Flag Football is Growing in Popularity, Especially Among Girls

Flag football has long-been seen as an alternative to tackle football, and in recent years, the sport has risen in popularity, particularly for girls. According to USA Football, girls’ participation in flag football has increased 57% over a decade, across ages six to 17, to more than 267,000 participants in 2024. And in 2023, the California Interscholastic Federation added girls flag football as a high school sport. Flag football will even see its Summer Olympic Games debut in 2028. 

Flag football carves out a space for female athletes in a male-dominated sport. Girls and women are not technically barred from playing tackle football at any level, but female athletes who play at the high school level are rare, even more so at the collegiate level, and no woman has ever played for the NFL. However, there are professional and semi-professional women’s tackle football leagues in the U.S. 

For students at Oakland Technical High School, which adopted the sport in its first playable season, flag football builds community, resilience and opportunity; players come from all different athletic backgrounds. 

Some, like tenth grader Layla Ward, were encouraged by their parents to join the team. Ward is a wrestler, and said that she finds football confusing but joining the team has had a positive effect on her. “ I have something to do, keep my mind off of wrestling, so it helps a lot in wrestling as well,” Ward said. 

Other players, like freshman Sanae Struthers, have found a sense of belonging on the team. 

“I get a lot of people telling me that I can’t do something just because I am a female and I am a ninth grader,” said Struthers. And although she keeps a full schedule with other athletics and choir, as well as earning straight A’s, the flag football field adds a sense of calm, she said. “I know that I can come on the field and be myself without anybody judging me.”

For Alexis Gray-Lawson who played in the WNBA as well as semi-pro flag football, coaching Oakland Tech’s girls flag football team is a way to foster a place of belonging and for young people to see someone like her in an athletic leadership role.

“ It would be nice to have more women in these roles because there are women that have incredible resumes, whether that be with football, flag and, or in any other sport,” Gray-Lawson said. “Representation is really important; for kids to see you regardless of what you have, it will allow other kids to be able to have the same experience.”   

The cultural strength of Oakland Tech’s flag football team is clear, but it’s hard to look past the handful of players who are on crutches, wearing knee braces, or sitting out with injuries. 

Although the head injuries that plague tackle football are not as pervasive in flag football, there are still risks. UCSF pediatric sports medicine physician, Dr. Celina De Borja, warns that injuries like concussions and knee injuries can still be a risk. 

“Historically, we thought of concussions as coming from specifically a head injury or a head-on collision,” said de Borja. But any collision to the head or body that causes the brain to shake can cause a concussion, de Borja said.  

The number one rule is to take a player that is suspected to have a concussion out of the game or practice. “And they can’t go back until they’re fully cleared by a clinician,” she said. 

Additionally, women in general are up to eight times more likely to sustain an ACL injury compared to men. 

“We see a lot of knee injuries as well as foot and ankle injuries because it’s a cutting and pivoting sport,” said de Borja of flag football. 

De Borja is the director of UCSF’s PlaySafe program which has a two decade long partnership with the San Francisco Unified School District to provide athletic training staff and medical support during high school athletic games. “In the best setting there are some athletic trainers on the sideline,” who can evaluate players for injuries, said de Borja.

She said all sports have injuries characteristic to the activity, but she highly encourages sports, especially for young athletes, for improved physical, cardiovascular and mental health. “There are significant studies that suggest how being part of a team or playing a sport can help improve your health and wellness,” she said. 

A winning mindset, said Gray-Lawson, also prepares students for the future. “Like, being on time and doing the right thing and making the right play and being a great team player,” she said. “All those things translate to their lives after flag football.”

And for some, like 9th grader Brooke Washington, the sisterhood on the field is what makes the experience. “It’s definitely, like, a lot of sisterhood. I feel like everybody’s here for each other, here to uplift each other, even through our mistakes.”