IFAF commits to full gender balance among LA28 flag football officials

Jari Turunen

The global governing body of flag football - a new addition to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles - is marking 1 000 days to the Opening Ceremony on Saturday by unveiling new measures to improve gender equity on and off the field.

A headline commitment by the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) will see women make up at least 50% of all the International Technical Officials (ITO) appointed for the flag football tournament in Los Angeles, where the Games will feature a majority of female athletes for the first time.

Flag football is set to make an important contribution to LA28’s unprecedented celebration of women’s sports and athletes. Ahead of its Olympic debut, the inclusive, non-contact discipline is spearheading explosive participation growth among women and girls in American Football. Girls’ flag football is currently the fastest-growing youth sports segment in the United States, with High School girls’ participation increasing six-fold since 2018 according to the latest figures from the National Federation of State High School Associations.

Today’s announcement will help ensure this momentum extends across other areas of the American Football community, which has historically seen women and girls significantly underrepresented.

In 2018, only 18% of technical officials at the IFAF Flag Football World Championships in Panama were women, rising to 20% at the 2021 edition of the tournament, 32% in 2024, and reaching parity (50%) at The World Games 2025 in Chengdu, China.

IFAF’s LA28 commitment is underpinned by development initiatives, including an IFAF Academy project, which aims to provide training to at least 2 028 new officials by 2028.

Around the world, similar programmes are being undertaken by IFAF members and partners. In June, 36 female coaches and referees from Egypt, Nigeria and Morocco participated in a women’s development camp run by the NFL alongside the inaugural IFAF African Flag Football Championships in Cairo, Egypt.

Another example is the Nigerian American Football Association’s Gridiron Gems programme, run in partnership with NFL Club Cleveland Browns, which has set a target to train and certify 10 000 new female coaches and officials over the next five years as part of wider efforts to grow female participation and empower a new generation of Nigerian female leaders through the sport.

IFAF President, Pierre Trochet, said: “Flag football is truly changing the game for women and girls in American football. We want to ensure our Olympic debut in LA28 contributes to meaningful and lasting progress in how women show up across all areas of our sport. This target is a tool to accelerate development, but it is also a symbol of a wider commitment to equality, visibility and opportunities for women on and off the field. We recognise the progress we need to make - and our responsibility to lead the way as an international federation.”

Leading international flag football referee and Global Flag Football Ambassador Desiree Abrams said: “LA28 is going to shine an unprecedented spotlight on women in American football and challenge the way men have traditionally played, changing the way a whole generation thinks about the game. We want young girls everywhere to be inspired to pick up a football but also to know that there is a place for them at every level of the game. As someone who began officiating internationally when there were few female role models to look up to, I applaud this commitment as a milestone in our progress, and recognize the powerful message it will send.”

Away from the field of play, IFAF is also working to improve female representation in the governance of American football. A set of reforms are expected to be proposed to the annual IFAF Congress taking place in Lausanne in December.

Meanwhile the federation is supporting the participation of Danika Taylor, (British American Football Association Youth Flag Team Manager) in the International World Games Association’s Women Lead Sports development programme for 2025. Taylor was selected to represent American Football among 44 emerging women leaders from 27 international federations. Starting next week, she will embark on a two-month series of workshops aiming to elevate female participation in leadership roles across international sport.

The role of flag in increasing female representation in American football was in the spotlight last week as the NFL hosted a Women in American Football summit at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, Great Britain – a country where girls make up 53% of the 120 000 participants in grassroots NFL Flag programmes. IFAF President Pierre Trochet joined Global Flag Football Ambassadors and leaders and influencers from across the spectrum of British sport at an event that took place alongside the Girls’ European NFL Flag championship finals.

Jari Turunen