Flag football is becoming an Olympic sport, but almost no one plays it
The IOC has included flag football in the program for the 2028 Olympic Games. The friendly format of American football is rarely practiced in the Netherlands. Eindhoven Raptors have been offering flag football for twenty years, but still have no members practicing the game competitively.
Flag football is a leaner form of American football. Instead of players tackling each other, they take ribbons from each other’s belts.
The sport is very popular in the United States, which is why it was included in the program of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028. The sport is not yet known in the Netherlands. Because even if you could play flag football on the Raptors for twenty years, no one ever did.
“Everyone still plays American football here,” explains Eindhoven Raptors’ Frits Breij. “That tournament also runs at the same time as the flag football tournament, which is why it’s not popular here yet.”
“We haven’t been able to make a team yet.”
But according to Fritz, that could change. “There’s more and more information about flag football, but we still can’t make a team. Injured American football players are also reluctant to switch to ‘friendly’ flag football.
In flag football you play five against five and there is no physical contact. Players wear a detachable ribbon on the left and right. When that happens, the game stops and the attack stops. Also, like in American football, the oval can bring the ball to the other side of the field to score a point.
“Flag football is a good alternative.”
Outside of the regular season, Fritz sometimes plays flag football with his team. They will soon go to a tournament in Amsterdam with eleven players who usually play American football. The 26-year-old Eindhoven resident doesn’t want to change just yet. “But in the off-season, flag football is a good alternative. It’s less taxing on your body. It attracts some members.
And yet he’s on the radio show WAKE! In Omroep Brabant, that may change now as it becomes an Olympic sport. “It depends on how many countries are allowed to participate. If only eight are allowed to participate, it will be difficult for the Netherlands to qualify. But with sixteen countries we have a chance. I cannot rule out that it will sound like Wilhelmus.
The video below explains the rules of flag football:
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