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Tackle football has been part of my entire life, going back to my Pop Warner days with the Morrisville Little Bulldogs. Pennsbury High School, Wisconsin, the National Football League as a player and now an executive -- each chapter has reinvigorated my love for the game.
But along the way this became very apparent: The game I grew up playing isn't accessible to everyone. There are countless people who've been on the sidelines: girls and young women; boys who aren't interested in full contact; families that can't afford the equipment; parents looking for an alternative to tackle for their kids; children and adults with disabilities.
Once your eyes are opened to something like that, there's no turning back. That's why my focus, alongside advocates around the world, has become so invested in creating access to flag football for thousands upon thousands of prospective players. These are athletes who've been waiting for their chance to take the field, now given an opportunity to compete, to dream, to achieve.
In other words, flag is football for all.
When you really think about it in those terms, flag football's explosion should come as no surprise:
- More than 20 million people in 100-plus countries participate in flag today, including 500,000 girls under the age of 17 in the U.S.
- Eleven states have sanctioned girls' flag football as a varsity sport, with momentum building in dozens of others.
- Women are being recruited and offered scholarships to play collegiately. Schools in the NAIA have fielded flag teams since 2021. Since then we've seen a series of firsts: the first Division I HBCU, the first NCAA Division I or II conference and the first college in Illinois to adopt women's flag programs, all in 2024 alone.
- Flag football is now an Olympic sport, debuting at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
- The NFL recently hired Stephanie Kwok as vice president of flag football, and all 32 clubs have dedicated significant resources toward supporting youth flag programs in their local markets.
