New Jersey becomes latest state to sanction girls’ flag football at high school level

Flag football will officially be offered as a varsity-level sport beginning in the 2026-27 school year in New Jersey, making it the 18th state to do so.

Associated Press
David Brandt

May 5, 2026

Players participate in the Girls High School Flag Showcase at the 2026 NFL Pro Bowl Games on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in San Francisco. (Vera Nieuwenhuis/AP Content Services for the NFL)

The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association voted Monday to sanction girls’ flag football as a varsity high school sport beginning with the 2026-27 school year, becoming the latest state to expand one of the nation’s fastest-growing sports.

The vote comes after a two-year pilot program and several years of support from the NFL’s New York Jets, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles.

New Jersey becomes the 18th state to sanction girls’ flag football as a varsity sport, according to the NFL Flag Football organization, joining Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut.

There are pilot programs in 21 other states.

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NFL Flag Football says roughly 69,000 girls competed in high school girls’ flag football during the 2024-2025 school year, which was up from 15,000 just three years earlier.

The game also is growing at a fast pace at the collegiate level. The Fiesta Bowl recently held an eight-team tournament in Tempe, Arizona, that featured some of the nation’s best teams at the NCAA Division I level.

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