American football touched down in Yorkshire this week but there wasn’t a helmet, shoulder pad or 300lb defensive lineman in sight.
This was flag football, played by boys and girls aged 11 to 15 in the national championships at Leeds Beckett University.
The non-contact version of the sport is played without the customary pads and helmets and is a lot more accessible than its more famous origin, even if a flashy gunslinger at quarterback is just as important.
Crucially, flag football’s horizons are broadening. For in 2028, it will be part of the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Just another reason to give the Americans a gold medal in a sport they invented, the cynic might think, but it has presented this rising sport with a shop window like never before. And in Britain - a key market that the flagship NFL has been tapping into for decades - there is a determination to grow an ecosystem.
Action from the NFL Flag GB Championship 2025 at Leeds Beckett University on Tuesday, June 17, 2025 in Leeds. (Sean Ryan/AP Content Services for the NFL)placeholder image
Action from the NFL Flag GB Championship 2025 at Leeds Beckett University on Tuesday, June 17, 2025 in Leeds. (Sean Ryan/AP Content Services for the NFL)
Tuesday’s national finals day in Leeds was a snapshot into the strides already taken: with 28 schools from as far north as Inverness, as south as Brighton, as east as Hull and as west as Wales, contesting the UK NFL Flag 2025 National Championships.
It brought together hundreds of kids in shirts emblazoned with NFL teams competing for school honours and maybe even the chance to impress the Great Britain scouts in attendance, who already have one eye on LA28.
One intrigued observer was Phoebe Schecter, who plays flag football for the GB women’s team and is familiar to NFL fans as a pundit on Sky Sports.
“We’re almost growing this sport from scratch but that’s kind of a blessing in disguise,” she told The Yorkshire Post.
Teams like the New York Jets are putting their weight behind the growth of the game, as evidenced at the NFL Flag GB Championship 2025 at Leeds Beckett University on Tuesday. (Sean Ryan/AP Content Services for the NFL)placeholder image
Teams like the New York Jets are putting their weight behind the growth of the game, as evidenced at the NFL Flag GB Championship 2025 at Leeds Beckett University on Tuesday. (Sean Ryan/AP Content Services for the NFL)
“One of the things we talk about is how there’s a level playing field, no one has been in an academy since they were four, everyone is brand new to this sport and there’s a position for everybody, no matter their shape, size, ability.
“And we’re finding athletes from other sports who want to come over - netballers who have great hand-eye co-ordination, track athletes for their speed, and it’s really refreshing for these kids to be part of something that’s so new.
“They’re learning the tactics and are showcasing their range of skills in a really special team environment.
“Being part of the LA28 Olympics it’s the biggest thing that could have happened to our sport.”
NFL Flag GB Championship 2025 at Leeds Beckett University on Tuesday, June 17. (Sean Ryan/AP Content Services for the NFL)placeholder image
NFL Flag GB Championship 2025 at Leeds Beckett University on Tuesday, June 17. (Sean Ryan/AP Content Services for the NFL)
Flag football is the 5-a-side version of the American game. “You only need a football and flag belts on a field of 30 yards by 70, so you can fit three on a rugby pitch,” explains Schecter.
“There are fewer barriers to participation. And the rules are a lot more straightforward - you have four attempts to get to halfway and another four attempts to score.
“You can build it into your curriculum, use maths in it. Kids may not love the playing side but they might like drawing plays up or the coaching element to it, or the officiating. There are so many elements.
“I say it to kids all the time, they’re the ones who are inspiring their other school mates, telling them about this wonderful sport.
Jason Bell, Phoebe Schecter and Neil Reynolds of Sky Sports address the competitors at the NFL Flag GB Championship 2025 at Leeds Beckett University on Tuesday, June 17. (Sean Ryan/AP Content Services for the NFL)placeholder image
Jason Bell, Phoebe Schecter and Neil Reynolds of Sky Sports address the competitors at the NFL Flag GB Championship 2025 at Leeds Beckett University on Tuesday, June 17. (Sean Ryan/AP Content Services for the NFL)
“A stat that I love hearing is around 40 per cent of our female athletes who are playing flag football have actually never played sport before.”
There also needs to be a long-term vision to harness this growing number, even if Brisbane - hosts of the 2032 Olympics - turns around and says flag football is no longer part of the programme.
“We’re very fortunate that IFAF has the backing of the NFL, it’s very rare for a sport to have that support, which adds a lot of clout,” says Schecter.
“And the NFL clubs are doing a terrific job as well. Look at some of the teams that are competing here today; Bears, Jets have a girls team entered. They’re investing into grassroots.
“Yes the Olympics are always going to be the ultimate goal, but the growth of the sport is what’s so key. Our GB women’s team are heading to China to compete in the World Games. There might be an opportunity to get into the Commonwealth Games. What does the esports version of this look like?
“There’s never just one solution. Looking around this field today seeing so many youngsters is a success in itself because it shows the potential.”
As well as playing opportunities in 2028, there are other roles that will need filling. One Yorkshireman who has been playing the contact version of the sport all his adult life is Sam Fossey, another interested spectator on Tuesday.
“I’m winding down the playing side and doing what I can to help grow the sport, however that may be,” says Fossey, from Barnsley, who won national championships with Manchester Titans and won five GB caps in the contact game.
“Coaching, being part of the recruitment system, or even going into schools and making kids aware of the sport and that you can take this to the international level.”
Fossey spent two years in Florida where his first introduction to the sport was through flag.
“I really do wish I was 10 years younger,” he laments. “When I was growing up there wasn’t all this opportunity when I started playing. It’s ridiculous what’s available now and it’s about helping raise the awareness that there are these opportunities out there.
“Flag football gives accessibility for everybody. It allows people from all backgrounds, regardless of size, athletic ability, you can go and find your local teams or your schools, whichever gender, you can be a part of an accessible, community-based sport.”