By Daniel Feuerstein | Trenton, NJ | May 4th, 2026
Flag football has become a growing trend in the United States, but one state in particular wanted to make this a real competitive sport. Once considered a recreational sport, for men’s, women’s, and mixed teams, it has now officially become an official sport for the high schools in the entire state of New Jersey, as the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) has just accepted Flag Football for 160 high schools across the state, allowing girls to play competitively as a varsity sport.
This move was spearheaded by the New York Jets
New York Jets owner Robert “Woody” Johnson supported the inaugural New Jersey Girls Flag Football League in 2021. They gave funding, equipment, and organizational support to eight schools in a single conference. Two years later, 100 schools joined in to participate in the sport as a club league. Nothing official for a state championship that counted for the record books. Now that it has the official o.k. from the top officials of High School Sports in New Jersey, starting in 2027, all high schools will play in an official capacity, and it will mean something to those young girls.
“Making girls flag a sanctioned varsity sport was always our goal,” said Jets Chairman Woody Johnson. “I knew we would be successful. We made the investment, and the girls put in the work. Today is a great day, but we are not done.”
The ECAC just concluded their inaugrial season that gave the stamp of approval
The Jets hosted the Eastern College Athletic Conference Playoffs at their Atlantic Health Training facility in Florham Park, New Jersey. Winning the inaugural season of college Women’s Flag Football was the Marymount Saints. From that playoff tournament, which gave the NJSIAA 24 hours later the go-ahead to give their stamp of approval for all high schools across the state of New Jersey, and to make it an official sport.
The Jets worked with the NJSIAA to make this happen
The Jets were able to give support to conferences in the Northern and Central parts of the state, spread across three locations to play these games at the Jets Training Facility, MetLife Stadium, and at Kean University. The Jets were lock-step with the NJSIAA, watching the growth of Girls Flag Football and seeing the positives it can bring to girls all over New Jersey. The most positive part of this situation was that both sides wanted it to succeed. They were keeping an eye on this situation every year before it finally came to fruition. The voting was a five-year effort that was championed by the students, coaches, schools, and Advocates who believed girls’ flag football could succeed and become a positive force.
“The National Football League, specifically the New York Jets, has played a meaningful role in building awareness and expanding opportunities from the early stages, and that continued commitment has helped shape the strong foundation we see today,” said Colleen E. Maguire, executive director of the NJSIAA. “We are excited to watch the continued growth of our newest sanctioned sport and continuing to increase opportunities for our girls.”
Flag Football is growing, and there is a future
There have been more moves to make flag football into a competitive sport and a challenge for these athletes. As we know, there have been youth clubs for age groups between eight and 15 years old. Now in high school, we have New Jersey and the PSAL in New York City. Youth Club Teams in the U-14 & U-18 level to the college ranks, with many hoping it can be across multiple conferences in all divisions of the NCAA. We all know that the upcoming 2028 Summer Olympic Games that will be held in Los Angeles will also have Flag Football as an Olympic sport for the very first time.
Flag Football has also sprung up in Europe, in the United Kingdom. Leagues in England and Ireland have popped up, and youth leagues as well. We all know how much the U.K. loves the NFL, and has a lot of fans of different teams in the NFL, since they continue to play games in England at Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium, maybe it can happen in Germany, since they have a game a season as well. Flag Football is getting bigger domestically and internationally.
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