Pennsylvania sanctions girls' flag football as high school sport

Pennsylvania made flag football an officially sanctioned girls' high school sport Wednesday amid a push from the commonwealth's NFL teams to encourage more female athletes to get on the field.

The approval from the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association -- the statewide body that governs high school athletics in the commonwealth -- makes flag football an official sport for girls in the nation's fifth-most populous state starting in the 2025-26 school year.

As part of the process to sanction girls' flag football, the PIAA required at least 100 participating teams from across the state. That threshold was reached in April with 65 schools participating in the Philadelphia Eagles' flag football league and 36 in the Pittsburgh Steelers' league.

"This is not just an important day for the Eagles and Steelers, but for the sport of football and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania," Eagles owner Jeff Lurie said in a statement. "When we launched our girls' flag football league in 2022, we set an ambitious five-year goal to get the sport sanctioned in our state. Now, here we are three seasons later and two years ahead of schedule. The sport's organic growth is a credit to the participants, administrators, coaches, officials, and parents who helped raise the profile of girls' flag football.

"We thank the PIAA for their leadership in recognizing a sport that has the power to unlock new pathways and opportunities for girls of all ages in every community."

Allowing interscholastic competition statewide will open the door to school districts adding flag football as a sport and allows schools to compete for a state championship, ultimately developing a pipeline of talent for the college game and beyond.

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, 42,955 girls participated in flag football in the 2023-24 school year, a 105% increase in participation levels from the previous year.

At an Eagles-sponsored girls' flag football game last year, team president Don Smolenski reflected on the growth of the sportand the club's involvement.

"That engagement at this age; you make a lifetime fan in this age bracket," he said. "And if more are playing the game and enjoying the game -- and taking away the lessons that the game provides -- the better that is for the game and for the National Football League as a whole."

The move adds Pennsylvania to a growing list of states that have included girls' flag football in high school athletic programs. Those other states are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia,Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New York and Tennessee.

A surge in interest in flag football -- in which no one gets tackled and a play ends when the ball carrier's flag is pulled from their belt -- hit a high point this summer when the International Olympic Committee announced plans to make flag football an official Olympic sport,for men and for women, at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.