Start here

How to play flag football

Updated November 3, 2026 · 4 min read

Never watched a game? Here is one, in the order it happens. Flag football is American football without tackling: the defense stops the ball carrier by pulling a flag off her belt.

Players

5 a side

Field

25 × 70 yd

To throw

7 seconds

Touchdown

6 points

The goal

Get the ball into the other team's end zone. You can throw it there or run it there after a handoff or a catch. Each team takes turns on offense, one drive at a time. The team with more points at the end wins.

The field

The teams

5 players a side. On offense: the quarterback (throws or hands off), the center (snaps the ball, then runs a route) and three receivers. Every one of them may catch a pass. On defense: usually one rusher who chases the quarterback, defenders who cover the receivers, and a safety who plays deep. More on each in positions.

A drive

Your drive starts on your own 5-yard line. You get 4 downs (plays) to cross midfield. Make it, and you get 3 more to score (4 under the Olympic IFAF rules). If you don't, the ball goes to the other team, who start from their own 5. There are no kickoffs and no punts.

One play, step by step

1. Line up. The offense sets up behind the line of scrimmage. The rusher starts at least 7 yards back.
2. The snap. The center hands or tosses the ball back to the quarterback between her legs.
3. The 7-second clock starts. The quarterback must throw, hand off or pitch before 7 seconds are up. In NFL FLAG she can't run past the line herself.
4. Routes. Receivers run set paths to get open. Defenders stay with them, without touching them.
5. The pass. One forward pass per play, thrown from behind the line.
6. The flag. The ball carrier runs until a defender pulls a flag. The ball is placed where the flag came off.

How a play ends

• A defender pulls the ball carrier's flag (or it falls off).
• The ball carrier steps out of bounds.
• A pass hits the ground: incomplete, the ball goes back to where the play started.
• The 7 seconds run out before the quarterback throws: the play is dead and the down is used.
• Someone scores.

Scoring

• Touchdown: 6 points.
• Extra point (the try): 1 point from the 5-yard line or 2 points from the 10. In NFL FLAG the 1-point try must be a pass.
• Safety: 2 points for the defense, when the ball carrier is downed in her own end zone.
• A defense that intercepts a try and returns it all the way scores 2.

The rules that make it flag football

• No contact: no tackling, blocking, screening, holding or pushing.
• Pull only the ball carrier's flag.
• No flag guarding: the runner may not stiff-arm, or cover her flags with a hand, the ball or her jersey.
• No-run zones: close to midfield and the goal line you must pass. Why ›
• Rushers start 7 yards back. Rushing rules ›

All of them, NFL FLAG and Olympic side by side: the rules.

How to start playing

1. Find a league. NFL FLAG has thousands of local leagues for kids; schools, parks departments and adult rec leagues run their own. Girls can also look at their high school's team.
2. Get the gear. A flag belt, a ball your size, a mouthguard and cleats without metal studs. See equipment.
3. Learn the basics. The route tree, the positions and how to pull a flag.
4. Play. Every player touches the ball in flag. That's the fun of it.