As summer turns to fall, roughly 1.2 million U.S. teens are suiting up to play high school football . But something is shifting in this annual autumn rite. Tens of thousands of those young athletes are now girls, and they won’t be donning shoulder pads or helmets because they’re not playing tackle football.

“All eyes are on flag football as the next emerging sport ” for girls, according to Karissa Niehoff of the National Federation of High Schools. By 2024, Niehoff noted, 11 states (including California) had sanctioned flag football competition for high school girls, while 17 others had launched pilot programs. Given how girls are now flocking to the sport, it’s a sure bet that more states will be stampeding to offer flag football for girls.

The explosion of enthusiasm for girls’

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