International Federation of American Football

American Football was a demonstration sport at the St. Louis 1904 and Los Angeles 1932 Olympics. At the global level, American football is governed by the International Federation of American Football (IFAF), which was officially formed in 1998. The IFAF became a formal member of SportAccord in 2005, became provisionally recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2013, and was granted Recognized Status at the 141st IOC Session. It is also a member of the Association of the IOC-recognized International Sports Federations (ARISF).

As of January 2026, the IFAF has 79 member federations. The organization’s office is located in Paris, France, and its current president is Pierre Trochet (FRA).

First staged in 1999 and held every four years, the IFAF World Championship of American Football is the culmination of a global qualification programme, encompassing four continents, for male footballers. The IFAF Women’s World Championship would first be held in 2010, in Stockholm, Sweden.

Flag Football, a variant of American tackle football also overseen by the IFAF, had its first World Championships held in Austria in 2002, with men and women tournaments. The discipline featured at the World Games 2022 edition, in Birmingham, AL, United States.

In August 2022, the Los Angeles 2028 Organizing Committee shortlisted nine proposed sports for consideration as optional events for those Olympics, with one of those sports being flag football. At the 141st IOC Session in Mumbai, India, the IOC approved flag football as an optional sport for the 2028 Olympics, along with four other sports.