Inclusion in Olympics could be key to international growth of NFL
Article By mflorio.tsn on 24th February, 2010
Every four years, Americans become enthralled with sports we routinely ignore during the two-week respite from reality known as the Olympics. But as the Winter and Summer Games continuously expand to include niche sports with cult followings at best, the ongoing omission of the greatest sport on the planet becomes more glaring.
Football. American football. The real football.
The Olympics won't be complete until the roster of events includes football. More importantly, football won't be able to completely saturate the world's consciousness until the Olympics embrace it.
As crazy as it sounds (my editor used that same phrase when green-lighting this column), football isn't as far away from becoming an Olympic sport as the casual observer might think. Reached for comment regarding the league's position on the matter, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello shared with me the comments of Tommy Wiking, president of the International Federation of American Football.
"One of the key objectives of IFAF is to achieve International Olympic Committee recognition and we plan to make a formal application to the IOC in 2011," Wiking said recently at Le Deux Magots in Paris.
"IOC recognition would be the first step towards proposing American football as an Olympic participation sport, but more immediately would benefit the more than 50 countries that are members of IFAF. Such recognition would open doors to funding, provide a route into many school curriculums and would further raise the profile of our sport internationally, which in turn would lead to growth."
Related Links PFT: Coin flip for 10th pick on Friday PFT: Wyche compares Tebow to NFL greats PFT: Rumor Mill SN's Olympic coverage The kicker? (Pun intended, we...
Read Complete Article at Latest Sporting News Articles for NFL
Football. American football. The real football.
The Olympics won't be complete until the roster of events includes football. More importantly, football won't be able to completely saturate the world's consciousness until the Olympics embrace it.
As crazy as it sounds (my editor used that same phrase when green-lighting this column), football isn't as far away from becoming an Olympic sport as the casual observer might think. Reached for comment regarding the league's position on the matter, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello shared with me the comments of Tommy Wiking, president of the International Federation of American Football.
"One of the key objectives of IFAF is to achieve International Olympic Committee recognition and we plan to make a formal application to the IOC in 2011," Wiking said recently at Le Deux Magots in Paris.
"IOC recognition would be the first step towards proposing American football as an Olympic participation sport, but more immediately would benefit the more than 50 countries that are members of IFAF. Such recognition would open doors to funding, provide a route into many school curriculums and would further raise the profile of our sport internationally, which in turn would lead to growth."
Related Links PFT: Coin flip for 10th pick on Friday PFT: Wyche compares Tebow to NFL greats PFT: Rumor Mill SN's Olympic coverage The kicker? (Pun intended, we...
Read Complete Article at Latest Sporting News Articles for NFL
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