Women’s flag football tops viewership ratings at The World Games 2025

It’s official: women’s flag football swept global streaming ratings at The World Games 2025, outperforming 59 other disciplines by a significant margin in what was the biggest and most-watched edition of the multi-sport event to-date.

Almost 4 000 athletes from 111 countries took part in the Games, which were held in Chengdu, China from August 7 to 17 last year.

An independent event evaluation report commissioned by the International World Games Association (IWGA) and Chengdu 2025 Organising Committee underlines the soaring popularity of flag football, which contributed to the Games achieving a record 448m global broadcast reach, including 1.7 million video plays via the new ‘TWG Live’ platform.

In only its second Games appearance, and despite featuring only one medal event – for women – among a total of 256 on the programme, flag football ranked first in every streaming category.

Across 60 disciplines from 40 sports, women’s flag football placed:

• #1 for unique users of TWG Live: 171 000, representing 16% of the total

• #1 for video plays on the TWG Live platform: 287 000, representing 16.7% of the total

• #1 for watch time: 84 749 hours – a remarkable 51% more than any other discipline, accounting for more than 23% of the total TWG Live watch time across the Games.

Flag football also recorded the single most watched stream of the Games, with 64 030 live views for the thrilling gold medal game that saw defending champions Mexico snatch victory from the USA on the final play.

The report notes the Mexican flag football team’s performance as a “decisive factor” in Mexico additionally topping the rankings for the most TWG Live views per territory across the whole of the Games.

The World Games represented the first international flag football event hosted in China, where the sport is booming with more than one million now playing and the women’s team crowned IFAF Asia-Oceania champions in Ningbo last October.

Ticket sales for Chengdu 2025 reflected this local enthusiasm, with a 99% sell-out of available tickets for the flag football tournament, according to the evaluation report.

Pierre Trochet, President of the International Federation of American Football (IFAF), welcomed the success, saying: “I’m proud and excited to see the efforts of our athletes and the game-changing broadcast innovations of our partners, rewarded with these spectacular results, which further highlight the extraordinary international trajectory and potential of flag football.

“It’s a great boost at the start of a huge year for IFAF as we seek to extend and expand the presence of flag football in the global multi-sport environment and enter a new phase of commercial development, underpinned by an imminent global broadcast distribution agreement for IFAF flag football events.”

Sports broadcaster Kate Allman, who was appointed by IFAF to provide flag football commentary for TWG Live, said: “Calling the women’s flag football event at The World Games was an undoubted highlight of my 2025. The buzz around the sport is unreal and I’m thrilled to see these incredible female athletes achieve the recognition they deserve on a global stage. The final seconds of that USA-Mexico gold medal game will live forever in my memory. It was a privilege to add my voice to scenes that have captured the imagination of so many people around the world.”

Organised quadrennially since 1981, The World Games are a showcase for disciplines not yet on the permanent Olympic Games programme, including many overseen by major summer Olympic sport federations. Flag football, which will make its Olympic Games debut in Los Angeles 2028, was selected by local organisers as part of their invitational sport programme for Chengdu 2025. The women’s competition was prioritised in line with local interest and capacity restrictions, in a context where women and girls are driving the fastest growth in flag football participation around the world.

IFAF has confirmed its intention to seek the inclusion of both men’s and women’s flag football in The World Games Karlsruhe 2029, following the federation’s elevation to full IWGA membership in 2024. IFAF, in partnership with the National Football League, is also pursuing a strategic priority to secure the continued presence of flag football in the Olympic Games Brisbane 2032.