Orlando to host flag football Olympic qualifying competitions for LA28

Orlando will host the final stop of flag football’s Olympic qualifying run from June 8-11, 2028, placing the city at the center of the sport’s road to Los Angeles. The International Olympic Committee’s Q-Series will stretch across four global stops, with qualifying also scheduled for Tokyo, Shanghai and Montreal in May and June 2028.

Flag football is one of six sports in the Q-Series, alongside 3x3 basketball, beach volleyball, BMX freestyle, climbing and skateboarding. For the sport, Orlando is more than another event site: it will be the last checkpoint before the LA28 field is set, giving national federations a fixed target in the calendar and a final chance to secure quota places in the United States.

The IOC-approved qualification system for flag football was confirmed on February 1, 2026, and it gives the United States automatic places in both the men’s and women’s tournaments as host nation. Three men’s teams and three women’s teams will qualify through the Olympic Qualifier Series, while two men’s and two women’s teams from each continent will earn places through the 2027 IFAF Continental Championships.

International Federation of American Football president Pierre Trochet said the federation was “hyped” about flag football joining the Olympic Q-Series. The structure turns Olympic qualification into a formal international circuit, with Orlando serving as the final stop in a process that links the sport’s fastest-growing stage directly to the LA28 Games.

Flag football will make its Olympic debut in Los Angeles, with the tournament scheduled for July 15-22, 2028 at Exposition Park Stadium. The first Olympic flag football medals will be awarded on July 21 and 22, giving the sport its first championship moments under the Olympic banner.