USA Football is the national governing body for amateur

American football in the United States American football is the most popular sport in the United States. The National Football League has the highest revenue and average attendance of any sports league in the world. In the United States the game is most often referred to as simply " ...

. It is an independent

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

based in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mar ...

. USA Football designs and delivers premier educational, developmental and competitive programs to advance, unify and grow the sport. As the sport’s national governing body, member of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and organizer of the U.S. national team ( men's and

women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...

) for international competition, USA Football partners with leaders in

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

, child advocacy and

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

to support positive football experience for youth,

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

and other

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History ...

players Players may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Players'' (1979 film), a film starring Ali MacGraw * ''Players'' (2012 film), a Bollywood film * ''Players'' (Dicks novel), a novel by Terrance Dicks, based on the television series ''Doc ...

. USA Football was endowed by the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

and the

National Football League Players Association The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is a labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by president J. C. Tretter and executive director De ...

in 2002.

Coach Education and Certification

Heads Up Football

Created by USA Football in 2012, this education and safety program covers fundamental skills and all-sport-relevant athlete health protocols offered nationally. More than 600,000 coach certifications have been completed through the program since 2012.
Nine of the 10 largest U.S. public school districts
– and 16 of 20 largest – enrolled in the USA Football program in 2018 on either high school and/or middle school levels. For the second consecutive year, more than 3,000 high schools nationwide enrolled in Heads Up Football in 2018. Heads Up football is supported by the ACSM, AMSSM,

NATA Nata could refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Nata, Botswana, a village in Central District of Botswana * Nata, Cyprus, a small village near Paphos, Cyprus * Natá, Coclé, a town and corregimiento in Natá District, Coclé Province, Panama * Natá Di ...

, and the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society. The program’s significant momentum represents cultural and behavioral change. More Heads Up Football details reside here. Its educational components are: * Concussion recognition and response * Heat preparedness and hydration * Sudden cardiac arrest * Proper equipment fitting * Shoulder tackling * Blocking USA Football’s 2020 Youth Coach Certification, nationally accredited by the United States Center for Coaching Excellence, was updated this year and is no longer referred to as Heads Up Football, but incorporates the aforementioned educational components in addition to some new content and resources.

Grant Program

USA Football’s equipment

grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom * Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama * Grant, Inyo County, ...

program is made possible through the National Football League Foundation. The NFL Foundation is the league’s nonprofit organization representing the 32 NFL clubs. Its mission is to support the health, safety and wellness of athletes, youth football and the communities which support the game. USA Football’s grant program has delivered the following since 2006: * Awarded more than $15 million in grants to school-based and youth football programs * Benefited more than 500,000 youth and high school football players in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. * Assisted more than 9,500 youth and high school football programs in all 50 states

Youth Tackle Football Practice Guidelines

Established in 2015, USA Football’s Youth Tackle Football Practice Guidelines may be the only youth sports guidelines to have earned the endorsement of the following sports medicine associations: * American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) * American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) * National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) ** Combined, these three organizations comprise more than 50,000 members across 90 countries spanning 70 occupations within sports medicine. USA Football’s guidelines employ the innovation of defining levels of contact (below) and establishes time limits on player-to-player full contact (“thud” and “live” contact). The guidelines define “thud”-level contact as “full contact” and limits it, unlike other practice guidelines on higher levels of the sport. These guidelines also address proper heat

acclimatization Acclimatization or acclimatisation ( also called acclimation or acclimatation) is the process in which an individual organism adjusts to a change in its environment (such as a change in altitude, temperature, humidity, photoperiod, or pH), ...

, which was written with advisement from the Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut.

Board of Directors

In January 2017,

Raymond Odierno Raymond Thomas Odierno (8 September 1954 – 8 October 2021) was an American military officer who served as a four-star general of the United States Army and as the 38th chief of staff of the Army. Prior to his service as chief of staff, Odier ...

