Molly Winter threw a perfect spiral pass for a 30-yard touchdown for Great Britain under-15s against France at an empty Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Monday. In 2028 the west London schoolgirl could be doing the same in a packed arena beneath the lights at the Los Angeles Olympics.
The rise to Olympic status of flag football, a non-contact version of the US gridiron game, has sparked a hunt for talent in schools and parks. The game’s roughly 80,000 British participants suddenly have a plausible shot at Olympic glory.
And if that was not enough to boost participation, Taylor Swift’s frequent appearances at NFL games enthusiastically supporting her boyfriend, the Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce, is providing rocket fuel.
“Because it’s a new sport there’s so much room to become an Olympian,” said Toshane Boyce, participation coordinator for NFL UK, which organised Monday’s tournament that also involved girls’ teams from Spain, Austria and Germany.
“Now Taylor Swift’s involvement ramps it up even more. Girls are talking about it and want to get involved. The Taylor effect is helping us massively.”
As well as Swifties giving the game a try, the allure of Los Angeles 2028 has also led to basketball players, track and field athletes and touch rugby players switching codes. It has echoes of the hunt for potential Team GB handball players before the London 2012 games.
The NFL has been investing heavily in promoting the game in the UK, handing out balls and flag belts. Players are “tackled” by ripping a flag from a waist belt, an appealing alternative to the full contact version of the game that has many parents worrying about concussions.
Instead of 11 padded-up players on the pitch for each side, five to seven take to the field in just shorts, T-shirts and trainers. The principles of the game are the same: the offence trying to advance the ball through a series of pre-planned plays while the defence tries to stop them.
A sharp rise in the number of schools involved means participation numbers are expected to hit 100,000 by 2026. More than half are girls. After the sport’s inclusion in the LA 2028 games, Sport England, the government funding body, made a £250,000 grant to the British American Football Association.
While the USA team is predictably favourite for gold, in August, the current Great Britain’s women’s team came seventh at the Flag Football World Championships in Finland.
“I have been dreaming about this ever since Los Angeles was selected,” said Kate Bruinvels, one of the senior team players who started playing at university in Chichester a decade ago. “I have been training every day for years and to have it finally accepted is unbelievable. Whether its the current squad or these girls out here, it’s going to be huge.”
Valeria Barrocar La Femina, 14, is one of the current players representing Great Britain at U14 level. She isn’t ruling out a run at the games squad, but for now, loves the adrenaline of the play and the sense of team togetherness.
Swift has “brought a whole new crowd” to the game, she said. “They might not have looked at the sport before.”
“People look at her as such an icon and when they see she’s invested [it has an effect],” added Sienna Walji, 13, who also represents Great Britain.