Pennsylvania sanctions girls flag football as a varsity sport

The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) approved the rapidly growing sport the 2025-26 school year

The number of participants in high school girls flag football more than doubled from 2022-23 to 2023-24. / Photo by Jim Malone

According to a press release sent by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) to High School on Si and other media outlets on Wednesday, Pennsylvania has officially made flag football a sanctioned high school sport on Wednesday, with push coming from the NFL teams.

The PIAA, the statewide body thats governs high school athletics in the state, has approved flag football in the nation's fifth most populated state in the country.

"This is not just an important day for the Eagles and Steelers, but for the sport of football and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania," Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeff Lurie said in the release. "When we launched our girls' flag football league in 2022, we set an ambitious five-year goal to get the sport sanctioned in our state. Now, here we are three seasons later and two years ahead of schedule. The sport's organic growth is a credit to the participants, administrators, coaches, officials, and parents who helped raise the profile of girls' flag football.

"We thank the PIAA for their leadership in recognizing a sport that has the power to unlock new pathways and opportunities for girls of all ages in every community."

The PIAA required at least 100 participating teams from across the state in part of the sanctioning process for flag football.

The National Federation of State High School Associations had reported that 42,955 girls participated in flag football in the 2023-24 school year, a 105% increase in participation levels from the previous 2022-2023 year.

Among the other other states that have already sanctioned girls flag football are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New York and Tennessee.

The International Olympic Committee has already announced plans to make flag football an official Olympic sport, for men and for women, at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

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