IFAF federations USA Football and American Football Australia, the governing bodies of the sport in their respective countries, have agreed to collaborate on flag football development through the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and beyond.
USA Football and American Football Australia will reinforce global competitive opportunities and raise the bar for international flag football as the sport prepares to make its Olympic debut in LA28.
“Football is experiencing unprecedented growth worldwide as we draw closer to the 2028 Olympics,” said USA Football CEO Scott Hallenbeck. “USA Football and our world champion U.S. national teams are helping to lead the global growth of flag football by setting new standards and assisting other governing bodies as we collaboratively develop robust international competition.
“Wade Kelly and his team at American Football Australia have invested the time and resources to develop an exemplary program. As the U.S. prepares for LA28, we plan to strengthen flag football’s position by collaborating with American Football Australia and building a united global football community.”
Interest in flag football across the globe is skyrocketing following the announcement in 2023 that flag football will be an Olympic sport when the games come to Los Angeles. The decision served as rocket fuel for the already increasingly popular game. Many countries with significant football fanbases, including Australia, are scaling their programming to meet the demand for elite competitive opportunities.
“USA Football, under Scott Hallenbeck and his team, are the global benchmark in both performance and professionalism. Bringing our two nations together is an exciting venture we feel privileged to be a part of,” said American Football Australia CEO Wade Kelly. “The global momentum of flag football since the LA Olympics announcement has been nothing short of phenomenal. The future of flag football is no doubt one of the most exciting in sport.”
USA Football and American Football Australia will meet in Los Angeles this June when junior and adult national teams from Australia compete in USA Football events. Australia will face the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams as part of a new summer friendly series aimed at sharpening international competition and inspiring global participation in elite events.
The U.S. and Australian Men’s and Women’s National Teams competed in the 2024 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Flag Football World Championships in Lahti, Finland this past August. The field featured 32 men’s and 23 women’s teams from six continents, making it the largest IFAF event in history.
USA Football will hold the fourth annual edition of the Junior International Cup in Los Angeles alongside the adult competition. The event includes 15U and 17U divisions for boys and girls. American Football Australia’s junior national teams will participate in the Junior International Cup for the first time. Last year’s cup included teams from Canada, Japan, Mexico, Panama and the U.S.
USA Football will release more information, including dates, times and venue details, at a later date.
In addition to more competitive opportunities, the agreement between USA Football and American Football Australia paves the way for the two governing bodies to collaborate for data collection and analysis, talent identification and improving athlete performance.
Photo: Lester Barnes / USA Football
