Randall J. Lopez 
The Olympics are in contrast to another carrying opposition on the planet. For sixteen days, over 300 activities representing 35 sports, and each USA on this planet compete to take home their prized medals. I have appeared forward to watching the Summer Olympics every 4 years since as away again as I can take into account. But there is usually something missing. One of America’s maximum famous sports, and a top 10 recreation throughout the arena, it looks as though address and flag soccer might be Olympic sports activities by way of the yr 2024, issue barriers nevertheless remain for that to grow to be a truth. First, we’re going to stroll via a few reasons why the street to getting American Football included into the Olympics has now not been a clean journey, followed with the aid of why we accept as true with flag soccer to be the logical answer and choice as a destiny Olympic recreation.
According to a piece of writing using NFL.Com, the most important logistical troubles going through the sport of American Football being included in the Olympics are like that of Rugby. With the huge numbers of participants on each team, the “gender equality” codecs where both ladies and men take part in each game, and the compressed three-week agenda could be difficult with a greater physical recreation like soccer and rugby. Furthermore, for American Football, the entry barrier is excessive due to its price to equip all players with pads and tools. Therefore, it has also been gradual to undertake in many overseas nations, specifically of the poorer range.
Knowing all this, it isn’t easy to peer how both games could be a perfect fit for the Summer Olympics. Rugby is lots like Soccer in that very little is needed to play the game in phrases of gear and exercise at its base degree and has a miles large worldwide following. This, among other motives, has lately allowed Rugby to be cleared for the Olympics beginning in 2016 utilizing changing the traditional fashion to a less conventional “sevens” format which is quicker paced with much fewer humans, that may help carve a comparable direction for American Football, or flag football extra especially.
Even increasingly, high school, university, and seasoned groups are starting to lessen the wide variety of contact practices, nonetheless sporting the likes of smooth-padded headgear and shoulder pads for introduced protection. But what if we may want to restrict the touch gamers see earlier than high school and middle faculty even as also addressing a number of the issues for the game associated with it being fully normal into the Olympics? There are some speakers these days revolving across the safety of tackle soccer, and now not just inside the NFL wherein concussions are a chief issue. Starting as far back because the children soccer stage, the current proof has surfaced, helping the idea that even quick of a concussion, repeated head effects, and collision can show up in similar brain injuries later in life for youngsters tested the while of eight-13. Many researchers suggest kids should not be playing football at all, suggesting that children’s heads are “a bigger part of their body, and their necks aren’t as robust as adults’ necks. So children can be at more risk of head and mind accidents than adults.”
As of 2015, studies show that flag soccer is the fastest growing children’s game in the United States, greatly outpacing the increase of traditional address football. Many high schools are making the switch to flag soccer over the tackle, getting other schools in their regions to follow healthy, growing prepared leagues and divisions. It’s even an officially diagnosed varsity game in many states. With women, in particular, flag football is a way to permit less difficult participation as opposed to the bodily nature of tackle. And he is not the best one. Recently Drew Brees was interviewed utilizing Peter King for NBC’s pregame show and had a few sturdy phrases on why he believes flag football is the answer. “I sense like flag football can keep football,” Brees said. Brees coaches his son’s flag football crew and played flag football himself thru junior high, never gambling tackle football until high faculty.
“I experience like (flag soccer) is an amazing introductory method for quite a few children into soccer,” Brees noted. “Otherwise, I experience it’s straightforward to head in and feature an awful experience early on after which now not want ever to play it once more. I sense like once you put the pads on, there are many different elements to the game, and you are at the mercy of the train in a lot of cases. And to be sincere, I do not think enough coaches are well-versed sufficient in regards to the actual basics of the game, mainly when the pads cross on the children stage.” Many other pro athletes and coaches have expressed similar sentiments as properly, making a song praises for flag soccer, and the upward thrust in popularity of the sport echoes that.
Historically, To be blanketed into the Olympic games as an illustration recreation, you need to have an International Federation and feature held a World Championship opposition. This ought to take region at least 6 years earlier than the scheduled Olympic games. The International Federation of American Football often centered on tackle football. Still, it consists of the flag in its tournament lineup, met this general, was accepted in 2012, and received provisional recognition in 2014. This ought to pave the way for American football to be blanketed as a respectable recreation. Flag soccer is probably the subject of said game. Still, the IFAF has given that confronted setbacks due to the alleged scandal, event mismanagement, and misappropriation of the budget that can’t bode properly to include the sport short term. Fortunately, in 2007, the IOC followed a brand new, extra bendy rule set permitting programs to be up for assessment after each Olympics starting in 2020, clearing a course for all sports to give their case for being protected employing triumphing an easy majority vote.
1. It’s Less Physically Demanding than Tackle Football
As we have already installed, flag football is a far more secure alternative than address soccer. Fewer hits and collisions identical fewer accidents, and flag soccer is already a tested fulfillment version. It’s being praised for retaining the game for destiny generations. But with the Summer Olympic Games, protection is just one element of the sport’s bodily needs, thinking about you’ve got much less than a three-week window to in shape in all ranges of opposition, and the year-round activity had to exercise and qualify. Imagine playing 6-7 complete contact football games with a limited roster all inside a span of ~16 days, not to mention other viable qualifying activities for the duration of the year. It is no longer unusual for flag soccer to play 6-7 games on the weekend or, on occasion, even an afternoon, so the game is extra than prepared for this style of event play.
2. International Flag Football Interest is Exploding
As cited above, this is primary trouble while figuring out whether or not a game is a suit to be taken into consideration. While conventional American style address football is top-rated globally, flag soccer appeals to extra countries. It’s a decreased barrier to entry as a long way as value and gadget move, do not require full length and striped football fields to take part, and is easier to preserve large event competitions and leagues to inspire neighborhood interest.
3. It Requires Fewer Participants
Depending on which format would be used (our guess is either 5v5 or 7v7), flag soccer calls for fewer members than traditional address soccer. Part of this is due to it being a less physically annoying game and the need for much fewer substitutions. Every other part is desiring fewer expert gamers, inclusive of kickers, punters, unique groups, offensive lineman, and many others. Where each traditional tackle soccer group might convey 50+ competition, flag football would need possibly 15 players at most, cutting that range to less than a third. This is critical due to the fact the Olympics cap their total contributors to 10,500 athletes and coaches. It also permits extra nations to compete, specifically poorer countries, where fielding a smaller and much less financially traumatic team coupled with the reasons above makes more sense.
