A historic moment took place in American football following the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) vote today on the inclusion of flag football in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
"Over the past decade, the NFL along with all 32 teams have worked together to grow the game locally and internationally, and with today's announcement, this is a huge testament to the growth and popularity of the game," said Jaguars Vice President of Community Impact and Football Development Adriel Rocha. "This is great motivation for our young football athletes to work hard and dream big so that one day they might compete in the Olympics in a sport they love."
The Jaguars have long been committed to growing the game of football throughout the region, particularly through the Jaguars PREP program which impacts more than 5,000 youth and adults in the flag space through programs such as Girls Flag Pre-Season Classic, Girls Flag College Showcase, Jaguars 5v5 Regional Flag Tournament, NFL Flag JAX Regional, Battle of the Branches and others.
Additionally, on Nov. 4, the Jaguars in partnership with CSX, will host their second annual Battle of the Branches, an adult flag football tournament for military, at Naval Air Station JAX as part of the NFL's Salute to Service Campaign.
The flag tournament gaining popularity this year, will host 15 teams from five different military branches. The branches that will be participating in this year's tournament include, defending champion U.S. Army who will be entering five teams to compete in the tournament, U.S. Air Force with three teams, the U.S. Coast Guard with two teams, the U.S. Navy with three teams and the U.S. Marines with two teams.
Each team will have the opportunity to compete for the championship belt. New this year, the winner will punch their ticket to the Tampa World Championships to compete in the largest adult flag tournament in the country. The tournament will be held Jan. 10-14, 2024, and will feature teams from 34 different states and eight different countries.
“We are extremely excited to have the winner of the Jaguars’ Battle of the Branches compete at the Tampa World Championships, having the armed service’s men and women join us for our upcoming tournament will be an honor and will bring a new level of competition.” Charles Davis, co-founder of USA Flag
The Tampa World Championships is the largest flag football tournament boasting more than 1,000 flag teams, more than 10,000 athletes and reaches more than 25,000 fans over the course of the event. For more information, visit the 2024 USA Flag World Championship website.
USA Flag is the largest operator of flag football tournaments nationwide. The organization was founded in 2015 by Charles David and Travis Burnett with the belief that flag football is a vehicle in which youth, high school, collegians and adults can all participate.
