IFAF had been recommended for membership after the IOC Executive Board meeting in March, and its rubber-stamping comes a day before its flag football discipline is set to be approved by the Session for inclusion at Los Angeles 2028.

French official Pierre Trochet was elected as IFAF President in December 2021, and expressed his delight having overseen a successful campaign for full recognition from the IOC.

"This recognition is for all of us," he said.

"It is the product of a rigorous evaluation over many years, and I wish to thank the IOC’s sport department for their ongoing guidance and the IOC members for their trust.

"IFAF’s new status recognises our growth, our unity, and our shared commitment to drive forward our sport in line with best global practice, and with athletes at the core, building on the work of all those who have gone before us."

Trochet paid tribute to his predecessor Richard MacLean of Canada and managing director Andy Fuller, who helped to guide the organisation through tumultuous times which included a split and suspension by the Global Association of International Sports Federations in 2017.

Trochet said the full recognition was "the symbol of the journey we have been on over 25 years", and would help to further strengthen American football's standing within the Olympic movement.

"Concretely, full IOC recognition will bring trickle-down benefits throughout our community and across all formats of the sport, at both performance and grassroots levels - for example through greater integration with national Olympic structures," he commented.

"I look forward to discussing these opportunities with you personally in the months to come.

"The work does not stop here but I hope, as a global community, that we can all take a moment to celebrate today, knowing that this is just the start for our sport, our federation and our global American football family."

Flag football is set to be rubber-stamped on the programme for Los Angeles 2028 tomorrow, which would mark its Olympic debut.

Flag football is set to be rubber-stamped on the programme for Los Angeles 2028 tomorrow, which would mark its Olympic debut.

IFAF had received provisional recognition in 2013, and IOC sports director Kit McConnell told members it now fulfilled all the required criteria.

"Following some delays related to a contested internal election in 2015, the situation has now been fully normalised and the Federation is now a strong and well-governed Federation which meets all of the required criteria, including conformance with the Olympic Charter, compliance with the wider code meeting the minimum criteria of 50 affiliated National Federations from at least three continents, and there are no objections from the Olympic or recognised Federations," he said.

"The Federation has 75 member National Federations, an estimated five million registered athletes around the world, and strong and regular World Championships in both American football and flag football, which is on the programme for the World Games and now has a strong partnership with a professional league, the NFL [National Football League], which includes ambitious joint international development."