Jets-sponsored Irvington High School (NJ) Girls Flag Football Team Headed to Nike Kickoff Classic

The Blue Knights will face Long Beach Poly High School (CA) at Nike WHQ on August 24

@NYJetsCR / Twitter

A team from the New York Jets' High School Girls Flag Football League will compete in the national spotlight this August.

The National Football League, in partnership with Nike, announced New Jersey's Irvington High School as a participant in the second annual football classic to kick off the 2023 high school football season.

The Nike Football Kickoff Classic will feature three high school football games — two girls flag football games on August 24 and one boys football game on August 25 -- at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, OR.

The Jets-sponsored Irvington Knights are slated to face California's Long Beach Poly High School (Los Angeles Rams) on Nike WHQ's Ronaldo Field. 

"For the second year, the Nike Football Kickoff Classic will serve as the official kickoff of high school football around the country,” said former New York Giant offensive lineman Roman Oben, who now serves as Vice President of NFL Football Development. “These games will bring an unimaginable experience for high school football players. Congrats to all the participating NFL markets giving girls and boys in high school football the shared kickoff experience it deserves." 

The @NFL has supported the development of girls flag football since its inception. Seven states now sanction high school girls’ flag and 20 states have pilot programs.

Here’s how the league supports the growth of @NFLFLAG at all levels: https://t.co/PXz7m95Lk8 pic.twitter.com/FlLPW2OxZs

— NFL Football Operations (@NFLFootballOps) May 18, 2023

The New York Jets, Nike and Gatorade launched the High School Girls Flag Football League in 2021 and announced its expansion this past winter. The league, which started with eight Garden State members two years ago, currently features 100+ teams in the Hudson Valley, Long Island and New Jersey. The Atlantic Health Jets Training Center will host the New York State and New Jersey Championship games on June 10.

Jets' owner Woody Johnson penned an op-ed article in the New York Post on the importance of girls flag football on April 30, 2022.

"Those of us in the sports world often talk about providing 'more opportunities to women.' But football — particularly flag football — offers an exciting chance to turn those words into action. Long a casual pastime, girls flag football should now be sanctioned as an official varsity high school sport. And this should happen with the tacit support of local leaders across the nation," wrote Johnson.

Nike Football Kickoff Classic at Nike World Headquarters:

Girls Flag – August 24, Time TBA: Willowbrook High School vs. Bishop Gorman High School

Girls Flag – August 24, Time TBA: Long Beach Poly High School vs. Irvington High School

Boys Tackle – August 25, Time TBA: Long Beach Poly High School vs. Bishop Gorman High School

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