Flag football is a version of American football where the basic rules of the game are similar to those of the mainstream game, but instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier to end a down, and contact is not permitted between players; it will result in a penalty for the team that initiates it.
Variations
Chiefly because there is no dominant sanctioning organization for the sport, the game has mutated into many variations: 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, and 4 players on each side; coed or single-gender; without kicking and punting and with point-after conversions or without; and field sizes that vary from full Canadian Football League size, National Football League size, to fields a third that size. An important distinction is whether linemen are allowed to catch passes or, as in the NFL / CFL, are not allowed to do so. Flag football may also be divided into "contact" or "non-contact", depending on whether or not blocking is allowed; if allowed, blocking is usually restricted to the chest. The ability or inability for the quarterback to advance the ball past the line of scrimmage by running is another rule subject to variation by league.
Competition
The sport has a strong amateur following and several national and international competitions each year sponsored by various associations.
North America
On June 28, 2017, the inaugural game for the newly formed American Flag Football League was played. The league plans to launch eight league-owned teams for 2018. In May 2020, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, in partnership with the NFL, announced the addition of flag football as a varsity sport for female student-athletes. The NAIA became the first collegiate governing body to sanction the sport at the varsity level. Women's flag will begin during the 2020—21 season as an emerging sport with at least 15 teams, the NAIA and NFL also expect upgrade the sport to an invitational level sport by 2022 with at least 25 teams.
Flag football competition in the United Kingdom is 5-a-side and organized by the BAFA National Leagues. At a senior level as of 2011, it is played by fifteen teams divided into two regional conferences, North, and South with the top teams qualifying for playoffs at the end of the season. The league also organizes teams competing at youth and cadet levels. Flag matches in the UK are played with five players on each side with no contact, and are officiated according to the IFAF flag football rules with a few minor variations.
Basic rules
The specific rules of flag football vary widely by league, though all share in common their replication of the rules of traditional US-American football with tackling replaced by flag-pulling. Traditional American football rules are often omitted, changed or simplified to reflect the more recreational nature of the game, desire to avoid physical contact and injury, and the generally smaller number of participating players per side.
