The NFL players received the green light to participate in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games after a vote of the team owners on Tuesday, the League confirmed.
A resolution allowing players to participate in the 2028 games, when the contactless version of Gridiron – “Flag Football” – will be a new sport, has been approved by the NFL team owners during a meeting in Minnesota.
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This decision opens the field for a “dream team” of the NFL featuring some of the biggest sports stars, several eminent players already expressing an interest in playing in Los Angeles.
“It is an incredible honor for any athlete to represent his country at the Olympic Games, which is the ultimate in world sport,” said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
“I know in the first hand that the inclusion of Football Flag at the Olympic Games has sparked a huge excitement among the NFL players interested in the chance to compete for their country on the world stage. We are delighted that they are now having this chance.”
Flag football is an abbreviated form of American football with five, where the players attacked by entering a flag attached to the size of the opponents.
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Six male teams and six women’s teams will participate in the Olympic tournament in 2028, each team made up of 10 players.
Goodell said that allowing NFL players to participate in the Olympic Games was in accordance with the League desire to strengthen the global attraction of sport.
“It’s a great opportunity for sport,” said Goodell. “This is really the next step to make football and NFL football a world sport for men and women of all ages and opportunities around the world.
“We think it’s the right thing to do, and it’s a big step to get there.”
Under the rules set out in resolution, only one NFL team player can participate in each national team participating in the Olympic tournament.
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In addition, the designated international players of the teams will be allowed to play for their country of respective origin.
The resolution also requires that the football teams of the Olympic flag implement minimum standards for medical staff and require gaming surfaces on the field to be up to NFL standards.
Several NFL players have already expressed their interest in playing at the Olympic Games, with the quarter of the Eagles in Philadelphia, Jalen Hurts and the Kansas City chiefs’ counterpart, Patrick Mahomes, among those indicating the desire to play in the Games.
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