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| Description |
Flag football is a team sport like tackle football but with the use of flags to avoid contact. Competitors wear tightly fixed flag belts with sockets and two pop-flags on either side of their hips. The goal of the game is to advance the ball down the field by running it or passing it to score a touchdown by crossing the opponent’s goal line. The format for The World Games 2022 is Flag Football. Flag Football is 5 v 5 non-contact. |
| Goal |
The team with the higher score at the end of the game is the winner |
| Format |
- Two groups of four teams. Single Round robin games in both groups. - The two best teams from each group qualify for crossed semi-finals. - Losing teams will continue playing consolidation rounds until all 8 places are determined in the rankings. - Losing semi-finalists compete for Bronze. - Winners of semi-finals matchup in the finals to compete for Gold and Silver. |
| Rundown |
Games are split into two halves of 20 minutes. The game retains the same principles as the contact game with offensive teams having four attempts (downs) to reach half way on the field with the defensive team seeking to halt their progress. If a team makes it to half way within 4 attempts, they get another 4 attempts to reach the endzone. On each play, teams can choose to run or pass. Only the ball carrier can actually be tackled by pulling a flag. The play ends when the ball-carrier’s flag is removed, goes out of bounds, or if a forward pass hits the ground. |
| Tactics |
On each play, teams can choose to run (by handing the ball off to a running back) or pass (the quarterback throws to a receiver). Most teams have a series of set plays which they seek to execute, enabling them to evade the opposition and make progress down the field. Players on the offensive team (the team with the ball) can protect the player with the ball by blocking opposing tacklers. Defenders can use their hands to push or pull opponents out of the way to get to the ball carrier. On fourth down, teams will usually try to kick a field goal or punt the ball away if they don’t think that they can gain enough yards for a first down. |
| Judging |
There are 4 officials: Referee, Down Judge, Side Judge and Field Judge |
| Scoring |
The game retains the same principles as the contact game, with offensive teams having four attempts (downs) to reach halfway on the field, with the defensive team seeking to halt their progress. If a team makes it to halfway within 4 attempts, they get another 4 attempts to reach the end zone. The only time an exception is made is if the referee awards a penalty. In which case, the offensive team gets a further 4 attempts. If a team succeeds in reaching the end zone, they score 6 points and have the option to add another 1 or 2 points with an extra play. 1 extra point sees the play start 5 yards from the end zone, 2 extra points sees the play start 10 yards from the end zone. There is no kicking through the posts. If a game is tied at the end of 40 minutes, it goes to Over Time. Each team gets the opportunity to play for an extra 1 point (5 yards from the end zone). In the first instance, each team gets an attempt. The game finishes when one team completes their attempt, but their opponent doesn’t. |
| Penalties |
When the referee awards a penalty, the offensive team gets a further 4 attempts to reach halfway on the field. |
| Athletes and Teams to watch out for |
The regining IFAF World Champions are the United States of America in both the female and male event. The 2021 IFAF Flag Football World Championships saw Mexico as the runners up in both the female and male event. Historic Flag Football World Champions – Men 2002: Austria Historic Flag Football World Champions – Men 2002: Austria Historic Flag Football World Champions – Women 2002: Sweden |
