Flag Football is on its way to becoming a part of the Olympic games as one of five additional sports being included in the 2028 games in Los Angeles.
The games will be a variant of the rules used in American/Gridiron Football. Let’s examine some of the projected rules of the games (via Olympics.com).
Rosters
- Flag Football games are 5-on-5 contests with rosters maxing out at 12 players.
Game Clock
- Flag Football games consist of two 20-minute halves.
- Clocks run consistently until the two-minute warning of each half.
- During the last two minutes of each half, the clock stops during a normal stoppage.
- Play starts on the five-yard line (no kickoffs).
Scoring
- There is no kicking in Flag Football, so no scoring via field goals or traditional extra points attempts.
- All touchdowns are worth six points.
- After each touchdown, teams will remain on offense for one play extra play and have the option of going for:
- One point: via one play from the five-yard line to get the ball into the endzone.
- Two points: via one play from the 10-yard line to get the ball into the endzone.
“Tackling”
- All players will wear three flags and in place of tackling, defenders must obtain at least one of the flags from the ball carrier to have him/her be considered down.
- There is no jumping or diving at ball carriers allowed.
Downs & Turnovers
- Starting at the opposition’s five-yard line, the offense has four attempts (downs) to get to the midfield (halfway mark), which gives it a first down (four additional downs/attempts) to get the ball into the endzone.
- Turnovers on downs result in the team getting the ball from the opposition’s five-yard line (as opposed to where the turnover on downs occurred).
The Field
- The field (or the pitch as it might be referred to internationally) is smaller than a traditional American Football field. It’ll measure 70 yards by 30 yards with 10 yards of endzone on each end.
QB Rush?
- It doesn’t sound like there will be rushing allowed by the QB, per the Olympics’ official site.
Play starts at a team’s own five-yard line with the centre snapping the ball back to the quarterback who either passes the ball forward to try and find a receiver, or hands off to a running back.
Other Rushing Flag Football Rules
- No rushes are allowed when the offense is within five yards of the endzone.
What about Overtime?
- If the score is tied after 40 minutes of play, sudden-death overtime begins, meaning the first team to score wins.
