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Flag Football Takes Off!

Flag football has opened the sport of football to everyone. And it’s scheduled to be at the next Olympics!

Olivia Cadiz (#12) holds the ball as Susann Kaufmann reaches for Cadiz’s flag.

© Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images Sport

Olivia Cadiz (#12) and Susann Kaufmann (#14) play in a flag football game during halftime at an NFL football game.

Gridiron football is popular in the United States, but it has its limitations. The sport, which is also known as American football, is open to male athletes but offers fewer playing opportunities to girls and women.

But there’s another version of football—flag football—that’s gaining popularity, and it’s not limited to boys. 

Here’s how flag football works and why it could be the key that opens football to everyone.

Two Types of Football

There are many differences between gridiron football and flag football, but the most notable one is the level of contact (touch) between the players. In gridiron football, players can tackle each other, which means they can knock and push each other down to get possession of the ball.

Flag football players wear flags at their waists. Instead of tackling to stop the person who has the ball, members of the opposing team must pull that player’s flags off.

As a no-contact sport, flag football is safer than gridiron football. And because helmets and padding aren’t required for flag football, it can be less expensive for players to get involved.

Flag Football for Everyone

Gridiron football has long been much more popular than flag football in the United States. The sport is played in high schools and colleges across the country and, of course, in the National Football League (NFL). Women make up about half of America’s NFL fans. But there’s no professional women’s football team in the United States. There are few female players on high school football teams, and there are no women’s college football teams. Very few women have a chance to play gridiron football.

But women and girls have played flag football for decades. Many countries (including the U.S.) have men’s and women’s national flag football teams, and more and more U.S. high schools have made flag football an official sport. 

“It’s so important for girls to have the opportunity to play in high school,” Stephanie Kwok told Reuters. Kwok is the NFL’s head of flag football. She was hired as part of the NFL’s effort to promote flag football, partly to invite more people into the sport.

Flag Football at the Olympics

Flag football has grown so much that it will be included at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. For the first time, men’s and women’s teams from around the world will have the chance to compete for Olympic gold. Kwok hopes the excitement over the Olympics will bring more girls to flag football.

“[Flag football] provides such an opportunity for new people to come to the game of football and experience it firsthand,” Kwok told Reuters.

Fun Fact Icon

Fun Fact

Early footballs were inflated pig bladders!

An engraving of an early football game in which the players tackle each other and are not wearing helmets or padding.

© Stock Montage—Archive Photos/Getty Images

Diana Flores Shines

Diana Flores looks to throw a football as another player tries to take her flag.

© The World Games

Mexico’s Diana Flores (#33) is about to throw a pass as Crystal Winter of the U.S. reaches for a flag during the 2022 World Games Women’s Flag Football Championship.

When Diana Flores learned about flag football, she wanted to play immediately. It didn’t matter that she was 8 years old and there were no children’s teams around. Flores found an opportunity to play with and against teens who were much bigger than she was. It wasn’t easy, but she loved every minute of it. 

Now 26 years old, Flores is the quarterback and captain of the Mexican national flag football team, and she wants to encourage other young girls to play her sport.

“During my journey as a young flag football player, I heard the word ‘no’ a lot. ‘No, you can’t play this sport.’ ‘It’s not for girls.’ ‘No, you’re too short.’ ‘No, you can’t play quarterback because you don’t look like a quarterback,’” Flores told People magazine. 

Flores didn’t listen. “I would tell young girls to always believe in yourself regardless of what others think. Dream big and know there is always a way to achieve your dreams,” she told Fiestabowl.org.

Side by side photos show Flores looking for a receiver and attempting a pass.

© The World Games

Two high pressure moments from the 2022 World Games show Flores (#33) proving she’s truly the MVP.

Flores has been a member of Mexico’s national team since she was 16. In that time, she has helped the team win multiple medals at four World Cups and a gold medal at the 2022 World Games, where she was named Most Valuable Player (MVP).

Off the field, Flores is a vocal supporter of equality in sports, and she’s been working hard to encourage girls to play flag football.

“I feel that my mission is to keep opening doors for girls and women, not only on the field, not only in sports, but out of sports, and to keep opening new paths for them to achieve their dreams and whatever they want,” Flores told People.

Assort Those Sports!

Animation shows photos of various sports being played.

© Masterpress, Ethan Miller, Robert Prange, Maddie Meyer, Ryan Pierse, Minas Panagiotakis, Lukas Blazek, Laurence Griffiths, Stu Forster, Hannah Peters, dpa picture alliance, Ezra Shaw/Getty Images, © Marta Fernandez, Celso Pupo Rodrigues, The Skydiver/Dreamstime.com

Whether you like swimming, baseball, gymnastics, or hockey, you can read about your favorite sport at Britannica!

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