The International Federation of American Football last week announced that at least 50% of all International Technical Officials appointed for the LA 2028 Olympics would be women. This drive toward gender equality for flag football’s governing body marks a significant investment in women’s sports, as flag football continues to see a surge in popularity with women and girls.
According to IFAF, flag football will make its Olympic debut at LA28. Before the games, more than 2,000 new officials will be trained by the IFAF Academy project.
At the 2025 IFAF Flag Football World Championships in Chengdu, China, the organization did successfully present an officiating staff made up of 50% women. That number was up from 18% in 2018 and 32% in 2024.
“Flag football is truly changing the game for women and girls in American football,” said IFAF president, Pierre Trochet. “We want to ensure our Olympic debut in LA28 contributes to meaningful and lasting progress in how women show up across all areas of our sport. This target is a tool to accelerate development, but it is also a symbol of a wider commitment to equality, visibility, and opportunities for women on and off the field. We recognize the progress we need to make – and our responsibility to lead the way as an international federation.”
Desiree Abrams, a former women’s tackle football player turned NFL replay assistant, is also a global ambassador for flag football. Abrams works to train officials for flag football, and she recently began working with the NAIA to create a standard rules book for the sport. Abrams said, “LA28 is going to shine an unprecedented spotlight on women in American football and challenge the way men have traditionally played, changing the way a whole generation thinks about the game. We want young girls everywhere to be inspired to pick up a football, but also to know that there is a place for them at every level of the game. As someone who began officiating internationally when there were few female role models to look up to, I applaud this commitment as a milestone in our progress, and recognize the powerful message it will send.”
The IFAF’s commitment to gender equality on the officiating team is just one step of a larger vision of gender equality throughout the entire LA28 games. For the first time in history, LA28 boasts an equal number of men’s and women’s teams in all sports, and flag football in particular will feature more women’s teams than men’s teams competing.
