Key Takeaways
- The NFL and IFAF will host six flag football events during Super Bowl LX week in San Francisco, featuring international youth competition, high school showcases, and Pro Bowl athletes
- Flag football now reaches 20 million players worldwide and will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games
- The 2026 Pro Bowl Games moves to Super Bowl week for the first time, featuring an AFC vs. NFC flag football showdown
- Girls high school flag football is now offered in 38 states, with over 100 colleges and universities running women’s programs
- Steve Young leads a new cohort of Global Flag Ambassadors tasked with expanding the sport domestically and internationally
Super Bowl Week Becomes a Flag Football Festival
Super Bowl LX week in the San Francisco Bay Area will feature an unprecedented concentration of flag football programming, with six distinct events spanning youth, high school, national team, and professional athlete competitions. The NFL and International Federation of American Football (IFAF) have positioned the week as both a celebration of the sport’s current momentum and a preview of its Olympic future.
The events will take place at the NFL Flag Fieldhouse inside Moscone Center South, transforming the convention space into a dedicated flag football venue. Programming runs from Tuesday, February 3 through Saturday, February 7, with broadcasts across ESPN, Disney XD, ESPN Deportes, and the NFL’s YouTube channel.
This concentration of flag football content during the league’s highest-profile week reflects the sport’s trajectory. Flag football will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, and NFL clubs recently voted to financially support the development of a professional flag football league.
International Youth Competition Headlines Tuesday Programming
The 2026 NFL Flag International Championship brings together U13 co-ed teams from 14 countries for a three-day tournament culminating on Tuesday, February 3. Participating nations include Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, and Spain.
The championship represents one of the largest international NFL Flag competitions to date, reflecting the sport’s expansion beyond North American markets.
Later that afternoon, 32 high school seniors will compete in the NFL Flag Girls High School Showcase. Athletes were nominated by NFL clubs and selected from teams ranked in the USA TODAY Sports Super 25. The showcase format mirrors the Pro Bowl Games structure, with coverage airing live during Postseason NFL Countdown on ESPN beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET.
The day concludes with the Pro Bowl Games powered by Verizon at 5:00 p.m. PT. For the first time, the event moves to Super Bowl week, bringing the league’s top players together for an AFC vs. NFC flag football competition. The game airs on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET.
Toyota Activations Highlight Girls and Women’s Flag Football
Toyota returns as a major sponsor with two high-profile activations focused on female athletes.
The Toyota Glow Up Classic on Wednesday, February 4 gathers top Bay Area high school female athletes for a glow-in-the-dark flag football competition under UV lights. Team Toyota athletes scheduled to appear as mentors include Eli Manning, Brock Purdy, Christian Gonzalez, Puka Nacua, Michael Pittman, Kyle Hamilton, and Jordan Love. The event is open to fans with Super Bowl Experience tickets.
Toyota will also leave infrastructure behind after Super Bowl week ends, supporting the installation of lighting at the Townsend Busher Field renovation project in Santa Clara.
On Thursday, February 5, the USA vs. Mexico Flag Football Showcase presented by Toyota marks the first meeting between the two national teams since 2023. The USA Men’s National Flag Football Team, led by quarterback Darrell “Housh” Doucette III, currently sits atop the IFAF World Rankings, while Mexico ranks third. Both programs are reigning IFAF Americas Continental Co-Champions. The game airs live on the NFL’s YouTube channel.
Steve Young Leads New Global Flag Ambassador Cohort
IFAF and the NFL announced their newest class of Global Flag Ambassadors ahead of Super Bowl LX, with Hall of Fame quarterback and San Francisco 49ers legend Steve Young leading the group.
“Flag football represents the future expansion of our sport, fast, inclusive, and accessible, creating unprecedented opportunities for ALL athletes around the world, a game where women and girls are claiming their space,” said Young. “Coaching my daughters’ high school flag football team has shown me how powerful this game can be in shaping confidence, leadership, and a sense of belonging.”
The ambassador cohort includes athletes from both the professional and flag football worlds. Vanita Krouch, a member of the United States women’s national flag football team, will serve as team captain at the NFL Flag Girls High School Showcase and participated in the selection committee. International ambassadors Diana Flores, Phoebe Schecter, Gabi Bankhardt, and Kodie Fuller will participate in league events throughout the week, including Super Bowl Opening Night and the Pro Bowl Games.
NFL players in the cohort include Houston Texans linebacker Will Anderson Jr., who actively promotes girls flag football in Houston and his hometown in Georgia, and Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin, who hosted a “Girls’ Flag Football Jamboree” at his alma mater and participates in NFL Flag-in-School events throughout Indianapolis.
Ashlea Klam, a member of the United States Women’s National Flag Team and Keiser University flag football player, rounds out the ambassador class. Klam was a key member of the 2024 IFAF Women’s Flag Football World Championship team.
Participation Numbers Underscore Growth Trajectory
The scale of flag football’s expansion is evident in current participation figures. The sport now counts 20 million players worldwide, with particular momentum in girls and women’s programming.
Girls high school flag football is offered in 38 states, up from a smaller footprint just a few years ago. At the collegiate level, over 100 colleges and universities now have women’s flag football programs. The NCAA recently approved the addition of flag football to its Emerging Sports for Women program, an important step toward establishing varsity status across NCAA divisions.
These developments create a pipeline that extends from youth leagues through high school, college, and now toward professional and Olympic competition. The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will provide the sport’s first global stage at the highest level of international athletic competition.
What Super Bowl Week Programming Signals for Flag Football’s Future
The density of flag football programming during Super Bowl LX week accomplishes several objectives for the NFL and IFAF. It exposes the sport to the largest possible audience during the league’s most-watched period. It provides competitive opportunities across age groups, genders, and skill levels. And it generates broadcast content that can reach global audiences through YouTube and traditional television.
The week concludes Saturday, February 7 with the Super Bowl LX Flag Football Game on YouTube at 7 p.m. PT. Building on last year’s inaugural event, the game brings together talent from sports, music, and YouTube for a flag football showdown ahead of Super Bowl Sunday.
For youth sports operators, the combination of Olympic inclusion, NCAA recognition, high school expansion, and NFL investment represents a category with substantial tailwinds. The infrastructure being built, from Global Ambassador programs to broadcast partnerships to facility investments like Toyota’s Santa Clara lighting project, suggests flag football’s growth curve will continue beyond 2028.
via: NFL
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