NFL’s Push for Exposure Bolstered as International Olympic Committee Considers Flag Football for 2028 Olympics

While the Olympics is just one year away, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is already making plans for the 2028 Olympics. The global sports event will be held in Los Angeles and is destined to get its due attention among Americans. Interestingly, the US is pushing to Americanize the 2028 events by adding a little touch of its own. The NFL is pushing hard and fast for global exposure and they just might have added a huge win to their cause.

This is because the organizers for the 2028 Olympics have delivered a proposal to include flag football in the program for the first time in 32 years. An acceptance of the proposal would be a big win for the country and the sport, as well as a huge move for the IOC.

The 2028 Proposal for Flag Football

The IOC will vote on the organizers’ proposal during meetings, which will take place in Mumbai, India. The meetings will take place later this week. The LA organizers have also made proposals to include sports like baseball and softball. Discussions about lacrosse, squash, and cricket have also been added to the agenda.

These stand as a fitting contrast to the LA proposal as they are more recognized worldwide than within the US.

LA 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.”

Flag football is the less aggressive version of American football. The US has been trying to popularize the sport in Europe, Mexico, and Japan to varying degrees of success.

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This year, the sports authorities have scheduled three games in London and two games in Germany on its schedule.

At the World Games in 2023, the US men’s team came first in the competition while the women fell to Mexico in the final. However, while flag football will still feel very familiar to Americans, the same cannot be said for cricket.

Other Sports in Contention

Cricket is immensely popular in countries like India, Australia, and England. In fact, the game is the most popular across most companies in the Commonwealth. However, it is still mostly irrelevant in the US.

For the Olympics in Los Angeles, the organizers are proposing a Twenty20 version of the game. This version of cricket is not only shorter than the traditional version of the game but also a lot more entertaining for the casual fan.

While breakdancing made its debut in Paris, the event is not going to be repeated in LA. Other sports that have been excluded from the Olympics in LA are motorsports, kickboxing, and karate. A

s of now, we have no clarity on whether the organizers would have to trim the number of disciplines to help the IOC adhere to the limit it set of 10,500 athletes. As things stand, the addition of five team sports will inflate the number of participants.

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