With the Olympics about to commence, many Americans may be wondering the same thing—where’s football? Greer Monterastelli, USA Football’s senior manager of national teams, told us that a unique set of circumstances has slowed football’s international growth to this point.

“Our Nationals Team program has really started to grow in just the last three years,” Monterastelli said. “So it’s been unique for us because people have never associated representing your country with American football. It’s pretty easy to wrap your brain around USA basketball, USA baseball, USA Track & Field or whatever it is because as those sports grew, a national governing body was created.”

That wasn’t the case with football, which began being played in the late 19th century. It wasn’t until 2002 that USA Football was endowed by the NFL and NFL Players Association as football’s national governing body, and it wasn’t until 2007 that it began preparing national teams for international competition.

“We’re doing the same thing with football that all the other sports have done,” Monterastelli said. “We’re just doing it years and years after the game started and became so successful and so strong across the country.”

Despite the late start, 62 countries now have international football federations. While with USA’s national teams over the last few years, Monterastelli has seen firsthand that the game is indeed growing around the world.

“It’s very similar to what [other countries] have done in everything else that they do,” Monterastelli said. “They’re bringing McDonalds in and they’re bringing in Walmart. They’re bringing everything from the United States into their daily lives. It’s the same with our football game. . . But they are still years and years away from viewing American football in their country the way that we view it here in the States.”

USA Football-Greer Monterastelli
We’re doing the same thing with football that all the other sports have done We’re just doing it years and years after the game started and became so successful and so strong across the country.

While the US is the dominant force in international competitions, other countries continue to improve their level of play by modeling their game after US pro-style systems.

“If you looked at them and took country colors and logos off of them, I don’t think you would say, ‘I don’t recognize this football,’” Monterastelli said. “It’s not so different that you would say, ‘There is no way this is an American team.’”

All teams in this year’s U19 World Championships went through anti-doping tests in accordance with International Olympic Committee (IOC) regulations. With the’s pushing and the IOC’s continued desire to expand the games, Olympic football could be possibility in the not-so-distant future.

For now though USA Football is focusing on doing everything it can to make the game safer for its participants in the US and around the world. All USA National Teams undergo impact testing to prevent anyone from playing while suffering from a concussion, a technique that USA Football is pushing for around the country. The organization also hosts clinics nationwide that teach young athletes the correct way to safely tackle and that make sure teams are outfitted with the correct helmets and pads.

“Those are really the first two steps,” Monterastelli said. “Teach a kid how to tackle, and make sure he’s in the proper equipment. . . Obviously [NFL] Commissioner [Roger] Goodell has taken a serious step back from the game and a look at keeping his people safe, keeping them healthy, extending careers and minimizing the post-playing issues that guys have. He’s doing it at the elite level and we’re doing it around the front of it. We’re starting with the young kids and we’re really trying to push concussion awareness.”

Clinics are also hosted at international competitions so that other teams can take safety insights back to their own country. For more information on international football competitions or USA Football’s safety initiatives, visit usafootball.com.