Flag Football Rules Overview

The Flag Footballs Rules vary from organization to organization.  Some of the main rules that differ are the eligibility of players to receive a Forward pass, the ability to block an opponent and the amount of physical contact allowed between players.

For most Flag football leagues, the field is shortened from a traditional 100 yard to 80 yards.

There are no fumbles.

 If the football in flag football rules touches the ground then the play is considered dead or over.

The is usually no down field blocking allowed and contact levels of a “Bump & Run” vary between Flag Football Organizations. 

A Play is considered over or dead if the ball touches the ground or the Player with the Football is stopped via His / Her Flag being pulled.

There are rules against Shielding your Flags or trying to use your hands in order to prevent a defender from “tackling” or grabbing your flag.

Offensive player are not allowed to dive forward to gain extra yardage.

No Offensive player may run over a defender.  Like the “charging Rule” in Basketball.

First downs are usually determined by gaining yardage.  Some Flag Football leagues that use the 80 yard field have the field broken down into 3 zones on the active field of play.  Each zone is 20 yards.  If the offense moves past on of the 20 yard zones they receive a first down. In this 80 yard field you have the end zone, 20 yard 1^st down zone, mid field first down zone, opposing 20 year 1^st down zone and finally the other end zone.

Traditional 4 downs are given to acquire enough yardage to make a first down or score.

Flag football is an Offensive game.  Most teams score on every possession.

Score is usually normal, 6 points for a Touchdown, 3 points for a field goal, and 1 or 2 points for an extra point based upon a kick attempt or a play from scrimmage.

Most Flag Football tournaments are double elimination and a team may play as many as 4-5 games in one day and as many as 6-8 over a weekend event.  Flag Football in the competitive leagues and tournament is really Iron Man Football.  Players go both ways at times for several games in one day.