With the success of the PSAL since 2011, the Green & White’s long-term goals set in 2021 centered around the sport being adopted by New York and New Jersey as a championship sport which have been achieved leading into the 2024.
“When the NFL and the Jets believe in the girls, it brings them confidence and other people start noticing them,” Tepper said. “The Jets have a big name, so by them supporting the girls and doing everything with the girls, it’s bringing so much attention and growth to the sports. I love it.”
At this week’s event, two players and a coach from each school participated in Q & A hosted by SNY anchor/reporter Jeané Coakley. Additionally, the coaches and players were made available for one-on-one media interviews as well as custom photos and 360° videos.
To cap off the session, Nausicaa Dell’Orto, the founder of Italy’s first ever all-female American football team and current captain of the Italian National Flag Football Team, gave a keynote address and shared her own experiences growing football’s popularity with women and girls overseas.
“A day like today is just so exciting for all these young ladies to participate in,” North Arlington (NJ) coach Anthony Marck said. “It was a chance to show the world that we should have been doing this for so much longer than we have been and that our numbers are growing as I’m sure most programs are.”
This year the Green & White will support close to 200 girls flag football programs and over 3,000 participants domestically. And the Jets plan to continue being one of the country’s top advocates of the sport.
“The Jets are honored to have played a role in growing the game of girls flag football,” Jets VP of Community Relations Jesse Linder said. “It has been an organization-wide effort to make the leagues a reality for so many girls. We can’t wait to see what the future holds when the girls we supported are competing in the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.”
