The British American Football Association (BAFA) has been awarded £500,000 in funding by UK Sport as it gears up to chase gold in the 2028 Olympic Games.

The money will be used specifically to support the development of the elite Great Britain Flag Football Olympic programme over the next three-and-a-half years in the run-up to the global event in Los Angeles.

“We are delighted and deeply grateful that UK Sport recognises the potential of British American Football as an elite sport and is committed to funding us,” BAFA CEO Chad Ehlertsen commented. “This investment is a game-changer for our Olympic Flag Football programmes, enabling us to build a high-performing programme for our athletes, coaches, and support staff.

“While the funding is specifically allocated to our Olympic ambitions, however, we remain dedicated to fostering growth at all levels and across all forms of the sport. This investment not only fuels our journey to Los Angeles but also inspires the next generation of players to take up the sport and build its future in the UK.”

The British women’s team earned a spot at the 2025 World Games after finishing in seventh place at the Flag Football World Championships in Finland earlier this year, and that event, in China, is seen as another crucial step for GB’s development before flag football makes its Olympic debut in Los Angeles. The men’s team finished tenth at the World Championships, but it is hoped that the UK Sport grant will help both squads progress.

“An immense amount of planning went into the preparation of this funding application – and I wish to thank Chad and his senior leadership team for their diligence and commitment in ensuring a successful outcome,” BAFA chair Nichole McCulloch said. “For British American Football, 2024 has been a seminal year in how we, as a National Governing Body, are regarded within the echelons of British Sport. The financial support from UK Sport follows similar endorsement from Sport England this summer and further demonstrates our emergence as strong, dynamic and agile NGB.”

School across the UK have reported increased interest in flag football, fuelled in part by the NFL’s increasingly international footprint, but also the non-contact game’s rising global profile, the Olympic inclusion and ongoing parental concerns that traditional sports, such as rugby, pose too great a risk of brain injury. This year, according to a story in The Guardian back in August, some 343 schools entered events for the UK NFL Flag National Championship, a 78% increase over 2023.

UK Sport has reveled that it will invest a record £330m in Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic sports for the 2028 Games. More than 50 sports will benefit, and that investment is expected to exceed £400m when individual athlete performance awards (APAs) are taken into account.

“Following the spectacular performances of Team GB and Paralympics GB in Paris this summer, it’s so important for us to be able to keep the momentum going as we head into the LA cycle,” Dr Kate Baker, director of performance and people at UK Sport acknowledged. “I’m excited to work with the new sports receiving investment from us for the first time — flag football, lacrosse, paraclimbing and squash — and warmly welcome them to our Olympic and Paralympic community.

“With every Games cycle comes new sports and athletes with new stories to tell and inspiration to share. With our investment supporting more breadth than ever before, as well as the entertainment, drama and spectacle we’ll no doubt experience from a Games taking place in LA, I can’t wait to see what our athletes can achieve in four years’ time.”

(action images courtesy of BAFA/Andy Keith)