Steady progress for flag football at grass root level

National team Head Coach, Mpanga Shudais talking to the students | Courtsey Image

AMERICAN FOOTBALL Steady progress for flag football at grass root level

Ian Asabo • 09:27 - 26.03.2023

The American Football Federation of  Uganda(AFFA) is currently on tour around secondary schools promoting the game of flag football.

Flag football is a variant of American football where instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or belt from the ball carrier to end a down.

The aim to spread the sport around the country has seen schools like Trinity College Nabbingo and Makerere College School among the 16 who paid a visit.

All these schools embraced the sport over the last month with a signal of intent shown by the federation in spreading the sport.

Association president Steven Okeng is pleased with the warm reception the game has received in secondary schools.

"We are pleased as a federation to have the game warmly embraced by the schools,” Okeng told Pulse Sports.

Furthermore, he outlined that the fact that equipment like the flags and belts are being manufactured in Uganda will help the sport's growth.

The federation is also in preparations for the African flag championship that will take place in Cameroon later this year in October.

National team head Coach Mpanga Shudais says he is keen on establishing a round structure around the teams.

"We are in the process of establishing U-15 and U-17 teams to help us prepare for future tournaments," Mpanga said.

Not yet an Olympic sport, flag football is being considered for an entry into the 2028 games in Los Angeles.

The federation recently hosted the fifth edition of the  Africa Zone series in November last year, a significant landmark in the sports growth in Uganda.

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