, community centers, stadiums and parks across the U.S. and the globe.”

Should the IOC officially vote to add the sports, the 2028 Olympics would be the first to perhaps feature players from the NFL. Flag football would be 5-on-5 and played on a 50-yard field with no offensive or defensive linemen.

Miami Dolphins star receiver Tyreek Hill sounds like he wants to take part.

“Calling all @NFL guys let’s bring one home,” Hill wrote on X.

NFL expanding global reach by having presence in the Olympics

With the NFL already dominating the sports scene in the U.S., a chance to have a presence on the Olympic stage could finally make it visible to a global audience.

“The NFL is such a uniquely American sport and this is their big, global try,” said Dan Durbin, director of the Institute of Sports, Media and Society at USC. “The NFL dominates in the U.S. You get 10 miles into the Atlantic or Pacific and it disappears. This gives it a chance to make it visible to a global audience.”

The NFL has made a push in recent years to expand globally, regularly hosting multiple games in London each season. In 2022, the NFL hosted its first game in Munich, Germany, an NFC contest between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks.