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The NFL on Thursday announced it is expanding into Canada.
Winners of regional tournaments in Vancouver, Regina, Toronto and Halifax qualify for NFL FLAG Championships next February
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Well, expanding its youth flag football program into Canada.
The flag football arm of the four-down league has launched a new initiative north of the border, called NFL FLAG Canada — for boys and girls ages four to 17.
Regional 2022 tournaments across Canada will be held over the next two months, although age ranges are limited this year. The NFL is inviting established flag football leagues across Canada to enter.
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The NFL’s goal within three years, it said in a news release, is to inaugurate 250 new flag football leagues across Canada, eventually accommodating more than 100,000 youths.
“Flag football is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States, with regular participation of more than three million youth and adults each year,” Izell Reese, executive director of NFL FLAG, said in a statement. “We’re excited to bring NFL FLAG to Canada’s loyal fan base, and provide opportunities for young fans to learn the fundamentals of the game and experience the excitement of flag football.”
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To help drive fan growth and participation in Canada, the NFL’s flag football arm will “work closely” with clubs granted international home marketing areas in Canada last fall — namely, the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings.
Four 2022 regional NFL FLAG Canada tournaments are set for:
- Vancouver (June 5 at Notre Dame High School, with May 27 registration deadline);
- Regina (June 18 at University of Regina, with May 30 registration deadline);
- Toronto (July 10 at Esther Shiner Civic Stadium, with June 27 registration deadline);
- Halifax (June 25 at Saint Mary’s University, with June 6 registration deadline).
Winning teams will qualify for the NFL FLAG Championships held next February at the Pro Bowl, the NFL’s annual all-star game.
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For more information, and to find a league near you in Canada, go to nflflag.com/canada.
Flag football debuts as a sport at the World Games this summer in Birmingham, Ala.
Damani Leech, the NFL’s chief operating officer of international initiatives, in a statement said the creation of NFL FLAG Canada and the introduction of flag football at the 2022 World Games “demonstrate the growing global interest” in North American football, generally, and also underscore “ongoing efforts across the global football community to include flag football in the 2028 Olympic Games.”
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Travis Burnett
A pioneer in the flag football community, Travis helped co-found the Flag Football World Championship Tour, FlagSpin and USA Flag. Featuring 15+ years of content creation for the sport of flag football, creating and managing the largest flag football tournaments on the planet, coaching experience at the youth and adult level as well as an active player with National and World Championship level experience.
