Op-Ed: Youth FLAG Championships showcase 'Football for All' at its most competitive

Tackle football has been part of my entire life, going back to my Pop Warner days with the Morrisville Little Bulldogs. Pennsbury High School, Wisconsin, the National Football League as a player and now an executive — each chapter has reinvigorated my love for the game.

But along the way this became very apparent: The game I grew up playing isn’t accessible to everyone. There are countless people who’ve been on the sidelines: girls and young women; boys who aren’t interested in full contact; families that can’t afford the equipment; parents looking for an alternative to tackle for their kids; children and adults with disabilities.

Once your eyes are opened to something like that, there’s no turning back. That’s why my focus, alongside advocates around the world, has become so invested in creating access to flag football for thousands upon thousands of prospective players. These are athletes who’ve been waiting for their chance to take the field, now given an opportunity to compete, to dream, to achieve.

In other words, flag is football for all.

When you really think about it in those terms, flag football’s explosion should come as no surprise:

• More than 20 million people in 100-plus countries participate in flag today, including 500,000 girls under the age of 17 in the U.S.
• Eleven states have sanctioned girls’ flag football as a varsity sport, with momentum building in dozens of others.
• Women are being recruited and offered scholarships to play collegiately. Schools in the NAIA have fielded flag teams since 2021. Since then we’ve seen a series of firsts: the first Division I HBCU, the first NCAA Division I or II conference and the first college in Illinois to adopt women’s flag programs, all in 2024 alone.
• Flag football is now an Olympic sport, debuting at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
• The NFL recently hired Stephanie Kwok as vice president of flag football, and all 32 clubs have dedicated significant resources toward supporting youth flag programs in their local markets.

This week marks another milestone.

Nearly 3,000 players will assemble July 18–21 at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, for the second annual NFL FLAG Championships. It’s the largest, most prestigious youth flag tournament anywhere.

This is “football for all” at its most competitive. Fighting for the championships are 280 of the top flag teams in the U.S., plus six international squads. These boys and girls earned their spots by winning their respective regional titles.

We’re talking fast, highly skilled, well-coached athletes making SportsCenter Top 10-type plays. The kind of stuff you’d see and share on social media. And no doubt we’ll see a lot of that this weekend.

The enthusiasm for last year’s inaugural tournament in Washington, D.C., was incredible. And this year exponentially more fans will get to experience it for themselves. ESPN, Disney and the NFL will broadcast live coverage of games across 10 platforms in 125 countries. It’s a huge stage for these young people to prove they’re the best of the best.

The tournament also presents an opportunity to reach fans who may be curious, cynical or even critical of the league’s support of flag football.

Thinking back on my days as a young parent, our daughter Desiré played flag football in the early 2000s in a local recreational league. Opportunities for girls to play varsity football were extremely rare, and exclusively tackle, in high schools at the time, so she was eventually forced to drop the sport.

As parents, we would have given anything for Desiré to be mentored by a high school football coach, or to pursue a college scholarship, or just to have a say in the matter.

Young women in particular are fueling flag’s popularity as the fastest-growing sport in the world. (Take a minute to watch Walter Payton’s granddaughter Madison hit the gap and break loose, or Michael Vick’s daughter Jada sling a pass downfield.) Girls deserve a shot to play competitively. That’s why we’re in the game.

Here’s another perspective, also personal. Our son Taron was a star defensive tackle at the Ohio State University. Taron’s career started with flag, which helped him find his footing as a player. He transitioned to boys’ tackle and earned his spot as a starter on an NCAA Division I team. He’s still chasing his dream with the UFL.

Young men may or may not want to play tackle, and that’s OK. The important thing is that they have an option either way. That’s also why we’re in the game.

Supporting flag football means supporting our kids’ access to the sport of their choice. Bottom line. This month’s NFL FLAG Championships is a significant moment because it’s evidence of our progress toward that goal.

The players competing in Canton all have the potential to do great things. They could become collegiate student-athletes, Olympians or even NFL stars. Many will follow paths that didn’t exist a few short years ago. The emergence of flag as a sanctioned, competitive sport has literally made their futures possible.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity. Watch the tournament. Get inspired. Advocate for your state to make flag an official high school sport. Find a league. Consider becoming a ref or a coach. Sign up and compete.

Most of all, consider why it matters.

Troy Vincent Sr. is the executive vice president of football operations for the National Football League, a five-time Pro Bowler, and a member of the Philadelphia Eagles and College Football Halls of Fame. He also serves as co-chair of Vision28 leading flag football’s inclusion in the 2028 Olympics.