Flag football is one of the fastest growing sports in America. The soft feel of the grass, the smell of the field, and a love for the game have helped make it so. According to the International Federation of American Football, the governing body whose duty is to grow the game, 2.4 million kids under 17 play organized flag football in the United States.
CEO and Executive Director of USA Football Scott Hallenbeck spoke about the sport's growth. He feels flag football is paving the way for girls to get started in football and compete in the sport up to the international level.
"Flag football's popularity is exploding at all levels of play worldwide," Hallenbeck said. "Flag football is appealing because it's a creative, fast, exciting, and competitive sport that people of all ages can play. I have never seen a sport scale up so quickly to meet increasing demands for opportunities to …show more content…
Conversely, during the same period, there was a 44% increase in flag participation among girls ages 6-17. More than 230,800 girls ages six to 17 played flag football in 2023. Comparatively, on the boy's side, USA Football also touts that from 2014 through 2023, there was a 58% increase in participation in flag football among ages 6-12 (boys and girls combined). Almost 1.1 million young athletes in this age range played the sport in 2023. During the same period, flag participation was a 38% increase among ages 6-17. More than 1.6 million athletes in this age range played flag football in 2023. Certainly, the game has grown so much in popularity that earlier this year, the Tampa Bay Bucs hosted a Flag Football Kickoff and Preseason Classic Schedule. This event featured 108 games in total, and the clinic featured many of the state's top teams. The goal of this event is to promote the growth of flag
CEO and Executive Director of USA Football Scott Hallenbeck spoke about the sport's growth. He feels flag football is paving the way for girls to get started in football and compete in the sport up to the international level.
"Flag football's popularity is exploding at all levels of play worldwide," Hallenbeck said. "Flag football is appealing because it's a creative, fast, exciting, and competitive sport that people of all ages can play. I have never seen a sport scale up so quickly to meet increasing demands for opportunities to …show more content…
Conversely, during the same period, there was a 44% increase in flag participation among girls ages 6-17. More than 230,800 girls ages six to 17 played flag football in 2023. Comparatively, on the boy's side, USA Football also touts that from 2014 through 2023, there was a 58% increase in participation in flag football among ages 6-12 (boys and girls combined). Almost 1.1 million young athletes in this age range played the sport in 2023. During the same period, flag participation was a 38% increase among ages 6-17. More than 1.6 million athletes in this age range played flag football in 2023. Certainly, the game has grown so much in popularity that earlier this year, the Tampa Bay Bucs hosted a Flag Football Kickoff and Preseason Classic Schedule. This event featured 108 games in total, and the clinic featured many of the state's top teams. The goal of this event is to promote the growth of flag