, a retired U.S. Army general, was named chairman of USA Football. He was preceded by

Carl Peterson Carl D. Peterson (born May 26, 1943) For more than 50 years, Carl Peterson was a creative force in the world of American Football, starting at the high school level, through small college ball, to major college football, and on to professional fo ...

, formerly the general manager of the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

, who had been chairman since 2009, when he succeeded

Jack Kemp Jack French Kemp (July 13, 1935 – May 2, 2009) was an American politician and a professional football player. A member of the Republican Party from New York, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. B ...

. , USA Football's Board of Directors includes: * Gen. Raymond T. Odierno (Ret.), Chairman *

Todd Berry Todd Berry (born November 12, 1960) is an American football coach. He was most recently the head football coach at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, a position he held from the 2010 season until his firing during the 2015 season. Berry ser ...

, American Football Coaches Association *

Mike Golic Michael Louis Golic Sr. (; born December 12, 1962) is a former National Football League (NFL) defensive lineman and television host. Golic is well known for his 25-year association with ESPN, most notably co-hosting ESPN Radio's '' Mike & Mike'' ...

, ESPN *

Roger Goodell Roger Stokoe Goodell (born February 19, 1959) is an American businessman who is currently the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL). On August 8, 2006, Goodell was chosen to succeed retiring commissioner Paul Tagliabue. He was chose ...

*, National Football League * Cody Hawkins†, University of California-Davis *

Oliver Luck Oliver Francis Luck (born April 5, 1960) is an American business executive and former football quarterback. He is currently the executive director of the ASUN–WAC Football Conference (tentative name), a new NCAA Division I Football Championship ...

, Private Investor * Kelly Mehrtens, The Trust * Dr. Michael McCrea, Medical College of Wisconsin *

Willie McGinest William Lee McGinest Jr. (born December 11, 1971) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football at USC and was select ...

, NFL Network * Kandice Pritchett Mitchell†, Atlanta Public Schools * Mark Murphy, Green Bay Packers * Dr. Karissa Niehoff, National Federation of State High School Associations * Elizabeth Okey†, Wintrust Financial Corporation * Dr. Allen Sills, National Football League * Brad Smithey†, Freeport (Texas) Brazosport High School * Kevin Warren, Big Ten Conference * Stan Wilcox, National Collegiate Athletic Association *Ex officio member †U.S. Football National Team Alumnus

Partners

USA Football is affiliated with the following sponsor-partnerships: *Catapult *Commerce Bank *FlipGive *

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was first develo ...

*Gilman Gear *Hospital for Special Surgery *Musco Lighting *Mobile Virtual Player *

**National Football League Foundation * NBC SportsEngine *NYU Langone Health *OES Scoreboards *Peopletrail *Pop Warner Little Scholars *Port-a-Field * Riddell *TackleBar *Transcend Benefits Group *Volt Athletics

Legal

In May 2017, after a split that created rival groupings of the

International Federation of American Football The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) is the international governing body of gridiron associations. The IFAF oversees the IFAF World Championship of American Football, which is held every four years. The IFAF became a prov ...

, the IFAF grouping based in Paris stripped its recognition of USA Football, citing disputes over anti-doping enforcement. IFAF (Paris) instead recognized the United States Federation of American Football as the USA's governing body, and the USFAF organized a team to participate in the 2017 World Games, in which it won a bronze medal. The grouping of the IFAF based in New York continued to recognize USA Football and organized the 2017 Women's World Championships, which the USA won. In March 2018, the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its ...

(CAS) determined that the IFAF (NY) was the proper governing entity and voided all decisions of the other IFAF entity, including their decision to strip USA Football of its recognition. USA Football is currently the internationally recognized governing body for American football in the United States.

References

External links

* {{Authority control IFAF Americas

Foot The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg mad ...

American football in the United States Youth sport in the United States Sports organizations established in 2002 2002 establishments in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Indianapolis https://www.news-48.com/2021/07/today%20english%20news%20paper%20headlines_0664254506.html. USA football update