With support from the NFL, flag football will have quite the hype machine behind it as the sport makes its Olympic debut four years from now in Los Angeles. And the journey begins today with the ad above, called “Light It Up,” in which Jalen Hurts heralds LA28 with a flaming football.

The spot references one of the most epic Olympic moments of all time, at Barcelona 1992, when Paralympic archer Antonio Rebollo lit the Olympic Cauldron from a distance with a flaming arrow.

The International Olympic Committee announced last October that flag football would be included at LA28. The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) and the NFL both supported such a move, with the NFL seeing flag as a key driver in player participation in the game going forward.

“The Olympic handover from Paris to Los Angeles is an amazing opportunity to have our global flag ambassador Jalen Hurts kickstart the excitement around the inclusion of men’s and women’s flag football in the 2028 program,” said Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s executive VP of club business, international and league events. “As one of the fastest growing sports globally, flag football has incredible momentum, and LA28 will spotlight the sport at the highest level and on the world’s biggest stage.”

More Creativity coverage from Ad Age:

• The best ads of 2024 (so far).
• See this week’s top 5 campaigns.
• AMV BBDO made a striking new film for Bodyform.
• Nike’s Olympics campaign explores the winner’s mindset.
• Channel 4 made a hard-hitting Paris 2024 Paralympics ad.
• 15 hidden gems among the Cannes Lions winners.
• Meet the interns who won gold in Cannes for a poop joke.
• Nick Cohen looks back at Mads Dogs & Englishmen.

Sign up for our daily Creativity newsletter to see the best stories of the day.