The flag football event organized by Tom Brady and Fanatics for Saudi Arabia has been moved from Riyadh to Los Angeles amid the ongoing war in the Middle East, Fanatics announced Monday.
The revamped event will take place on March 21 as planned but will now be held at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, the location of the 2028 Olympic flag football competition.
It will now include three 12-player teams. Team USA’s reigning flag football world championship team will join the competition with two teams composed of a mix of current and former NFL stars or athletes outside of football.
Brady will captain one team along with Jalen Hurts with Sean Payton coaching. Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels will captain another team coached by Kyle Shanahan. Both teams will have Robert Saleh on board as a defensive specialist.
The third team will be captained by Aamir Brown and Darrell “Housh” Doucette with Jorge Cascudo as coach.
Fox Sports will remain the broadcast outlet for the event, and comedian Kevin Hart will act as host.
The event is produced by Brady’s Shadow Lion studio. It’s expected to feature NFL stars including Saquon Barkley, CeeDee Lamb, Christian McCaffrey, Myles Garrett, Maxx Crosby, Tyreek Hill, Odell Beckham Jr. and the retired Rob Gronkowski, all of whom will be part of a 24-person pool of current and former NFL players and athletes outside of football who will be drafted by the team captains Wednesday.
“With LA28 on the horizon, events like the Fanatics Flag Football Classic are exactly where Team USA Football belongs,” USA Football CEO and executive director Scott Hallenbeck said in a statement. “We’re ready to showcase world-class Olympic-style 5-on-5 flag football. This event features our world champion flag football athletes on the same field as some of the top current and former pro tackle stars, and I know our players are up for the challenge. We’re grateful to Fanatics Studios for making this possible and for supporting one of the world’s fastest-growing sports.”
The event had originally been scheduled to take place at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but was forced to relocate after recent airstrikes from the U.S. and Israel on Iran have caused turmoil in the Middle East.
–Field Level Media
