KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian American Football Association (Mafa) is ecstatic over the inclusion of flag football in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Speaking to Scoop, its vice-president, Kelly Khor, said that seeing a sport they have been trying to grow locally gain Olympic recognition is every sports association’s dream.
“The Olympics is definitely the biggest goal out there when it comes to getting global recognition within the realm of international sports events.
“We hope that it is not only included in the 2028 Olympics but also for the Games after that,” she said.
Flag football is a variation of American football, which is known for having heavily padded and helmeted players slam into each other – often to the point of injury.
There are five players on each side adhering to a strict no-contact rule, which is why it has gained popularity around the world.
Instead of traditional equipment, the players wear flag belts and the defensive team’s objective is to remove the flags to stop the offence.
The goal is to take the ball to the end zone to score points, and the team with the most points wins the game.
Kelly believes that Olympic inclusion will increase the sport’s visibility and foster its growth.
“We are in the growing stages, so we don’t have a big community yet.
“But with the inclusion of the Olympics, we are hoping that more people will understand what flag football is.
“Hopefully that will translate into the public wanting to try and be involved in the sport,” said Kelly, who was elected as vice president in January.
Currently, the sport is primarily centred in the Klang Valley, but Mafa is exploring avenues to bolster its presence nationwide.
“We are looking to organise more tournaments so local teams can participate and go on roadshows to introduce the sport to the public.
“We are keen to expand the sport even further to all states, which is why we are also looking into establishing state associations so that the sport can grow outside of the Klang Valley.
“Beyond that, we want to include everyone of all ages because this sport can be played from youth to senior level as there are no age restrictions,” said Kelly.
As of now, the sport operates primarily through a tournament format, with no national league for players to engage in competitive matches.
“We did have an eight-week-long league last year for both male and female players, which ran concurrently.
“There were 10 teams in the male league and six teams in the female leagues.
“But for this year, we are organising tournaments, of which we have held four so far, including Breakout I and II.
“These tournaments are geared towards players who are new to flag football and don’t have much experience playing in a more fast-paced tournament.
“The Rose Bowl is the women’s competition, while the Mafa Cup is the men’s tournament. In the female competition, we also had teams from Thailand and Singapore,” said Kelly.
Mafa is currently preparing to host the International Federation of American Football Asia-Oceana Flag Football Continental Championships on October 27 to 29 at EV Arena in Shah Alam.
The championships will act as a qualifier for the world championships in Finland next year. – October 20, 2023
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