USA Football Named National Governing Body for Flag Football

The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) named USA Football as the National Governing Body for the sport of American Football. USA Football will oversee all aspects of the sport, including the selection of the U.S. national teams that will represent the country in international tournaments. Flag football is set to make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

USA Football will be responsible for the training, development, competition, health, and safety of its athletes. USA Football will be in charge of the U.S. men's and women's national teams for flag and tackle football. As the NGB, USA Football is looking to further develop the sport, which has already seen considerable growth.

As detailed here at Collegiate Flag Football, women's flag football is set to have over 200 club and varsity programs for the 2026 spring season. The NCAA has taken notice of the growth and is recommending that it become part of the Emerging Sports for Women program. Eventually, the sport could become an official NCAA championship sport at all three divisions. The NAIA already has nearly two dozen varsity programs, led by the KCAC and the Sun Conference.

14 states have sanctioned flag football at the high school level: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Louisiana approved a pilot program earlier this month, Washington will vote on a proposal this month that could see flag football sanctioned as a high school sport, and North Carolina will discuss whether to sanction the sport later this spring.