Cardinals make history with TV broadcasts of girls flag football high school games

The Arizona Cardinals are making history and helping expand a growing sport — girls flag football.

Partnering with State Farm and Arizona’s Family, the team’s television broadcast partner, they will be the first team to produce and broadcast a girls flag football high school game of the week.

Arizona’s Family Sports will air eight games during the season starting on Tuesday, September 17 when Hamilton High School visits Xavier High School at 7:00 p.m. Arizona time. The remaining slate of games will take place on Tuesday or Thursday nights through November 7.

Each matchup will be a fully-produced, 90-minute game broadcast, complete with play-by-play, analysis and sideline reporting and will air live on Arizona’s Family Sports (AZFS). Games will also re-air on Arizona’s Family Sports on Saturdays throughout the season.

“We are thrilled to partner with State Farm and Arizona’s Family to provide this unprecedented platform to showcase the amazing young women competing in high school flag football in Arizona,” said Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill in the team’s announcement. “The growth of flag football has been explosive not only in our state and our country but worldwide. As an organization we are proud to help grow the interest even more and shine a spotlight on those competing at such a high level in our own community.”

The Cardinals have previously been involved with girls flag football. In 2022 and 2023 the team hosted a girls high school flag football game of the week that was selected by fan voting on the team’s official website. Bidwill, quarterback Kyler Murray and linebacker Dennis Gardeck and others have appeared as special guests.

Each week, players of the game were awarded with signed memorabilia from Cardinals players and received recognition on the team’s website and social media channels. In 2023, two players of the week were later selected as the first-ever Arizona Cardinals Girls Flag Football Players of the Year and were honored on-field prior to one of the team’s home games.

This is a really cool thing for a sport that is gaining traction here locally.

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