Flag football

Flag football is a fun and exciting version of gridiron football that is played a little differently. Instead of letting players tackle each other to the ground, the goal is to pull a flag or flag belt off the player who has the ball. This makes the game safer because there is less contact between players.

People all around the world enjoy playing flag football, especially in America where the sport began. There are many amateur teams and big competitions held every year, organized by different groups. The main organization that oversees flag football internationally is the International Federation of American Football. For women’s flag football, the International Woman’s Flag Football Association helps run the games.

In the future, flag football will be part of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. This will be the first time any type of gridiron football will be included as an official event in the Olympics, making it a very special moment for fans of the sport.

History

Flag football started in the early 1940s during World War II as a way for American military personnel to stay fit without getting hurt. It was called "Touch and Tail football" at first and later became known as flag football after the war.

The first known record of the game was at Fort Meade, Maryland, USA, which is now considered the birthplace of flag football. The first national flag football organization, the National Touch Football League (NTFL), began in the 1960s in St. Louis, Missouri. Teachers in Arizona created the flag belts and tags used in the game today. Flag football grew to include college tournaments, with the first one held in 1979 at the University of New Orleans.

The International Federation of Flag Football (IFFF) started in 2000 and organized world cups and regional tournaments for different groups, including men, women, and youth. The United States often won the men's competitions, while Mexico did well in the women's. As concerns grew about injuries in traditional American football, the NFL began promoting flag football as a safer option. This included supporting youth leagues, games at the Pro Bowl Games, and efforts to include flag football in the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Basic rules

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.

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. 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 can be played in many different ways because there is no single main organization that sets the rules. Teams can have from 4 to 9 players each, and games can include both men and women or just one gender. Some versions allow kicking and extra-point tries, while others do not. The size of the field can also change, from full-sized fields used in the Canadian Football League and National Football League to much smaller ones.

One key difference is whether players on the line can catch passes. In some forms, they can, while in others, like in the NFL or CFL, they cannot. Flag football can also be "contact" or "non-contact," depending on whether players are allowed to block others, usually only at the chest. Another rule that can change is whether the quarterback can run the ball forward past the line where the ball was snapped.

The sport is not just played on grass fields; it can also be played on sand beaches. Beach flag football has been part of the Asian Beach Games before.

International tournaments

IFAF Flag Football World Championship

Main article: IFAF Flag Football World Championship

The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) holds a big flag football competition every two years called the IFAF Flag Football World Championship.

Olympics

In July 2022, the National Football League (NFL) and the IFAF worked together to ask for flag football to be added as a fun activity at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The NFL had already helped include flag football in the 2022 World Games. A leader from the NFL said flag football is a great sport because it’s easy for everyone to join in. In October 2023, the people planning the Olympics said yes, flag football would be part of the games.

World Games

Main article: American football at the World Games

Flag football has been played at the World Games—a big event for sports not in the Olympics—since the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama. Both men’s and women’s teams played, and the United States won the men’s and Mexico won the women’s. Flag football came back for the 2025 World Games in Chengdu, China, with just a women’s tournament.

International Flag Football Festival

The International Flag Football Festival (IFFF) holds a World Cup of Flag Football with teams from the United States, Mexico, and many other countries.

Kelly McGillis Classic

The Kelly McGillis Classic is a fun event for women and girls each February in Key West, Florida. Over 90 teams play a special version of flag football.

United States

USA Football

USA Football is the main group that manages American football in the United States. It works with the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee and creates programs for both tackle and flag football. USA Football picks and organizes the U.S. national teams for international competitions.

USA Flag

USA Flag runs the biggest flag football tournament in the United States. It also holds a world championship every January in Florida. In January 2023, over 980 teams took part, making it the largest flag football event ever.

NIRSA

NIRSA helps colleges and universities with sports programs. Since 2006, it has included flag football in its championship events. The 2025-2026 rulebook is the 22nd edition and is managed by the NIRSA Flag Football editorial board.

NFL Flag

The National Football League supports flag football for young people through its NFL Flag program. In 2020, Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson joined as a leader of NFL Flag. The NFL has also focused on growing women's flag football. In the Pro Bowl, the NFL held flag football games as part of the Pro Bowl Games in 2023 and 2024. In February 2025, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell talked about starting professional flag football leagues. By October 2025, the NFL planned to launch leagues for both women and men soon. In December 2025, NFL teams agreed to support the league financially.

American Flag Football League

Main article: American Flag Football League

The American Flag Football League (AFFL) organizes competitions for young people and women, and started a men's professional division in 2023.

Varsity flag football

Main article: College flag football

Flag football grew quickly as a high school sport for girls in the 2000s, with the NFL and others helping new programs. Florida was the first state to officially support girls' flag football in 2002. By the 2025-26 school year, 20 states had state championships for girls' flag football, with more states planning to add them. The NFHS published its first national rule book in 2025. The rule book suggests each team have seven players and allows states to decide on field size and other rules.

By May 2020, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) started adding flag football for women, with the NFL helping. NAIA women's flag football began in the 2020–21 season.

In 2023, the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) began sponsoring flag football for women.

In spring 2025, the Atlantic East Conference of NCAA Division III started women's flag football, with help from the NFL and the Philadelphia Eagles. In July 2024, Conference Carolinas (CC) of NCAA Division II announced that six schools would start women's flag football in spring 2026. By the time CC started, more schools had joined. In February 2025, the NCAA suggested adding flag football as a varsity sport for women. In January 2026, all NCAA divisions approved this, with the first season in spring 2026.

On March 21, 2026, the Big South Conference announced it would start flag football in the 2028 season (2027–28 school year). At that time, five members planned to add the sport soon.

Canada

Varsity flag football

In 2021, the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec, a group for school sports in Quebec, started supporting university women's flag football. This group is part of the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association and has supported college women's flag football since 2009 and men's flag football since 2017. Their version of flag football mixes rules from American and Canadian football, using Canadian fields and scoring with the four downs from the American game.

Canadian Flag Football League

The Canadian Flag Football League (CFFL) started in 2019 and holds Canada's CFFL National Championship. The league works with Football Canada, the group that oversees football in Canada. Winners of the CFFL National Championship can play for Canada in international contests.

The league aims to connect adult flag football leagues across Canada. Teams compete in Regional Championships in the Eastern, Western, or Central regions. The top two teams from each region move on to the national championship.

The CFFL has three divisions: male, female, and mixed.

Flag Football National Championships

The Canadian Flag Football National Championships (FFNC) began in 2007 to help players improve and compete for national teams, leading to the CFFL created in 2019. Over the years, the championship has changed its format.

In 2011, new divisions were added for boys and girls under 16, replacing a co-ed under-15 division. These joined the existing under-18 divisions added in 2010.

By 2013, there were three divisions: male and female under-16 and female under-18.

In 2017, the championship changed to an under-18 format with male and female divisions.

Europe

The IFAF European Flag Football Championship started in 2003, with the most recent event held in 2025 in Paris, France. Italian men's and British women's teams won their European Championship titles that year.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, flag football is mostly played as a 5-a-side game. Two main groups organize competitions: the adult-only Outlaw Flag League, which holds tournaments from March to October, and the National Flag Football League (NFFL), run by the British American Football Association (BAFA). BAFA also manages the Youth Flag Football League (YFFL) for players under 17, under 14, and under 11. These youth teams compete from April to August, aiming to become National Champions. All games have five players per side and follow IFAF flag football rules with a few small changes.