IOC grants full recognition to the International Federation of American Football
15 Oct 2023 — The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) has been granted full recognition by the 141st IOC Session in Mumbai, India, following the proposal made by the IOC Executive Board (EB) in March 2023.
IFAF is the international governing body for the sport of American football, including flag football, which is one of the five additional sports for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 (LA28) proposed by the LA28 Organising Committee and submitted to the IOC Session by the IOC EB. The IOC Session is expected to review the decision on these additional sports on 16 October.
Further to the provisional recognition granted by the IOC EB in 2013, IFAF has demonstrated that it has fulfilled all the necessary criteria to obtain full IOC recognition:
The statutes, practices and activities conform with the Olympic Charter.IFAF has adopted and implemented the World Anti-Doping Code and the Olympic Movement Code on the Prevention of Manipulation of Competitions.IFAF maintains its independence and autonomy in the governance of the sport.It meets the criteria outlined in the recognition procedure for summer sports to have a minimum of 50 affiliated National Federations from at least three continents that exercise a specific, tangible and ongoing sports activity in the one or several sports (or disciplines) the International Federation (IF) administers.There were no objections from the member federations of any of the IF umbrella associations.
International Federation of American Football
Officially formed in 1998, IFAF is responsible for all regulatory, competition, performance and development aspects of American football on a global level.
At present, IFAF can count on 74 affiliated National Federations, with an estimated number of almost 5.04 million registered athletes.
IFAF currently holds World Championships on a quadrennial basis; and flag football was on the sports programme of the World Games 2022 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
