The National Football League (NFL) and Go! London have announced a two year £1m partnership that aims to improve outcomes for young Londoners by giving them access to discover flag football, helping them feel safe, more connected, and more confident in their futures.
The funding, distributed via NFL Foundation UK, the NFL’s UK charity, will support 19 community organisations trusted by young Londoners to introduce NFL Flag into their delivery. Collectively, funded organisations will harness the power of flag football to not only help get young people active, but to support wider impact such as improved wellbeing, stronger community relationships, and increased opportunities for underserved young Londoners.
Flag football is the non-contact version of American football and is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, with women and girls driving some of the fastest growth. Flag football will make its debut as an Olympic sport in the Los Angeles games in 2028. NFL Flag is the league’s official youth flag football programme.
Spanning the breadth of London with 19 organisations selected in 17 boroughs – from Croydon to Enfield – these community groups will be supported with training and capacity building from NFL Foundation UK and BIGKID Foundation, enabling them to become experts in coaching NFL Flag across the capital, and to embed the sport into their broader youth impact work.
An impact partnership
The new partnership with Go! London will deliver a programme of NFL Flag and wraparound support for young people aged 11-24, with funding available to grassroot organisations that are interested in delivering new flag football activity. Organisations will be awarded up to £40k to integrate NFL Flag into their outreach, engaging more young people into their impact support offering.
The 2026 partnership is a fresh collaboration between Go! London and the NFL, following a successful £1m partnership between the NFL and the Mayor of London in 2021-23, which supported 15 community organisations across 21 London boroughs to deliver over 1,500 flag football sessions. The programme engaged 2,575 young people, with 80 coaches upskilled to deliver NFL Flag in the future.
