NFL Takes Flag Football Global, Shares Why It’s “Game-Changing” for the League and Female Fans

Flag football has been taking off, not just in the USA but around the world. Globally, the sport is played by more than 20 million people across 100 countries and will be played at the LA28 Olympic Games. Having recently announced that it is partnering with TMRW Sports to develop and operate a professional flag football league for women and men, also set to launch in 2028, the NFL is taking the sport to the international stage.

“Flag football has really been a rocket ship. It's one of the fastest-growing sports in the world,” says Sarah Bishop, the NFL’s VP, global brand and consumer marketing, speaking with LBB. “It represents a game-changing platform for women and girls… The Diana Flores Super Bowl spot was the NFL putting a stake in the ground, showing that flag football was here to stay, but also showing that the NFL could use its platform to legitimise the sport more broadly, especially for women and girls.”

Three years on from the ‘Run with It’ campaign, the sport’s rise has become yet another milestone for the ‘undeniable’ women’s sports boom, as Sarah describes it, saying it feels more like a “movement” than a “moment” – from both a participation and investment standpoint. On the NFL side of things, its female fan base has been “at the core of the league’s growth story for decades”, she adds, sharing that 47% of the league’s US fans are women. “So,” Sarah explains, “it's incredibly important for us to show meaningful ways for them to get involved in our brand, beyond just being fans of the games that are played every Sunday, Monday and Thursday.”

She adds, “What we've seen with flag football is that there has been this steady growth in female participation, in a way that we could never replicate from a tackle perspective, because it's inclusive and accessible. For many people internationally, it's also their first touch point into the game. So, for us, flag football is not just an incredible way to get more people involved, but it's also an incredible way to build the fandom pipeline for the NFL, and it represents a game-changing way for women and girls to get involved and touch our brand.”

To capitalise on this momentum, ahead of the NFL Flag Championships next month, the NFL has launched its first-ever global flag football campaign, ‘Be The Story’. Created by Dentsu Creative UK, the campaign celebrates the next generation of flag football stars, encouraging new players to join the sport and become the main character of their own story.

Directed by Hannan Hussain via Prodco, the hero film features players from four countries and every level of the game, presenting flag football as a global, inclusive sport, and centring the rising stars shaping the game of today and tomorrow, including US national team player Ashlea Klam, Mexico junior team player Azul Trujillo, Arizona player of the year Samaya Taylor Jenkins, NFL Flag player of the year Ryder Noche, Australia national team player Liz Lomu Stewart, and European champion with the German under-15s Arved Mohr.

Working with a UK-based agency was “really intentional”, explains Sarah, adding that this was their “first foray into real creative development and campaign creation” with Dentsu, who up to this point have been the NFL’s global social agency.

“Their perspective was really refreshing for us,” she says. “They have folks across this campaign that are in every market our flag programme exists in, so it was an interesting creative journey to develop a campaign with people who are aware of flag in different ways – who all have different familiarity with the game and its stars.

“What it’s done,” she adds, “is it’s created a campaign that feels robust and like a true invitation for folks to learn more and get involved.”

What made Sarah and the brand fall in love with Dentsu’s ‘Be the Story’ idea was that it captured the notion that “the flag journey is yet to be written”, says Sarah, “from a sport perspective on the global stage, but also for many of these individual athletes.” She continues, “Being able to show up and own the moment is something that feels universal, regardless of how you learn about the game or where you play it. And I also think that it’s a narrative that hopefully carries us nicely into the Olympics.”

This borderless creative was strengthened by the international talent choices, as well as the in-film animated titles, which have been “transcreated” in native languages for various markets.

While the brief was focused on this element of accessibility and inclusivity, the NFL also wanted the “attitude and badassness” of the sport to come across strongly, showcasing the physicality, charisma and skill of the athletes “whether they're ready to burst out on the world stage now, or still going through the pipeline to get to a more elite level”.

Sarah says, “We wanted to make sure people watching felt like they were part of the action, and I think that's something that [director] Hannan captured perfectly. The way we've treated the titling is incredibly different from us too, but it doesn't take you out of the spot or feel like an add-on; it really feels like you're in the driver's seat and experiencing the plays as the players are, understanding how those plays make someone indispensable on the field.”

Having been on set, Sarah describes the one-day production in Atlanta as “the most productive shoot of all time”, saying, “All the people on set are legitimate athletes, so it's really interesting to watch them do their work and then also see how some of the other talent – like Twitch streamer Rakai, who has a cameo in the spot – react to the athleticism of these players.”

She adds, “It’s incredible because you realise that, while they may be young, these are some of the best youth players whose names we’ll most definitely know when they go to the Olympics and, hopefully, the pro league. It’s always really exciting to watch how all of this comes to life, but also to see the energy and the excitement from some of these athletes who were in a campaign for the first time ever.”

With the Olympics in just two years’ time, these stars will be stepping into the limelight before too long – assisted also by the launch of the NFL’s professional flag league. The timing of both occurring in 2028 is no coincidence.

“It’s helpful for athletes and fans to see the game progressing at the highest level,” says Sarah. “The pro league will be momentous for elevating the narrative around flag football, and especially women's flag football… and for the first time ever, there will be a meaningful drop-off point post-Olympics for some of these incredible athletes.”

While Sarah says that the tale of this sport is “yet to be written”, this new campaign – aimed at inspiring the next generation of flag football players – is one of the first indications, on an international level, that the NFL will almost certainly be the one holding the pen.

“My main hope is that across the world, people are picking up footballs and flag belts in the same way that they’d naturally be born into fandom and participation in other sports, like soccer or volleyball. The work that is being done, not just by the NFL but by so many partners all around the world, to develop the pathways for this sport only means that it's going to grow. The more that athletes and parents alike can see a future for themselves in the game, from youth to high school to college to being an Olympic athlete and then ultimately being able to play pro… in my mind, that's the creation of a world-class premier sport.

“Flag football is being legitimised as we speak at every single level,” she adds. “I'm excited to see where the Olympics takes the story, of the game itself, and of some of the incredible athletes that are currently playing the game, and then see how that inspires the next generation to get involved globally.”