Last Updated on September 23, 2021 by
No! American football isn’t an Olympic Sport because of certain eligibility rules. Additionally, the sport is not as popular outside North America as it is in America. It is not played by enough countries so it can’t be considered an Olympic sport. Besides, this game is played weekly so it will be more difficult to finish a 16-team tournament within two weeks. A lot of football fans have been wondering why great American football is not considered an Olympic sport anymore. Well, if you’re one of them, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll show you why American football isn’t one of the Olympic sport.
Why Isn’t American Football And Olympic Sport?
Eligibility Rules
There are some major reasons why this classic game isn’t one of the notable Olympic sports. And that’s what we’ll be talking about shortly. The eligibility rules of the Olympics bind the NFL players who aren’t qualified for IFAF representation. Pro players would have to be qualified for international representation under the guidance of IFAF.
The International Federation of American Football is an association that’s not too popular but it still exists and functions. But in the last few decades, their activeness hasn’t been good enough as they don’t have enough concept and orientation to make American football an Olympic sport. The NFL hasn’t been really been corroborating to the IFAF to achieve the desired result of talking American football to the Olympics.
Although the IFAF tried to take the sport to the 2020 Summer Olympics, they failed as they were rejected. Fortunately, the IFAF later got provisional recognition for the 2024 Olympics. A chance they wouldn’t want to miss as they are working together with the NFL to take football to the 2028 Olympics.
Lower Popularity Outside America
One of the reasons why we think American football hasn’t been considered as an Olympic sport is its lower popularity outside North America. Not all developing and developed countries participate in the sport. As a matter of fact, only 80 countries have official recognition for the sport. Most of these non-participating countries think the name “American” at the back of the “football” makes the sport monopolized only by the American citizens. But that’s not the truth as we’ve seen other European countries participate in it.
Enormous Roster For American Football
Truth be told, the practicality of the size of the roster required for an American football team is just not fair enough. Just think about it, the normal domestic event is even too large to be pragmatic, not to think of including a large number of countries competing in one single tournament. If there will be any consideration for American football as an Olympic sport, the NFL and IFAF must work together to develop a compressed tournament play just like the rugby7s.
Problems With Adjudication
Some of the most notable sports in the world today experience a lot of issues with adjudication. Don’t forget that rugby7s is an Olympic sport with a condensed refereeing system better than normal rugby. If the IFAF and the NFL can develop an open-style tournament game for easy refereeing of American football, then the problem with adjudication will be solved. Also, considering the fact that only a few countries in the world play the game, it would be unfair competition as the USA team would comprise of the best players in the NFL and would likely dominate it.
How Has American Football Performed In Other Countries?
In England, the NFL has been functioning well with regular-season games played in London, but you can’t still compare it with the love of soccer among the citizens. Many of the citizens don’t even want American football to compete with soccer as they love and cherish the game so much. In other countries like Japan, the game didn’t really triumph. Players aren’t skilled and professional enough and it all seems less like the real American football game.
Will The Sport Make The 2025 Games?
American football has been approved by the United States Olympic Committee to become one of its participating sports. More of the reason why the sport was added to the official list of the USOC in 2015. However, being accepted at the national level doesn’t guarantee that the international committee has accepted it too. It is just a way to show the world that the sport is ready to be included in the forthcoming Olympics. Like we said earlier, back in 2014, American football was granted provisional recognition. So, it is likely that the game is featured in the forthcoming Olympic Games.
Does The American Football Have Any International Support?
American football has been adopted in over 80 countries across the world today with each country having its own semi-professional and professional football league. In terms of international competitions, American football isn’t really recognized worldwide because many beloved that competing with the superior American side containing the best players in the NFL won’t be any competition. This had been one of the reasons why the sport hasn’t been really established with the Olympics Sports.
Has American Football Been To The Olympics Before?
Yes! College football was featured in the 1904 Olympics for the first time, thanks to the program established in St Louis. Also, in 1932, there was a full West versus East college match-up in the Los Angeles Games, where about 60,000 fans gathered to watch the game. The team of the West claimed the victory as they won the East team 7-6 goals. Unfortunately, the winners weren’t given any specific medal as the game was purely a demonstration of American football as an Olympic sport.
Closing Thoughts
We all love the game of football in America, but we just need to lower our hopes of having the game among the Olympic sports. It might happen someday, but not as soon as possible. We’ve come to the closing chapter of this informative article. We hope you were able to find good and reliable resources in your quest to know if American football is an Olympic sport. If you have any questions or comments about the article topic, don’t hesitate to contact us. Thanks!
