USA flag football teams qualified for Los Angeles 2028; 120 athletes.

How to qualify for flag football at LA28 Olympics: The qualification system explained

How does flag football qualification for the LA28 Olympics work? Find out everything you need to know about the format, key events, teams to watch and number of athletes.

Olympic flag football at Los Angeles 2028 will feature two six-team tournaments , one for men and one for women. Each team will have 10 athletes for a total of 12 teams and 120 athletes .

Qualification is secured at team level, with quota places allocated to National Olympic Committees (NOCs).

Teams can qualify through the host nation allocation, the 2026 IFAF World Championships and the Olympic Q-Series .

As host nation, the United States of America receives one quota place in each tournament.

Flag football qualification at LA28 Olympics: Key facts

There is a men’s and women’s flag football tournament at LA28, with six teams competing in each event.

Teams can qualify through three routes in flag football: host nation allocation, the 2026 IF AF World Championships , and the 2028 Olympic Q-S eries .

The qualification pathway begins in August 2026 with the IFAF World Championships in Düsseldorf, Germany and will conclude with the Olympic Q-Series in June 2028 .

To be eligible to participate at LA28, athletes must comply with the Olympic Charter currently in force, including nationality requirements, anti-doping regulations and the eligibility rules established by the International Federation of American Football (IFAF).

Competing athletes must turn at least 18 years old by the end of 2028, the year of the tournament.

The final Olympic entries deadline is 26 June 2028.

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How does flag football qualification for the LA28 Olympics work?

There are three ways for teams to qualify for flag football at LA28.

The men’s and women’s USA teams have already qualified through the host nation route.

Four more spots are available at the 2026 IFAF World Championships , which take place from 13 to 16 August 2026. The top two eligible teams of each gender will obtain a quota place for the LA28 Olympic Games.

The last three spots, per gender, will be awarded at the Olympic Q-Series , which serve as the final qualifier for six sports, including flag football. The flag football qualifier will be held in two stages: in Montreal, Canada from 1 to 4 June 2028 and in Orlando, United States from 8 to 11 June. The three highest-placed teams of each gender will obtain a quota for their NOC via the Olympic Q-Series. These three quotas must represent a minimum of two continents.

The Olympic Q-Series includes a 10-team tournament featuring the two best-ranked teams from each of the continental championships to take place in 2027: the IFAF Americas Championship, IFAF Africa Championship, IFAF Asia and Oceania Championship, and IFAF European Championship.

The teams that already obtained LA28 quotas via the 2026 IFAF World Championships cannot participate in the Olympic Q-Series.

How many athletes will compete in flag football at LA28?

Olympic flag football at LA28 will feature a six-team men’s tournament and a six-team women’s tournament.

Each team will have 10 athletes for a total of 120 athletes set to compete in Los Angeles: 60 in men’s flag football and 60 in women’s flag football.

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What is the LA28 flag football competition format and schedule?

The LA28 Olympic Games will take place from 14-30 July 2028. Flag football will make its Olympic debut at the Exposition Park Stadium with 14 competition sessions to be played between 15 July through 22 July.

The men’s and women’s preliminaries take place over the first five days with the four best teams per gender advancing to the semifinals, held on 20 and 21 July.

The men’s medal games take place on 21 July while the women’s medal games are part of “Super Saturday” action on 22 July.

Flag football teams and players to watch at LA28 Olympics*

Hosts USA are the reigning world champions in both men’s and women’s flag football and, until last year, both were also long-time world No. 1 ranked teams.

Mexico ’s women, led by sport icon Diana Flores , managed to knock USA off their top spot in the IFAF World Rankings after beating them in the final of the The World Games in August 2025. European champions Great Britain and fourth-ranked Canada are also top contenders with Japan on the rise.

The USA men’s team - led by team veteran Darrell “Housh” Doucette - are six-time world champions, having won every tournament since their second-place finish in 2012 to Austria , currently ranked second in the world.

As in the women’s tournament, Mexico are tough opponents. They are currently ranked third among men, ahead of reigning European champions Italy and European bronze medallists France .

The big question that remains ahead of the men’s flag football tournament at Los Angeles 2028 is whether NFL stars will take part. The National Football League has cleared athletes to compete at the Olympic Games, however, their participation still depends on their selection by the national teams.

Several NFL stars have already voiced an interest in playing at the Olympics, including prominent quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts who also serves as the IFAF Global Flag Football Ambassador, and Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Find out more about the qualification system for other sports that will feature at Los Angeles 2028.

*As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective teams at the Olympic Games, athletes’ participation at the LA Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at LA28.

4 May - 11 June 2028

Olympic Q-Series 2028 | Japan, People’s Republic of China, Canada & United States