Sept. 26, 2026Updated Sept. 27, 2026, 6:46 a.m. ET
CARSON, CA — The girls flag football jamboree hosted by the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, Sept. 26 felt as much like a pep rally as a football extravaganza.
There was an impromptu dance-off, dozens of players singing together and shrieks of joy at Dignity Health Sports Park. The event included about 140 girls high school flag football teams from Southern California and about 3,500 athletes, according to the Rams, not to mention an undeniable phenomenon.
Girls flag football has taken off.
Like a rocket.
The NFL is working with TMRW Sports, a company co-founded golfers Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, on a new professional flag football league for women and men. The league also has supported a grassroots effort to grow the sport.
In March, the NFL announced its collaboration with TMRW Sports on the pro leagues. But on Saturday it was news to Aryanna Davila, a senior center for Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Eastvale, California. She said the idea of pro flag football for women would have been unbelievable when he started playing flag football four years ago.
“It definitely shows you how much the sport is growing,’’ Davila told USA TODAY Sports.
Among those who attended the jamboree was Andrew Whitworth, the retired Rams offensive tackle. He spoke to the players as a group Saturday and later addressed the prospect of a pro flag football for women.
“There’s enough money in pro football with men that, good gosh almighty, we can share some of that,” Whitworth said. “… I think it’d be really cool to see that be something one day.”
Senior quarterback Nylah Moore of Eagle Rock High School talked about the possibility of a pro league.
“I think it’s been coming along for a long time,” Moore said. “Since my freshman year, the sport has gotten so much hype, and I think it’s meant to be.”
Surging sport
This month the NFHS released a High School Athletics Participation Study reporting 102,360 girls played high school flag football during the 2025-26 academic year. That represented a one-year increase of 48.7%.
Girls flag football also is the fastest-growing support the NCAA has seen and could be a NCAA championship sport as soon as the spring of 2028, said Ivorye Long, Assistant Director of Outreach for the NCAA.
Whitworth, who works for the Rams on community engagement activities, mused on Saturday about the possibility that one of the players at the jamboree could make the U.S. women’s Olympic team.
The sport will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Games at the Los Angeles. Whitworth, who was a four-time Pro Bowl selection, mused about the possibility of a player from the jamboree making it to the U.S. women’s flag football team.
The Olympics clearly have fueled interest in flag football. But the event on Saturday reflected an interest that likely transcends a single event.
The Rams were hosting their fourth annual jamboree, and Whitworth said it was the biggest held by any of the NFL’s 32 teams.
Julie Wilkins, the head coach at Eagle Rock High School in Los Angeles, had attended all four of the Rams’ jamborees and noted a change. Wilkins, who’s also the girls basketball coach at Eagle Rock, said in the past some of her flag football players seemed more focused on basketball.
“It’s actually really amazing to see how many girls are here and it’s all about flag football,’’ Wilkins told USA TODAY Sports. “Now it’s not just a second sport and most of these girls play just this sport.”
Next steps for NCAA
In January, the NCAA voted to classify women’s flag football as an “emerging sport.” That created a path toward flag football becoming a full-fledged sport that competes for an NCAA championship.
This year, women’s wrestling competed for its inaugural NCAA championship after 10 years as an emerging sport. Women’s flag football, by contrast, might need only a single year to make a big leap.
In January, the NCAA’s schools will vote on whether to elevate women’s flag football to a championship sport.
“It’s the fastest we have seen a sport go from emerging to a national championship,’’ said Love, the Assistant Director of Outreach for the NCAA.
It appears to be an inevitability.
The sport’s Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Games and the NFL’s support for flag football are expected to help spur a vote in favor of flag football becoming a championship sport.
So far, Long said, most of the schools fielding teams are from Division II and Division III.
“Division I is coming along,’’ Long said. “But we also have the support of the NFL as well, who has helped create opportunities such as the flag jamboree today.’’
If flag football is classified as a championship sport, schools will be able to offer athletic scholarships for the athletes, according to Long.
The inaugural championship year for flag football would begin in the spring 2028.
‘Brings us together’
The prospect of a pro flag football league for women generates excitement. Noel Grigsby, Rams Manager of Social Justice and Football Development, said his understanding is the pro leagues for women and men will start in 2027.
But that won’t affect the mission that helped drive the Rams’ decision to support girls flag football through the annual jamboree.
“Our focus is creating access and opporturnity,’’ Grigsby said. “And we talk about the game of football or just sports in general. We want to make sure it’s affordable and accessible for everyone.’’
The Rams and other teams have provided girls high school teams with flag football kits, which contain footballs and flag belts.
On the appeal of flag football, Grigsby said, “Really just the fellowship, the camaraderie, the beauty of what football does for all of us. It brings us together.’’
But that’s not all, according to Grisby.
“Flag football is for everyone,’’ he said. “No matter where you come from, no matter your athletic ability, flag football has a place for you.’’
Leave a Reply