U.S.-based teams, ranging in age from 9 and under to 15 and under for boys and to 18 and under for girlsPete Kiehart for The Washington Post via Getty Images
The NFL is set to launch what it “hopes will be the flag football equivalent of the Little League World Series” -- a four-day championship event for youth and teenage players that will “include international teams and will debut next month in the shadow of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio,” according to Mark Maske of the WASHIGTON POST. The league is calling it the “NFL Flag Championships,” and more than 280 teams and nearly 2,900 players are “expected to participate in the event, which will be operated by the NFL’s flag-football partner, RCX Sports.” U.S.-based teams, ranging in age from 9 and under to 15 and under for boys and to 18 and under for girls, “will qualify by advancing through regional tournaments.” The event also will include teams from Canada, Mexico, Germany, the U.K., Australia and China. Maske noted it is “no given that the NFL’s event will reach the popularity of the Little League World Series.” But the league is “throwing its considerable weight behind the endeavor,” with corporate sponsorships headlined by Toyota as the event’s “presenting partner” and “coverage on 10 platforms that include Disney-owned ESPN and ABC.” NFL Head of International Affairs Peter O’Reilly said it “got our name on it. ... This is very much something we’re directly committed to. ... The number one priority is growing the sport overall and putting these efforts back into supporting the growth of flag overall because it is such a great, accessible core of our sport.” This is the NFL’s “first attempt at a standalone flag-football tournament of this magnitude” (
WASHINGTON POST, 6/20).
WHERE TO WATCH: The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER’s Alex Weprin reported the flag finals “will run on ESPN, the ABC broadcast network, Disney Channel and Disney XD,” and it will “stream on Disney+ in a further expansion of the streaming service’s live sports efforts.” It will “also stream on ESPN+ and NFL+, and air on ESPN Deportes.” ESPN itself will televise “32 hours of matches, with all games also streaming on ESPN+ and NFL+ and some games also to be played on ESPN2 and on YouTube” (
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 6/20).
