Why one of the world’s richest sports leagues is investing in NZ flag football
The National Football League (NFL) is so keen to see every kid with an American football in their hand, they are introducing New Zealand youth to the non-contact version of the sport and funding it.
The presence of the NFL could not be missed at the NFL Flag 2026 national championships at Upper Hutt this week. The event brought together the country’s top junior flag football talent, with teams competing in the mixed 11U and 15U divisions.
Flag football is a five-a-side variant of American football (often referred to as ‘gridiron’). A similar comparison would be Rippa Rugby, NZ Rugby’s official non-contact format.
While New Zealand and Australia have their own flag football federations, the NFL - the highest professional level of American football in the world - ran and funded the event.
Adam Blake, who grew up playing rugby, is the NFL Flag manager for Australia and New Zealand.
“We offer free curriculum, free kit to anyone who registers with us, so there really is no barrier,” Blake said. “These tournaments are fully funded by the NFL, so the kids that are at these events haven’t had to pay a cent.
“We look after the flights, accommodation, the food, the uniform, everything.”
The NFL also funds the winning team in the 15U division to travel to the NFL Flag 15U international championships in the USA in July, along with the New Zealand 15U girls team.
Blake said the NFL had probably maxed out their growth numbers in America.
“They see global as their next step and with that comes the fan numbers, but they also see flag as an opportunity for growth within the sport and they believe that every kid should have an American football in their hand.
“The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) has also created scholarships. We’ve got two girls in Australia that have just got full-ride scholarships in the US, so the opportunity is there now to make a career out of it.”
Las Vegas Raiders brought even further NFL presence to the championships, with football development senior director Myles Hayes sideline.
The Raiders will continue to spread the word in New Zealand this weekend, with NFL players Jonah Laulu and Antonio Mafi participating in flag football clinics in Auckland.
Hayes grew up playing American football, but said flag football was growing fast.
“Obviously, the 2028 Olympics has been a big boost, particularly with girls and women playing,” he said. “It’s a sanctioned sport in a lot of different high schools across the states and now girls can get college scholarships to play flag, so it’s only going to grow.”
Hayes said flag football was a good way of attracting more fans to the NFL.
“I think, if you can see yourself actually playing the game and have an experience tossing the football around, naturally you kind of enjoy watching it a little bit more. I think it’s a good way to teach the fundamentals of the game and educate the fanbase about the game of football in general.
“New Zealand and Australia are one of our global markets, and so we want to grow the game of football, hopefully grow some Raiders fans as well.”
What has he made of the potential he’s seen so far in a country where rugby and the All Blacks dominate?
“I see a lot of talent out here,” he said. “It’s really interesting how the game has shifted globally.
“There’s just different styles, I can see the rugby kind of style into the way they play flag, a lot making plays on the fly.”
Blake said one of his priorities was to see more schools across New Zealand offer flag football.
“I think, at the moment, we’ve got over 250 schools across New Zealand that are registered to be part of the NFL flag programme. Our goal is to double that in the next couple of years.”
Blake said the news three years ago that flag football would be included in the 2028 Olympic programme at Los Angeles was a massive boost to the sport.
“We’ve just seen, both in the competitive space and the youth space, the numbers have grown exponentially. I think anyone who has the aspiration to be an Olympic athlete saw this as an opportunity to not be in a mainstream sport, but still end up at the Games.”
Blake was introduced to flag football in 2016 and loves the skills it brings from a number of sports.
“A mix of rugby, cricket, basketball,” Blake said. “I grew up playing those and wasn’t very good at those, but I managed to put all the skills together and not be too bad at flag football.
“It’s just so fun and lots of highlight plays.”
Blake is also a member of the NZ men’s flag football team. Gaining Olympic qualification for 2028 will be tough for the NZ men and women teams.
Unsurprisingly, USA have secured their place, leaving only five other spots.
“Next year, we’ve got intercontinentals and whoever wins that will be the Asia-Oceania representative for the Olympics, so we’ve got a bit of a job ahead of us to try and win that, and hopefully book at place in LA28,” Blake said.
Deanna Muir, a member of the NZ women’s flag team, played several sports growing up, including touch rugby, where she reached the New Zealand U21 level.
She was introduced to flag football a few years ago and was hooked after a few games.
“I like the X-factor of it,” Muir said. “I think it’s really exciting and there’s always an opportunity for something to happen on every play.
“I like how there’s multiple positions, so there’s kind of a space for everyone to be involved. I really enjoy the camaraderie as well - I would probably say the biggest thing that’s made me transition fully is the people.”
She said the prospect of the Olympics was a huge carrot.
“So many sports don’t offer that, so that opportunity is really exciting, but also for the growth of the game. Many more people are getting involved, because now there’s a possible pathway going forward into the Olympics.”
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