Flag football is a non-contact version of American football that has been played by youth and adults for decades. It has its roots in traditional American football and is basically a safer, more accessible version of that sport.
This nearly no contact form of football has grown in popularity over the years with many amateur leagues active all over the world, supporting a whole industry of special equipment and coaching manuals such as Flag Football 5 on 5 plays that can give teams a real edge in competition! Let’s learn a bit about its history now!
The game of American tackle football has been played since the mid-1800’s and flag football started up soon after. The first historically recorded version was played in the 1930’s and was called “touch and tail” football. The flag football we play today was developed on military bases during the early 1940s as a recreational sport for military personnel. Recreational leagues developed soon after World War II ended. The National Flag & Touch Football League (NTFL) was the most famous of these leagues.
Today, the National Collegiate Flag Football Championships are held every December at the University of New Orleans. Every year since 1979 there has been a National College Champion crowned on the UNO campus.
In 1988 the NTFL’s regional director Mike Cihon broke free from the league to found the United States Flag Touch Football League (USFTL), the first major competition to the NTFL. The annual USFTL National Flag Football Tournament is held annually in Orlando, and is the nation’s largest non-college flag football tournament.
The American Flag & Touch Football League (AFTFL) is yet another prominent flag football league. In 1991 the AFTFL was formed in Long Island by George Higgins following a dispute between Higgins and USFTL director Cihon. The league has continued to grow and now hosts it’s own national championship tournament held annually each February in Atlanta.
Since the mid 1990s a large number of other “national organizations” have been formed to take advantage of the over 20 million players who participate in flag football programs. The Professional Flag Football League, Inc. (PFFL) played the first-ever professional flag football travel schedule in 1999 with participating teams in Dayton, Buffalo, Columbus, Indianapolis, Toledo, and Cleveland. Unfortunately, the league wasn’t a financial success and folded after just one season.
Meanwhile, the sport continues to grow in popularity, and its fans hope that still more national professional flag football leagues will form in the near future so they can enjoy watching even more of their favorite game!
