MOlly Winter threw a perfect spiral pass for a 30-yard touchdown for Great Britain Under-15s against France at an empty Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Monday. In 2028, the west London schoolgirl could do the same in a packed arena under the lights of the Los Angeles Olympics.
The rise of flag football, a non-contact version of the American gridiron game, to Olympic status has sparked a hunt for talent in schools and parks. The game’s roughly 80,000 British participants suddenly have a plausible shot at Olympic glory.
And if that wasn’t enough to increase participation, Taylor Swift’s frequent appearances at NFL games are enthusiastically providing her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, with rocket fuel.
“Because it’s a new sport, there’s so much room to become an Olympian,” said Toshane Boyce, participation coordinator for NFL UK, which organized Monday’s tournament that also involved girls’ teams from Spain, Austria and Germany.
“Now Taylor Swift’s involvement is even greater. Girls talk about it and want to participate. The Taylor effect helps us enormously.”
As well as Swifties trying out the game, the appeal of Los Angeles 2028 has also seen basketball players, track and field athletes and touch rugby players code-switch. It is reminiscent of the hunt for potential Team GB handball players before the 2012 London Games.
The NFL has invested heavily in promoting the game in Britain, handing out balls and flag belts. Players are “tackled” by ripping a flag from a lap belt, an attractive alternative to the full-contact version of the game that has many parents concerned about concussions.
Instead of eleven padded players on the field for each team, five to seven players take the field in shorts, T-shirts and sneakers. The principles of the game are the same: the attack tries to advance the ball through a series of pre-planned actions, while the defense tries to stop them.
A sharp increase in the number of schools involved means that the participation figure is expected to reach 100,000 by 2026. More than half are girls. After the sport’s inclusion in the LA 2028 games, Sport England, the government’s funding body, provided a £250,000 grant to the British American Football Association.
Although the US team is predictably favorite for gold, the current British women’s team finished seventh at the Flag Football World Championships in Finland in August.
“I’ve been dreaming of this since Los Angeles was selected,” said Kate Bruinvels, one of the senior team players who started playing at university in Chichester a decade ago. “I have been training every day for years and the fact that it is now finally being accepted is incredible. Whether it’s the current team or these girls here, it’s going to be huge.”
Valeria Barrocar La Femina, 14, is one of the current players representing Great Britain at U14 level. She does not rule out participating in the competition selection, but for the time being she loves the adrenaline of the game and the feeling of solidarity in the team.
Swift has brought “a whole new audience” to the game, she said. “Maybe they haven’t watched the sport before.”
“People look at her as an icon and when they see she is invested [it has an effect]” added Sienna Walji, 13, who also represents Great Britain.
