MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc. (PIAA) announced today that high school girls’ flag football will be an officially sanctioned sport in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The PIAA Board of Directors held a meeting in Mechanicsburg today where they reviewed and designated high school girls’ flag football as a state-sanctioned sport. The Board says it was required that there be at least 100 participating teams across the state, and the threshold was achieved in April with 65 schools from the eastern side of the state (Philadelphia Eagles) and 36
from the western side (Pittsburgh Steelers) agreed to participate.

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The Eagles and Steelers collaborated over the past three seasons to grow the sport at the youth level through education, engagement, and distribution of equipment, and resources in the Commonwealth, and the PIAA recognized girls’ flag football as “an emerging sport” due to both teams.

“This is not just an important day for the Eagles and Steelers, but for the sport of football and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” said Jeffrey Lurie, Chairman & CEO, of the Philadelphia Eagles. “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.”

“We are excited to see such a groundbreaking moment for the future of girls’ flag football,” said Art Rooney II, Steelers President. “It has been great working with the Eagles to accomplish a successful ruling that will now give young girls the chance to compete at a state level. We look forward to seeing how girls’ flag football continues to grow in Pennsylvania and worldwide.”

The Eagles and Steelers have received support to help grow and expand the game from numerous organizations, including the NFL Foundation, NFL Flag, USA Football, Nike, FLY:FWD, and more.

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