The Minnesota Vikings and Minneapolis Public Schools announced Monday that they've partnered to launch a new girls' flag football program. In a news release, the Vikings pledged $75,000 toward the effort.
The Vikings' financial contribution will be used in 2022 and future years for travel, coaching stipends and other necessities for ensuring the Minneapolis program's long-term success.
"We are thrilled to launch our first girls flag football league in Minneapolis," said Mark Wilf, president and co-owner of the Vikings. "We strongly believe football is for everyone, and through this partnership with Minneapolis Public Schools, we are taking the first step toward our vision of growing girls flag football into a high school sanctioned sport in Minnesota."
The future expansion of girls high school football to a varsity sport in Minnesota is a long-term goal, the Vikings said in a news release. Only six states — Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and New York — sanction girls flag football as a high school sport.
The MPS teams, comprised of approximately 10 girls each, received custom uniforms and equipment donated by Nike and the Vikings as part of the NFL and Nike's multi-year grant initiative to grow girls flag football across the country.
Featuring several teams from middle schools in the Minneapolis area, the inaugural three-week season will kick off on May 7, with games at Roosevelt High and South High, according to the release. The final games of the season will be played on May 21 from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. in the indoor practice field of Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center.
