Flag football team hopes to represent Singapore at 2028 Olympics amid hurdles

SINGAPORE: Flag football is American football without the physical contact, and the sport is set to make its Olympic debut in Los Angeles five years from now.

Instead of tackling players to the ground, the five-a-side game involves pulling flags from the ball carrier with the aim of advancing the ball up the field into the opponent's end zone. A touchdown is worth six points.

The game, which began in Singapore with a group of expatriates, is growing in popularity here and now has about 90 members.

Among them is a local team of around 20 men who represented Singapore in an Asia-Oceanic tournament in November, after being formed just a few months before. 

Now, they have set their sights higher - they want to fly the Singapore flag at the Olympics.

To represent Singapore in any major Games, however, the club first needs to be recognised as a National Sports Association. That is the first hurdle that stands between them and their Olympic dream.

There are several steps to being recognised, general manager of Singapore Flag Football Noel Bay told CNA.

“First of all, an organisation or association needs to be well established in the local scene and this includes having the appropriate governance structures, the appropriate constitution. At the same time, also the appropriate committee committee members,” he said.

The association also has to be recognised by the international governing body - International Federation of American Football - as the authority for the sport in Singapore and comply with anti-doping policies from Sport Singapore (SportSG) and the Singapore government. The association will then be assessed.

GAINING EXPERIENCE

Meanwhile, having taken part in the Asia-Oceanic tournament in Kuala Lumpur earlier this year, which is recognised by the international federation, the team has qualified for the World Championships next year.

“Being in the World Championships is a next step for us to then be able to tell SportSG and also an SNOC (Singapore National Olympic Council) panel that we are representing Singapore on the international arena, and we should be considered for either SEA Games representation if there is or Olympic Games representation,” said Bay.

However, the main challenge the association faces is funding, as being a national sports association does not automatically guarantee money.

"You do need to apply for charity status, and there are certain hoops that you need to jump through for that. After application for charity status, you need to then apply to be eligible for the One Team Singapore Fund. So SportSG will match dollar-for-dollar, whatever the association raises,” explained Bay. 

However, he is not deterred. “For a sport to take root in the country, we have to start somewhere,” he said.

HOPES AND MISCONCEPTIONS

Players are looking forward to the possibility of going to Los Angeles in the United States for the 2028 Olympics. 

But this involves taking “baby steps”, said flag football athlete Shawn Woo. “The team is still thinking about the regional competitions first and getting quality reps here, and then hopefully, we can qualify for the Olympics.”

On the association’s to-do list is also attracting more female talent, as countries around the world are gearing up to send their all-female flag football teams to the LA28 Olympics. 

The association here is looking to do the same, but they only have a handful of regular female players who have had to make do with co-ed tournaments or friendly matches.

If they get enough players, forming a local female team may be on the table. But addressing myths around the sport is also proving a challenge.

“Over here, the sport itself is very unheard of. Every time I carry around an American football, everyone thinks it's rugby and when you think of rugby, you think of tackling and maybe they have this misconception that it's a lot more physical than it is. So maybe there's a bit of that barrier there,” said Singapore Flag Football League player Jasmine Chan.

For now, both men and women plan to organise more open days, where complete beginners can get a taste of the sport.

“We do want to be able to attract more locals who play the sport. We have a very strong expatriate community playing the sport. For the locals, through some of our own outreach, through bringing in friends, we have brought in certain people. I think if we really form a team to bring to the Olympics, we can increase the profile and that will enable us to attract more locals, more youngsters to play the sport,” said Bay.