IFAF to Host First African Flag Football Championships in Cairo Ahead of LA 2028 Olympic Debut
In a major step toward globalizing flag football, the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) has announced it will stage the first-ever African Flag Football Championships this June in Cairo, Egypt. The event, scheduled for June 20-21, marks a significant expansion of the sport just as it prepares to make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
The Cairo event joins similar continental championships already taking place in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Oceania region. Beyond crowning regional champions, the tournament will serve as a qualification pathway for the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships — a crucial step toward international representation on the Olympic stage.
“For a sport to be truly global, it has to include Africa — there’s no way around it,” said Osi Umenyiora, NFL Africa’s lead and a two-time Super Bowl champion. “That’s what we’re trying to build here alongside IFAF — a sport that really belongs to the world.”
The launch of the African championships aligns with IFAF and the NFL’s shared vision of making flag football more than just a one-time Olympic feature. IFAF President Pierre Trochet emphasized that the goal is long-term inclusion in the Olympic Games, with hopes of continuing well beyond LA 2028 into 2032 and future editions.
“Los Angeles is not the end — it’s the beginning of a much bigger journey,” Trochet said. “The growth of these continental competitions is a direct result of our ambition to stay in the Olympic program for the long haul.”
A Sport for Everyone
Flag football, unlike traditional American football, is a non-contact format that removes tackling from the equation. Players wear belts with flags that defenders pull to end a play. It’s fast, strategic, and significantly more accessible to new players — especially women and youth — thanks to its low cost and lower injury risk.
The NFL, a key backer of the initiative, will be co-hosting youth development activities in Egypt during the event, further expanding its NFL Africa program into new territories. Egypt is the latest addition to the league’s growing international presence.
Umenyiora himself began his football journey through flag and touch football and believes this is only the start of what’s to come for the sport worldwide.
“You combine the Olympics, national teams, IFAF competitions, and consistent continental tournaments — the dream of a truly global NFL is not far off,” he said.
The NFL has already begun breaking new ground overseas, recently announcing regular season games in Dublin and Australia for 2025 and 2026. Talks are ongoing for future games in the United Arab Emirates.
In the 2023 NFL season alone, 88 international players appeared in at least one game, with Nigeria producing the second-highest number of foreign-born players after Canada.
With 12 teams — six men’s and six women’s — set to participate in LA28, IFAF’s qualification process aims to ensure fair representation across all continents. Trochet confirmed that each region will have an equal opportunity to compete for a spot.
“If an African team makes it to the Olympics in 2028, and they win — that’s the kind of history we want to be a part of,” Umenyiora said.
