USA Football coaches will visit Tonga next week to help introduce more young people to flag football, as the sport prepares to make its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.

Head coach Joshua Saunders and assistant coach Nadia Bibbs will lead coach education workshops and after-school clinics from 5 to 9 August under the United States Embassy in Tonga’s Sports Envoy programme.

The initiative aims to expand flag football in Tonga before continuing to Fiji.

Saunders, head coach of USA Football’s 17U Girls’ Junior National Flag Football Team, said he hopes the visit will strengthen cultural ties while helping local coaches develop the sport.

“I’m super excited about the experience and seeing the cultural differences and then being able to bridge the cultures through flag football,” he said. He added that he hopes to leave coaches and sporting leaders inspired to grow the game across Tonga and Fiji.

With more than 300 career high school coaching victories and six Florida State Coach of the Year awards, Saunders describes himself as detail-oriented and believes flag football is accessible to athletes of all sizes and abilities.

The programme follows recent American football development activities in Tonga, including coaching clinics involving Brigham Young University staff and players in June.

The US Embassy says the latest initiative is intended to strengthen sporting links between Tonga, Fiji and Samoa while creating new opportunities for Pacific athletes.

The Embassy has also invited boys and girls of all ages and skill levels to a public flag football practice at St Andrew Field on Saturday, ahead of the visiting coaches’ arrival.

Flag football will feature at the Olympic Games for the first time when Los Angeles hosts the event in 2028.