Flag football will be added as a sport to the 2028 Summer Olympics, according to multiple reports on Monday.
Flag football's official addition is pending approval from the International Olympic Committee, but the IOC allows host cities to add five sports to the roster for each Games. The 2028 Olympics will be held in Los Angeles.
The Guardian reports that cricket, baseball and softball are also expected to be added, with the possibility that lacrosse and "potentially squash" could also join.
Adding flag football to the Olympics has been a mission of both the NFL and USA Football for years. Flag was played at the World Games last year in Birmingham, Ala.
The United States took home gold in the men's division, while Italy won silver and Mexico took bronze. In the women's division, Mexico defeated the US in the gold medal game while Panama won bronze.
A total of 10 nations sent teams to the 2022 World Games, with eight teams competing in each division. All but two were from North America or Europe; Brazil and Japan competed in the women's division.
While it remains to be seen if flag football will catch on as a full-fledged Olympic sport (the 2032 Olympics are set for Brisbane, Australia), that's almost beside the point.
Now, the NFL and USA Football have five years to push the game both internationally and, just as importantly, domestically. An estimated 7.1 million people competed in flag football in the US in 2022 (this doesn't count the millions more that play touch football at recess). Flag football is a sanctioned varsity sport in seven states, and also a sponsored women's sport in NAIA.
Monday's news will allow the NFL and USA Football to continue to push for other states and colleges to add men's and women's flag football as full-fledged varsity sports over the next five years.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
Update: The LA 2028 organizing committee officially announced flag football as an Olympic sport for the 2028 Games on Monday, Oct. 16.