Next month, young stars of flag football will descend on Canton, Ohio, just steps from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, for the 2025 NFL Flag Championships, a global showdown in one of the world’s fastest-growing sports.

Roughly 300 elite youth teams, comprising 3,000 boys and girls from across America and eight international countries, will compete in 12 divisions between July 17 and July 20. It’s a celebration of a sport that is spreading like wildfire, with more than 20 million players across six continents. Female athletes are driving the fastest growth.

The rapid rise of flag football at the high school and collegiate levels is creating unprecedented opportunities for women to play football. Once limited to recreational leagues, women’s flag football is a national and international movement.

Washington, with the support of the Seattle Seahawks, is the latest and 15th state to officially sanction girls’ flag football, evidence that the sport is gaining serious traction. Participation numbers tell an even more compelling story. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, an estimated 42,955 girls participated in 2023-24, a 105 percent increase from 20,875 in 2022-23.  Opportunities don’t stop after high school. Women’s flag football is also offered in nearly 60 colleges and universities across the NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA, providing competition and scholarships.

“We believe everyone should have the access and the opportunity to play football, and the momentum we’ve seen for girls’ football has been incredible,” an executive with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, Mario Bailey, said recently. “Sanctioning girls’ football is an amazing step in giving these girls a new avenue to pursue playing flag football in college and beyond.”

The popularity and investment in flag football have exploded since the announcement in 2023 that it would be included in the 2028 Summer Games at Los Angeles. Becoming an Olympic sport has given legitimacy to grassroots efforts to build an alternative to tackle football and enhance the participation of women on the gridiron.

A four-time member of the U.S. Women’s National Flag Football Team, Deliah Autry, is amazed at the sport’s growth. “I think I’m still in shock a little bit that it’s going to be in the Olympics,” she said. “Everybody’s childhood dream who played sports, is to compete in the Olympics. There’s only 12 of us in the country who get to wear that jersey and represent. I never expected it to get to this level that it is.”

The United States is already an established power in men’s and women’s flag football. Both national squads successfully defended their titles at the International Federation of American Football last fall in Finland. The men’s team was 7-0, while the women were 8-0 across four days of competition.

The quarterback of the U.S. Women’s National Team and a three-time IFAF champion, Vanita Krouch, played basketball at SMU before trying flag football. She competed in recreational leagues and eventually worked her way to the national team.

“I started out in this sport because I loved it,” Ms. Krouch said. “It was new. It was challenging. I met great people I got to travel. I got to compete. It was like I was killing three birds with one stone.”

The Texas native said it never entered her mind she might be competing in the Olympics one day. “People say I’m a trailblazer to the sport, helping grow and make it visible,” she said. “So to still be an active player, I’m living the dream right now.”

The NFL Flag Championships will receive an unprecedented 33 hours of television coverage. ESPN, ABC, Disney, and the NFL are teaming up to broadcast across multiple platforms. ESPN will televise 15 games from the girls’ high school division, 15 games from the boys’ under-14 division, and three from the international tournament. The championship games on July 20 will be available across the globe on ABC, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes, Disney+, Disney Channel, Disney XD, and NFL+.

“The Championships are a strong showcase for the growth of flag football at the grassroots level across the country and around the world,” an NFL vice president and head of flag football, Stephanie Kwok, said in a statement. “Flag is inclusive and accessible for all, and we are excited to see the competition across all age groups.”

Some might say the attention on women’s flag football is overdue. Ottawa University in Kansas cemented its dynasty by clinching its fifth straight NAIA Women’s Flag Football Championship, defeating Keiser University, 34-20, in May. It capped a 23-0 season.

The head coach, Liz Sowers, a former college basketball player, sees flag football as a transformative opportunity for young women. “If you would have told me 10 years ago I would be coaching flag football in college, I’d have told you that you were crazy,” Ms. Sowers said, adding, “These young ladies don’t know how big of trailblazers they’re being.”