Girls high school flag football passes 100,000 players
Governance

Girls high school flag football reached 102,360 participants at 3,990 schools in 2025-26, according to the NFHS participation report published August 27.

Participation rose 48.7% from 68,847 the year before. The number of schools reporting girls flag football grew from 2,736 to 3,990, and the sport entered the ten most popular girls high school sports by participation.

The NFHS also says 37 states will either sanction the sport or offer independent or pilot programs by the following year. That combined figure is not a count of 37 sanctioned states. Families should check their own state association's rules and local school offerings.