Nationwide Soccer League groups voted in favor of a decision permitting their gamers to compete in flag soccer on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, the NFL mentioned on Tuesday.
The league itself had lengthy been on board with gamers competing within the Video games, whereas a number of athletes – together with two-time MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes – mentioned they needed to play.
The plan cleared a key hurdle on Tuesday, as workforce house owners gave their blessing at a league assembly in Minnesota.
The league, NFLPA, Olympic entities and the game’s world governing physique IFAF will now be left to work out the high quality particulars, together with damage safety measures, requirements for subject surfaces, in addition to gamers’ workload and schedule administration.
The transfer may see a serious injection of star energy into the flag soccer competitors, with the potential to convey US sport’s greatest names to their residence Video games in a rustic the place the NFL reigns supreme in recognition.
The NFL has ramped up its promotion of the game, a non-contact format of American soccer, because the IOC accepted it for the LA28 programme in 2023, with a watch towards drawing extra girls into an enviornment lengthy dominated by males.
The Olympics can even go a great distance in direction of boosting the NFL’s longstanding worldwide ambitions, because the league has moved to globalise the sport.
