EDITOR’S NOTE: Photos of youth LLSWS and LLWS players courtesy of Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images; photos of youth NFL FLAG players courtesy NFL Properties, LLC
It’s not foreign to see young male and female athletes competing across ESPN platforms annually in the heat of summer. After all, the network has proudly covered the Little League World Series since 1963 (beginning on ABC) and the Little League Softball World Series since 2001 – doing so again this year starting August 14 and August 4, respectively, along with hundreds of games leading into the events.
But this summer a new opportunity to showcase impressive, school-age athletes arrive from the home of the NFL Hall of Fame. This weekend, young boys and girls will travel to Canton, Ohio, to participate in a flag football tournament – the NFL FLAG Championships, a first-of-its-kind youth flag football tournament, featuring girls and boys from across the country.
ESPN is teaming up with the NFL to bring fans live coverage of the new event on the July calendar, beginning today, through Sunday, July 21, from the Pro Football Hall of Fame Village.
“Over the years, we have had a lot of success introducing America to Little Leaguers,” said Mark Gross, ESPN Senior Vice President, Production and Remote Events. “Our goal is to take what we’ve learned from that event and apply it to the NFL FLAG Championships.” 
This weekend’s FLAG games will be available across an array of ESPN, Disney and NFL platforms. ESPN’s coverage will focus on the highly competitive 18U girls’ and 15U boys’ single-elimination tournaments.
“We want to tell the stories of the kids,” Gross said. “We want to know who their favorite players are, what their favorite snack is, what their favorite movie is, who they idolize?”
Maybe some of those favorites will include ESPN, which is in its ‘summer of youth’ — a deliberate, ongoing and continued commitment to encouraging youth sports participation at a time when involvement numbers are trending downward. ESPN is committed to being at the forefront of reversing that trend.
In collaboration with the NFL and MLB on both respective events, ESPN is showing kids – and parents – across the country the benefits of team sports: how they are filled with competition, teamwork, camaraderie and, of course, fun.
On a Zoom call with participating NFL FLAG Championships players this week, Robert Griffin III spoke candidly about his thoughts about the game.
“The tournaments are only going to get bigger. You are only going to see more and more teams created in the cities you are from. So, if you are really passionate about flag football, my suggestion would be to not stop – continue to put in the work. This is something that could become a way of life for you if you love the game enough and you dedicate yourself to it.”
Captivating a New Audience
Unlike youth baseball and softball, which have existed for over a century, flag football has come to prominence in the last decade. The sport’s popularity and participation have skyrocketed, particularly among girls, thanks in part to the NFL’s commitment to growing the game, making it the world’s fastest-growing sport.
The NFL FLAG Championships provided a natural opportunity for ESPN to support an important partner, the NFL, and expose fans to the game during a time of year when fans are craving football of any kind.
“We are very excited to be the sole media partner of the NFL FLAG Championships and showcase this tournament,” Gross said. “Flag football has become a massive priority for the NFL, and this is really just the beginning of showcasing the sport to America and the rest of the world.”
“We are going to be able to introduce a whole new group of people to flag football and show them how exciting it is, how competitive it is and how much fun it is.”
ESPN’s Little League World Series coverage provided the production team with a blueprint for presenting and covering massive youth tournaments.
All 32 ESPN-produced games of the NFL FLAG Championships will be available on ESPN+ and NFL+, with 20 also streaming on YouTube. Notably, six games will be available on ESPN, with an additional four also available on ESPN2. Both championship games will be available on seven platforms: ABC, Disney+, Disney Channel, Disney XD, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+ and NFL+.
“ESPN is always trying to reach a younger audience,” said Gross. “The NFL FLAG Championships are a great opportunity for ESPN to expand our audience to people who have watched Little League but aren’t familiar with flag football.”
After the conclusion of the NFL FLAG Championships, ESPN will turn its attention to the Little League World Series in August – rounding out ESPN’s ‘Summer of Youth’ in Williamsport, Pa., and Greenville, N.C.
