NFL Flag Championships Set to Debut This Weekend

NEW YORK — With NFL Flag Championships presented by Toyota this weekend, the NFL debuts its newest youth flag football campaign, “Let’s Play,” an evolution of the 2023 campaign, capturing the intensity, excitement, and grit of the sport. The video stars NFL players CeeDee Lamb (Dallas Cowboys), Justin Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers), and streamer IShowSpeed. Real-life youth flag football stars also make appearances, including Brooklin Hill (Apex Predators), Ava Wallace (Texas Fury), and Milan Heisdorf (Conquer SoCal).

A rallying call to embrace flag football’s individuality, camaraderie, and boundary-pushing nature, “Let’s Play” opens on the field. Impressive game highlights are shot on the phone, streamed on IShowSpeed’s channel, and seen by Justin Herbert in the weight room, visually symbolizing the flag support from many of the league’s top players. CeeDee Lamb even plays a coach, exciting his flag team with a rallying chant as IShowSpeed cheers on the plays from the sideline.

“With flag, you got to have that hand-eye coordination, so it requires different techniques, different moves – it’s just fun,” said CeeDee Lamb. “When I look at the future of flag, I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of touchdowns along with that competitive spirit that will always be there with football. It’s been cool to see the game transform.”

With every stutter step, juke, and sideline pass from real youth flag players, “Let’s Play” underscores how powerful, dynamic, and exciting this game can be.

“For the latest evolution of ‘Let’s Play,’ we wanted to spotlight the epic nature of flag, the impressiveness of individual moves, and why millions of people around the world love this game,” said Marissa Solis, NFL senior vice president of global brand and consumer marketing. “With the support of many of the league’s top players like CeeDee and Justin, we hope to encourage interest and future participation from anywhere and everywhere, and the inaugural NFL Flag Championships this weekend will be a huge part in achieving this goal, as the best youth flag players compete from around the world.”

The NFL Flag Championships, presented by Toyota, the world’s premier youth flag football tournament, will take place from July 18-21 at the Hall of Fame Village in Canton. The event will feature 2,860 flag players and over 280 teams of girls and boys from across the country representing all 32 NFL clubs. The three flag players in “Let’s Play,” Brooklin Hill, Ava Wallace, and Milan Heisdorf, will compete in the NFL Flag Championships.

For the first time, an international division of 14U athletes worldwide will also compete at the NFL Flag Championships in Canton. Six co-ed teams will travel from Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Great Britain, and Mexico to compete against one another. All teams will have qualified for the NFL Flag Championships in the U.S. by winning national NFL Flag tournaments in their home countries.

The championships, broadcast in partnership with ESPN/Disney, will feature 32 hours of live coverage. ESPN, Disney, and the NFL will bring fans exciting action throughout the event, with coverage spanning ten different platforms.

As one of the world’s fastest-growing sports, flag football is played by over 20 million people in over 100 countries across six continents. It is the most inclusive and accessible football format, played by people of all ages and genders, with female athletes driving some of the fastest growth.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced in October 2023 that flag football will be included in the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympic Games program. The inclusion puts flag football on the world’s largest stage.