The International Olympic Committee approved flag football and other sports for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles on Monday.
Cricket, baseball-softball, lacrosse and squash were all approved for the program as well. Flag football and squash will be making their debuts while cricket, baseball-softball and lacrosse will be returning. Cricket was last played in 1900, lacrosse appeared last in 1908, and baseball and softball were played during the Tokyo Olympics.
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A digital display shows a flag football display during the second day of the 141st International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Mumbai on Oct. 16, 2023. (Indranil Mukherjee/AFP via Getty Images)
All five games were voted in as a single package with only two “no” votes across 90 IOC members in Mumbai, India.
“We want L.A. 2028 to have the same springboard effect for our five sports,” Los Angeles organizing committee chairman Casey Wasserman told IOC members. “In L.A. we are dreamers and doers.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell congratulated the International Federation of American Football for the achievement of getting the sport approved.
“It’s a tremendous honor for any athlete to represent their country at the Olympics,” he said in a statement. “We have no doubt that this decision will inspire millions of young people around the world to play this game in the years ahead.
A mural in Venice Beach with an LA28 logo designed by Multimedia artist Alex Israel on Sept. 2, 2020. His ‘A’ design for LA28 represents a surfboard fin. (Getty Images)
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“The NFL is committed to working together to strengthen flag football’s place in the Olympic movement long-term, and we look forward to continuing this exciting journey with IFAF, the LA28 Organizing Committee, the International Olympic Committee and USA Football.”
NFL players could be approved to play on a flag football team.
Former NFL star Rob Gronkowski expressed interest in donning the red, white and blue if that should happen.
The LA28 Olympic mural by Artist Steven Harrington is displayed on the corner of Stanley street and Sunset Boulevard on Sept. 1, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
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“Count me in already,” he told TMZ Sports. “Hopefully there’s no tryouts and they just accept me. But I’m in. I’m going for that if there is flag football in the Olympics in 2028. USA going all the way.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
