The NFL is heavily promoting flag football, which becomes an Olympic sport in Los Angeles in 2028. But the league thinks the LA Games will be just the beginning.
NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent said the league is already making plans for flag football’s involvement in the 2032 Summer Olympics in Brisbane, Australia, and that the NFL thinks flag football as an Olympic sport will be key to making the NFL a truly global brand.
“We know that LA ’28 is a milestone, but we’re also looking at Brisbane,” Vincent said. “And the talk is, how do you become a global property? Today we’re not a global property. We’re playing games across the globe, but when children, young men and women, are playing and coaching in Asia, South Africa, Ghana, you really become a global property. So I think the Olympics is one of those places where our brand, American football, is truly on a global stage, competing against the world. Flag football is real. That movement is real.”
The NFL is considering launching men’s and women’s professional flag football leagues that would, the NFL hopes, attract players from around the globe. The Olympics may prove to be a showcase for players across the world who are playing football professionally, either in the NFL itself, or in an NFL-owned flag football league that aids in the NFL’s global expansion efforts.
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