Flying the NFL flag
More than 200 girls recently practised their flag football skills and got tips from top American football players. They took part in a fun event to start the Jets and Bears NFL Girls Flag league in London.
Flag football is a simple version of American football.
The Girls Flag League is set up by the NFL (National Football League), the top level of American football in the US. There are no tackles or contact in flag football. Two teams of five to 10 players each have two flags, which look like ribbons, attached to their waist. To “tackle” the person with the ball, the opposing team needs to pull one or both of their flags off. The aim is for the attacking team to get the ball to the end of the opposition’s half of the pitch to score a touchdown.
The Jets and Bears NFL Girls Flag league involves girls from 21 schools in London, with teams playing in one of two leagues. One league is called the Jets, and represents NFL team the New York Jets, and the other league is the Bears, representing the Chicago Bears. The winners of each league will play a special game against each other on 20 May.
Quincy Williams (New York Jets) and Tremaine Edmunds (Chicago Bears) watched as the girls trained. Players from the Great Britain women’s flag team also helped. Flag football can be played by girls and boys and is a fun sport to try. To find out more, have a look at nfl.com/uk/nfl-flag