A huge setback for the Indian men’s flag football team as they will not participate in the upcoming Flag Football World Championship. Championship is set to be held in Finland from August 27 to 30. This news has been stamped by Dr. Sandeep Chaudhari, CEO of the American Football Federation of India.
What is Flag football?
Flag football is simply a non-contact version of American football, or NFL, where players wear flags attached to their waists. Instead of tackling opponents to stop the play, defenders pull off the flags from the player with the ball. The objective is simple, and that is to score points by getting the ball into the opponent’s end zone, similar to regular football.
Teams typically consist of 5 to 7 players on the field at a time, but this can depend on the league as well. Each team has a set number of downs to advance the ball, and teams can pass or run to move it. The game emphasizes teamwork, strategy, and skill and is slowly gaining popularity, as it is set to make its debut in the LA Olympics in 2028.
Why Indian flag football team are not participating in World Championship?
The primary reason garnering attention is visa issues, which is why the Indian flag football team will miss their second consecutive World Championship. If we look at India’s history in this competition, they last played in 2021, finishing 20th in Israel.
But this is not the only reason. According to CEO Sandeep Chaudhari, “It’s not just about the visa; there were also technical issues from the international organizers’ side, which we couldn’t resolve in time. There were many technicalities involved on our end as well. We don’t want to place the blame on anyone else. Everyone made an effort to assist us,” Chaudhari told Sportstar.
Speaking more about the players, he mentioned, ‘Morale is definitely low because everyone worked extremely hard. We were practicing and were supposed to have a closing camp. We accepted that it was beyond our control. In preparation for the 2028 Olympics. This was the first significant tournament where the players could showcase their talent and assess their standing in the world.’
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