New Orleans Saints, LHSAA move toward sanctioning girls flag football statewide

Posted by author February 3, 2025 Football

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A girls flag football team may be headed to a school near you — or even your school.

The Louisiana High School Athletic Association in conjunction with the New Orleans Saints announced Monday afternoon that a push is in the works to sanction girls flag football as an LHSAA sport as early as April. More than 105 of the 157 eligible Louisiana high schools have expressed an interest in the sport, according to the LHSAA.

“We are excited that the LHSAA has moved to make sanctioned girls flag football an official sport at high schools throughout Louisiana,” Saints owner Gayle Benson said in a news release. “This grows the opportunities for girls in our state to compete in a sport that is growing worldwide thanks to the support of the NFL, the Saints and all of our teams. This progress further increases access for young women to the ideals of athletic competition, inclusivity and the power of teamwork.”

Because of the interest shown (at least 80 schools were needed for the measure to move forward) the sport is now conditionally approved with a formal LHSAA approval vote needed in April at the LHSAA’s executive committee meeting.

According to the release, the Saints organization started the push last spring when they launched a 10-team girls flag football league with participation in the pilot campaign from 10 high schools across Orleans and Jefferson parishes. As part of an NFL-wide initiative to promote girls high school flag football, the Saints Youth Sports Development department administered the league with assistance from several partners including the NFL, LHSAA, NCAA and the Louisiana High School Coaches Association.

The teams competed for one month and completed the season with a championship event in New Orleans won by De La Salle High School. A similar league will be held this spring with play beginning in late March.

Girls high school flag football was recently sanctioned for an inaugural season through the Mississippi High School Activities Association.

Among the Shreveport area schools expressing interest in the sport are Huntington, Woodlawn, Red River and Green Oaks.

“We are thrilled that Louisiana has decided to sanction girls flag football as a high school varsity sport,” Stephanie Kwok, NFL vice president of flag football said in the release. “With Mississippi’s announcement last week, this marks 15 states that now offer girls varsity flag football. The partnership between the Saints and the LHSAA and MHSAA is a wonderful illustration of how we can expand opportunities for girls to compete in high school and beyond.”

LHSCA director Eric Held echoed the sentiments of Benson and Kwok.

“We are excited for the opportunity to see young ladies participate in the nation’s fastest growing NFHS high school sport,” Held said. “An agenda item at the April executive committee meeting will address sanctioning the sport. We look forward to continuing our partnership in this effort with the New Orleans Saints.”

Flag football will officially be included in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games program, led by efforts of the International Federation of American Football and supported by the NFL. This will further solidify the flag football’s status as a globally recognized and celebrated sport.

Jimmy Watson covers Louisiana sports for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at jwatson@shreveporttimes.com and follow him on Twitter @JimmyWatson6.