The Fanatics Flag Football Classic, a groundbreaking global event from Fanatics Studios, the joint venture between Fanatics and the OBB Media, Tom Brady (American football player), and FOX Sports, is being relocated to the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles (US) but will keep its original date – March 21st, 2026.
The joint venture between Fanatics and OBB Media, Tom Brady and FOX Sports will keep its originally scheduled date of March 21st though it won’t be playing at the 30,000-capacity Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, amid ongoing military operations in the Middle East involving the United States, Israel, Iran, and others.
‘BMO STADIUM’ stated that the event organizers announced the change on March 9th as well as an expanded format which includes the Team USA Football. The event also notably marks Brady’s first official return to the field since his 2023 retirement.
New York (US)-based Fanatics Studios is a transformative new joint venture by Fanatics, a leading global sports platform, and OBB Media, the award-winning next-gen entertainment studio, creating a global sports and entertainment studio. Built to independently create, finance, produce, and distribute best-in-class content at the intersection of sports and culture the Fanatics Studios will house a slate of projects spanning the feature films and the documentaries, unscripted and scripted originals, one-of-a-kind live event specials, premium digital series, and more.
The Fanatics Studios brings together industry-leading capabilities, resources and relationships from both companies: Pairing Fanatics’ unmatched reach and impact as one of the most dynamic companies in sports which boasts a roster of thousands of pre-eminent athletes and sports partners which span the apparel industry, the trading cards and the collectibles, sports betting and iGaming, events, and more with the OBB’s proven ability to drive culture through storytelling and create award-winning content with the biggest names in entertainment thus amassing billions of views.
FOX Sports is the umbrella entity representing Fox Corporation’s wide array of multiplatform US-based sports assets. Built with brands capable of reaching more than 100 million viewers in a single weekend the business has ownership and interests in linear television networks, digital and mobile programming, broadband platforms, multiple Websites, joint venture (JV) businesses, and several licensing relationships. FOX Sports includes the sports television arm of the FOX Network.
Tom Brady is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the NFL team New England Patriots and was a central contributor to the franchise’s dynasty from 2001 to 2019. In his final three seasons he played for the NFL team Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady is widely regarded as the greatest quarterback of all time.
The 22,000-capacity BMO Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the Major League Soccer (MLS) team Los Angeles FC and the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team Angel City FC.
‘BMO STADIUM’ further stated that the newly structured, first of its kind competition, includes three 12-player teams: Two comprising an incredible mix of the current and the former NFL stars and the elite global athletes and the third represented by the USA Football’s reigning International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Flag Football World Champion – the US Men’s National Team – setting up a world-class showdown between many of the biggest names in sports and the most accomplished flag players in the world.
New York (US)-based the National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and the highest professional level of American football in the world.
The USA Football is the National Governing Body (NGB) for American Football in the United States and the sole US Member of the International Federation of American Football (IFAF), the international governing body for the sport of American football. The USA Football selects, trains and leads Team USA Football in tackle and flag football disciplines while delivering world-class football development resources, sport standards and competitive opportunities to empower the athletes at every level. The USA Football is committed to ensuring every athlete has access to develop and compete in the game through safer, inclusive and innovative pathways.
The Founders FFC will be captained by Tom Brady and Jalen Hurts (quarterback for the NFL team Philadelphia Eagles) and coached by Sean Payton (American football Coach and player). The Wildcats FFC will be captained by Jayden Daniels (quarterback for the NFL team Washington Commanders) and Joe Burrow (quarterback for the NFL team Cincinnati Bengals) and coached by Kyle Shanahan (American football Coach). Robert Saleh (American football Coach) will serve as a defensive specialist for both the teams.
On March 18th, Brady/Hurts and Daniels/Burrow will draft their 12-person teams from a pool of 24 current and former NFL stars and athletes – including the previously announced players Saquon Barkley (running back for the Philadelphia Eagles), Myles Garrett (defensive end for the NFL team Cleveland Browns), Odell Beckham Jr. (American professional football wide receiver), Rob Gronkowski (American football player), and Logan Paul (American YouTuber and Internet personality). The newly inducted NFL Football Hall of Fame legends Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald will also be on hand for the event serving as the Commissioners.
The US Men’s National team will be captained by Aamir Brown and Darrell “Housh” Doucette (American flag football player) and coached by Jorge Cascudo. With more than 20 million players globally flag football is the fastest-growing sport in the world. The event moving to BMO Stadium in Los Angeles sets up an even greater connection to the LA28 Olympic Games where flag football will make its highly anticipated debut at that stadium.
The 2028 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA28, is an upcoming international multisport event scheduled to take place from July 14th-30th, 2028, in the United States. Los Angeles will be the Host City with various events also scheduled to be held at the other Cities spread across the Greater Los Angeles area plus two subsites in Oklahoma City.
The Fanatics Flag Football Classic will air live on FOX Sports, FOX One and Tubi from 4pm-8:30pm ET/1pm-5:30 pm PT. The event will also be streamed internationally on the Fanatics YouTube channel. Actor and comedian Kevin Hart will serve as the host alongside actor and comedian Druski.
The games will follow modified Olympic style flag football rules featuring two 15-minute halves with a running clock on a 50 x 25-yard field. All the three teams will meet in a round-robin tournament with the top two teams advancing to the Championship.
The Fanatics Flag Football Classic event will be produced by Fanatics Studios, the groundbreaking joint venture between Fanatics and OBB Media, quickly becoming the premier global studio for sports entertainment in association with Shadow Lion (an award-winning creative studio). The telecast will be handled by FOX Sports.
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