Flag football is one of several somewhat eclectic sports that will be featured at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. The infamous break dance The event will be cancelled.
Flag football is best known as a backyard sport played at barbecues and frat house parties, but with the International Federation of American Football now backed by the NFL, it’s poised to burst onto the international stage at the next Summer Olympics.
Football is well known in the US as a male-only sport, but in 2028 women will be allowed to compete in the flag football division.
Other new sports making their Olympic debut include steeplechase — yes, that’s right, “American Nina Warrior” — and squash, which will compete in the 2028 Olympics for the first time after years of rejected petitions.
Lacrosse and cricket will also be returning to the Olympics after a hiatus of more than a century each.
Baseball and softball were also absent from Paris but will be back.
Following California tradition, surfing and skateboarding newcomers will stick around in 2028.
The 2028 Olympics will be Los Angeles’ third time hosting the games, and the city has positioned the large number of stadiums already in place as one of its biggest selling points as an Olympic venue, including past Olympic venues and arenas used by the Lakers, Chargers and Clippers.
But despite the infrastructure, Los Angeles has an ambitious plan for 2028: a “car-free game,” as Mayor Karen Bass put it on Sunday.
This means that all Olympic events will only be accessible by public transport, with cars being completely banned from the venues.
The plan, aimed at easing Los Angeles’ notorious traffic congestion, will see around 3,000 buses sourced from across the US and the city asking businesses to allow employees to work from home for 17 days during the Olympics.
“Part of having a car-free Olympics is to keep people from driving,” Bass said.
Los Angeles, home of Hollywood, will also have an opening ceremony and television coverage befitting its silver screen fame.
“The 2028 Olympics will be truly Los Angeles,” said LA2028 chairman Casey Wasserman.
Events including the marathon and cycling will take advantage of the city’s iconic landscape and take place “in the places where so much of the mythology of the 20th century was created, thanks to Hollywood,” Olympic broadcast chief Yiannis Exarchos said.
“That’s what I’m more intrigued by. I think it’ll be interesting to see how we can recreate the television geography of Los Angeles,” he said.
With post wire
