Philadelphia Eagles Launch the First High School Girls Flag Football League

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“The Birds” may not be heading to the Super Bowl this year but that hasn’t stopped them from making a change.

The organization has announced that they will be starting the first All Girls Flag Football League for high school students all over Pennsylvania. The Eagles have been in contact with Philadelphia Public League, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Schools and Leveling the Playing Field to make this possible. The inaugural season of the league will consist of 15 high schools. They all will be competing for something more than championship rings and playing time on Lincoln Financial Field.

Football is America’s most popular sport by a fair margin.

Unfortunately, the sport has only really been relegated for the men to play. Currently the United States has roughly 1 million fewer high school female athletes than male athletes, football my have something to with that. Of course, women had to pave a way to be included.

There are professional leagues like the Women’s Professional Football League and the Women’s Football Alliance, for women to get involved in. These leagues are usually available after college. There are actually some former players from these leagues that currently have positions in the NFL. For instance, Jennifer King is the assistant running backs coach for the Washington Commanders. Katie Sowers became the first female football coach to appear in a Super Bowl, with the San Francisco 49ers.

According to Philadelphia Eagles and several coaches participating in the league, the goal is to expand the potential of female athletes in high school and to possibly make the sport of Flag Football a varsity sport in Pennsylvania. In order for the sport to be considered a varsity sport the state must have at least 100 schools joining in the fun. 15 schools isn’t a bad start considering the amount of COVID-19 regulations that currently reside in the state.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the Jennifer Kings and Katie Sowerses of the world could get their starts in football even earlier?

The Eagles are even donating, with the help of the NFL Foundation, $100,000 worth of sports equipment for girls in high school.

Approximately 6,000 sports bras will be donated to every female athlete that needs one in the school district of Philadelphia. Each and every participating school will each receive custom uniforms from Nike and a port-a-field from USA Football. They also get two NFL Flag kits complete with footballs, flags and instructional materials for practice drills. Not to mention, they collect a $3,000 stipend from the Eagles for costs associated with implementing a team. The Eagles Girls Flag Football Kickoff Jamboree is on March 4 at Lincoln Financial Field and the season will begin on March 18. All eight games will be held at Philadelphia School District sites, leading up to the playoffs. At the end of the season, the Eagles will host the first Philadelphia High School Girls Flag Football Championships in late May.

Nike and the NFL partnered last year for a $5 million grant multi-year initiative that is dedicated to growing girls flag football in high school athletics. This is all a part of the NFL’s plan to grow the sport. Nike and the NFL partnered last year for a $5 million grant multi-year initiative that is dedicated to growing girls flag football in high school athletics.

The Eagles are the first in the NFL to be another part of HERstory.

Hopefully the promise and dedication proves true.

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Philadelphia Eagles Launch the First High School Girls Flag Football League  was originally published on classixphilly.com