OHSAA sanctions girls flag football as a new state championship sport

07/17/2025 - Jonathan X. Simmons, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Ohio High School Athletic Association joined 16 other states Thursday by sanctioning girls flag football.

Thursday’s announcement comes just ahead of the NFL Flag Championships this weekend in Canton.

The inaugural OHSAA season will kick off in the spring of 2026 after a big push from the Cleveland Browns, and NFL, to support flag football ahead of its debut in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“The decision to officially sanction girls flag football in Ohio is an important moment not just for the Browns, but for the entire state of Ohio and the game we love,” Browns Managing and Principal Partners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said in a statement.

“We have seen firsthand how powerful the game of football can be in shaping confidence, leadership, and community, and we are proud that more young women will have the chance to experience that same growth.”

Over the last five years, the Browns have played a pivotal role in working toward the sanctioning of girls flag football in Ohio.

They implemented a pilot girls high school flag football league in the spring of 2022 alongside Northeast Ohio Flag Football. It started with nine teams, and created the first high school girls flag football division in Ohio in 2022. Success in the pilot season led schools to reach out to the Browns about their inclusion in the program.

The league has grown every year since, with 30 teams in 2023, 51 teams in 2024 and 88 teams in 2025 across Northeast Ohio.

As the sport grew in Ohio, Browns youth football manager Hannah Lee continued to reach out to schools to garner interest, as well as onboard teams into the program.

“The announcement today is a testament to teamwork and the strength of advocacy,” Cleveland Browns Vice President of Community Relations Jenner Tekancic said. “There are countless individuals who made history with us today, and we are grateful for the officials, volunteer coaches and so many people behind the scenes who have been integral to get Ohio to this point.”

Flag football has been added by 100 college club and varsity programs, and now 17 high school state associations have sanctioned the sport with a state tournament.

Girls flag football will continue to be a spring sport.

In May, the Browns and Bengals hosted the inaugural Girls High School Flag Football State Championship at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon, where the top four teams from both the Browns and Bengals divisions competed. Hamilton Badin High School won the inaugural championship over Willoughby South.

“Ohio becoming the latest state to sanction girls flag football is a testament to the strong growth and appeal of the sport,” said Stephanie Kwok, NFL Vice President, Head of Flag Football. “This is an exciting time with 17 states having sanctioned girls flag football and we’re thankful to the Browns, Bengals and OHSAA for their support in growing the sport.”

The Browns first began their conversations with the OHSAA in 2023 about the sanctioning of girls flag football. At the time, 14 states had sanctioned the sport. Through those discussions, they learned the parameters of what it would require for girls flag football to be sanctioned in the state of Ohio.

One of those steps included the creation of a coaches association. Today the Browns are the only NFL club that sits on a board for a high school football coaches association.

The girls high school flag football league also continued to grow across Ohio. Not only did the Browns increase teams to a total of 51 teams across 30 high schools in 2024, but they also expanded their reach into Summit and Stark counties, with the goal of pursuing statewide growth.

That same year, the Bengals launched their pilot season for girls high school flag football in Cincinnati with six local high schools. Three high schools from the Central Buckeye League became part of the pilot season in the Columbus area. The Bengals expanded to 20 teams this past spring.

The advocacy for girls flag football has been prominent throughout the Browns organization with coach and player involvement. Members of the front office, coaches and support staff wore custom shirts that featured the phrase “Sanction Girls Flag” on the first night of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Cornerback Greg Newsome II became the program’s first-ever ambassador in February 2025. Since joining the Browns in 2021, Newsome has been an avid supporter of girls flag football by attending tournaments and helping coach athletes at Berea-Midpark’s practices, while using his platform to amplify the growth of the sport.

“Growing up with three sisters and welcoming my own daughter this fall, supporting women’s sports is something I have always been passionate about and seeing young women get the chance to thrive on the football field is incredible,” Newsome said in February 2025. “This is more than just a sport – the impact the game has on shaping confidence, leadership and resilience is limitless. I’m committed to supporting the Browns organization in their work to break barriers and create more opportunities for girls to play the sport.”

With the demonstrated statewide growth, conversations continued with OHSAA about sanctioning, and their involvement in the program to understand the scope and scale grew. As an official sanctioned sport, OHSAA will continue to use the blueprint laid out by the Browns from the previous five years and take steps to grow the game, providing athletes with the opportunity to play girls flag football at the varsity level.

“I think it’s really important with club sports and varsity sports at the high school level, regardless boys or girls, I think it just really validates the sport for the athletes,” McCue said. “So, I think moving it from a club sport to a sanctioned varsity sport, I think just means a lot for the athletes. They are putting in the same amount of work, same amount of effort, winning and losing feels the same whether it’s club or varsity. But I think from that standpoint, it just gives them a sense of I’m a varsity athlete in a varsity sport. And I think from the girls’ standpoint, it puts flag football right there with boys football as a varsity sport. These girls are great athletes. They’re making unbelievable plays out there.”

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