Singapore’s flag football scene is heading into an important stretch this October, with the men’s and women’s national teams set to compete at the South East Asia (SEA) Flag Football Championships in Jakarta.

A total of 24 athletes will represent Singapore at the regional competition. For the women’s team, the tournament will mark its first international appearance. For the men’s side, it will be another opportunity to measure Singapore’s progress against regional competition as the sport begins looking towards the qualification pathway for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

Flag football will make its Olympic debut at LA28, where the programme will feature separate six-team tournaments for men and women.

Jakarta offers an early competitive test

For Singapore’s national teams, the SEA Championships are more than another overseas tournament. Noel Bay, General Manager of the Singapore Flag Football National Teams, said the competition will provide a useful indication of how far the teams have progressed over the past year, particularly with Olympic qualification activity approaching.

“With the Olympic qualifiers starting next year, it provides us with the opportunity to have a sense of how far we have progressed over the past year and gives us real competition to test ourselves.”

Bay added that the championship carries different significance for the two squads. The women will be making their competitive debut, while the men enter with the aim of establishing themselves as one of the stronger teams in Southeast Asia.

A first international tournament for Singapore’s women

The women’s national team was formed earlier this year, making Jakarta an especially significant milestone.

Captain Ang Xue Er said the team sees its debut as an opportunity to increase the visibility of women’s flag football in Singapore and encourage more girls and women to consider the sport.

“Our debut this year means more than just competing on the international stage. We see it as an opportunity to raise the profile of women’s flag football in Singapore, and show girls and women that they belong on the field.”

She added that the team hopes its journey can help more women discover the sport, find a community through it and see a possible pathway towards representing Singapore.

What exactly is flag football?

Flag football is a non-contact version of American football. Instead of tackling a player to stop a play, defenders remove a flag attached to the ball carrier’s belt. The result is a game that still relies heavily on speed, agility, passing, strategy and teamwork, but without the full-contact tackling associated with traditional American football.

The sport has had a community in Singapore for close to two decades. The Straits Times reported in 2023 that the local association could trace its roots back to a group of American football enthusiasts who began playing together in 2007, while Singapore’s men’s national team was formed in July 2023.

Since then, the local ecosystem has expanded through recreational leagues, university participation and the formation of national squads.

Why LA28 changes the conversation

Olympic inclusion has given flag football a much larger international platform. But getting to Los Angeles will be highly competitive: LA28 has confirmed that only six men’s teams and six women’s teams will take part in the Olympic tournaments.

Andrew Liyana, President of the Singapore Flag Football Association (SFFA), said the sport already had an active community locally before its Olympic inclusion, but LA28 has helped accelerate wider interest and participation.

“Flag football combines agility, discipline, and teamwork — areas where Singaporeans thrive. We look forward to the chance to compete for gold and build upon our connections with the local and international communities.”

The Jakarta tournament will not decide whether Singapore reaches LA28, but it gives both national teams an important regional benchmark as the competitive pathway becomes more demanding.

Supporting a developing national programme

Competing internationally also comes with practical costs for a relatively young national programme. Oxford Orthopaedics has come on board as a sponsor of both Singapore teams, with its support helping to offset some of the costs of travelling and competing overseas.

For a sport still building awareness in Singapore, however, participation and visibility may be just as important as sponsorship. The women’s first international appearance gives Singapore another national team story to follow, while the men’s squad has the chance to test whether its regional ambitions are translating into results.

Whatever happens in Jakarta, the championships offer a clearer picture of where Singapore flag football currently stands — and how much ground remains to be covered before the sport arrives on the Olympic stage in 2028.

Images: Flag Football Association of Singapore