Flag football surges in California and around the globe

By omarks2059 on August 1, 2024

On a sun drenched field in Irvine, dozens of teen girls weave between cones, run long for passes and agilely step in and out of ladders, vying for a coveted spot on the Woodbridge High School varsity team. After an undefeated year that culminated in a league title, the Woodbridge Warriors are building the foundation for another prosperous season ahead, and no girl wants to be left behind.

Coach Thompson inspires the next generation of flag football players trying out for Woodbridge's undefeated team. (Oliver Marks / High School Insider)

These players, head coach Mark Thompson said, "are so excited… excited to be pioneers in this sport, excited to see how big it has grown and how big it will be."

Flag football, once seen as a safer alternative to its tackle counterpart, is well on its way to becoming a popular sport sensation in its own right. This success can be attributed to the sport's accessibility, addictive action and plans for an eye-opening introduction as an Olympic sport in the 2028 Los Angeles games.

Flag football has struggled to break the misconception that it's merely a safer, watered-down alternative to tackle football. When the California Interscholastic Federation sanctioned it as a girls sport in February of 2023, they rewrote the playbook for high school football.

Now, more than 200 schools just like Woodbridge have flag football programs of their own, as many others look to develop their own in the near future.

Footballers from Panama and Mexico play in an elite international competition. (Oliver Marks / High School Insider)

This high school growth spurt mirrors when flag football was announced to be sanctioned at the collegiate level in May 2020. Some small National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics colleges in the midwest played their first season of girls flag football in 2021.

The college game caught on fast. As the highest level of play outside of professional football, the sport quickly attracted an enthusiastic fanbase and extensive recruiting network to support new collegiate teams.

A lot has changed since that 2021 season, but one thing has stayed constant — Ottawa University, a small baptist school in rural Kansas, remains the dominant team, winning the national championship in four consecutive seasons.

Flag pulling is a crucial and unique skill in the sport of flag football. (Oliver Marks / High School Insider)

Many credit that sterling record and loyal fandom to Liz Sowers, a former professional football player and the current head coach of the Ottawa Braves.

Flag football "has kind of put Ottawa on the map in a whole different world at the highest level of excitement," Sowers said. "It is still really foreign to see women playing football. Anyone sees a girl throw a spiral, then instantly, they're like, 'whoa that's really interesting…' it's something people have never seen."

Though the sport is currently a big draw at small colleges, Sowers expects within a few years National Collegiate Athletic Association schools will establish their own flag teams — recruiting and developing a wide base of talent in advance of the 2028 Olympics.

But for now, Ottawa is the national pinnacle of the sport.

"You have young girls from Maryland in middle school who're going to say that their dream is to play flag football at Ottawa," Sowers said.

Team Panama celebrates after a hard-fought down. (Oliver Marks / High School Insider)

Reality is rapidly catching up with Sowers' vision of the future.

The flag football International Cup and Select Bowl in July overflowed with optimistic new players, filling three fields of the massive Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif. At any point in a weekend of nonstop game play, one could spot a towering high schooler from Canada bullying his way into a contested catch on a nearby field. While at the other end of the park, a 12-year-old from Japan nimbly wove her way into the endzone.

Tensions run high as Team USA marches through Canada's defense. (Oliver Marks / High School Insider)

Like the action on the field, the sport of flag football itself is moving at a breakneck speed and pulling new recruits into its every move.

"It's the sport to play at the moment," said Kodie Fuller, a professional flag football player and receiver on the Australian women's national team. "It's fast, it's creative. I think with how the population is at the moment, you've got Gen Z and all the younger people, it's the sport for them… and everyone loves it."

In addition to diversity of age and nationality, the multiple skills that lead to flag football success also invite a wide variety of athletic types.

Kodie Fuller evades defenders at the Asia-Oceania Flag Football Championships in Kuala Lumpur in 2023. (Photo courtesy of Kodie Fuller)

"It's really accessible and inclusive, so you can come from a variety of different sports or backgrounds," Fuller said. "You can come from not having played sports before, and you'd be able to play, you'd be able to learn, you'd be able to develop. I know with some sports, there's obviously barriers in terms of size and stature, weight, gender…but with flag, there are none."

Japanese players jumping for joy in celebration of an impressive touchdown grab. (Oliver Marks / High School Insider)

Fuller said she views flag as more of a lifetime sport as opposed to the shorter primes of tackle football players. Fuller explains that the limited contact of the game draws in youth players, who are then able to thrive late into their careers as a result of fewer harmful body blows.

While flag football is gaining ground at a healthy pace, already, players like Fuller believe that the tectonic shift for flag football, both in California and around the world, may be determined by the 2028 Olympics.

"Everyone's got their eyes on the Olympics… I think that's going to continue driving growth and expansion," Fuller said. "It's just going to continue to grow more rapidly, probably be more competition, and better quality athletes come from it as well, which is really cool…having that Olympic announcement is quite key at the moment to helping us develop and grow."

With the 2028 games, a likely inflection point for flag football, on the horizon, football organizations are putting their muscle into building a foundation to support the sport's predicted boom. Franchises like the Los Angeles Rams are using social outreach to develop both a fanbase and new talent from all of California's diverse communities.

A former NFL player, Johnathan Franklin now focuses on helping the community through his work with the Rams. (Oliver Marks / High School Insider)

Senior Director of Social Justice and Human Rights for the Rams, Johnathan Franklin, said a pathway needs to be built for future stars who may play for the Olympic team.

"This platform didn't exist a couple of years ago, and now that flag football, for boys and girls, was voted into the LA 2028 Olympics, we want to level the playing field and to provide … the development necessary to provide a once in a lifetime opportunity for some." Franklin said.

By creating flag football leagues and tournaments on local fields, the Rams and other NFL Teams are doing their best to ride the wave of this rising sport across America and perhaps even globally. This world stage is where tackle football has struggled to match the popularity that it's found in the States.

Flags decorated with the Rams logo are worn by young athletes across Los Angeles. (Oliver Marks / High School Insider)

With the NFL and International Olympic Committee already planting their flag on the future of this sport, the next few years could see Los Angeles becoming a global hub of flag football as the 2028 games approach.

For those who want to experience flag football for themselves, Franklin said there's no better time than now.

"There are opportunities for everyone to play flag football," Franklin said, "regardless of where they are or of the community that they grow up in."