Healey urges MIAA to make girls flag football official varsity sport

Gov. Maura Healey is formally pushing the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association to make girls flag football a varsity sport, adding a powerful voice to a campaign that players, coaches and parents have been waging for years.

“The question is not whether young women in Massachusetts want to play flag football; they have already answered that through their participation, commitment, and advocacy for the sport,” Healey wrote in a Sept. 16 letter to the MIAA, according to a news release. 

“The opportunity before us is whether we will provide them with the same level of recognition, support, and competitive structure afforded to other varsity student-athletes,” she added.

For the athletes on the field, the case is personal. Boston.com reader Leylah P. of Lowell said the sport’s popularity has outrun the roster spots available to the girls who want them.

“These girls really put their whole hearts into this sport. I see many people are interested in trying out but unfortunately since there isn’t enough space girls who had potential and even are skilled were cut due to the lack of space,” she said, adding, “I’m not sure why this is even in question as it is a sport that is very clearly in high demand and is rising quickly.”

The numbers back her up. The New England Patriots Foundation started a pilot in 2023 with eight Massachusetts high schools. By 2024 there were 23 teams, and the governor’s office says the count reached 90 this season. The trend is national, too: the number of girls playing flag football in the U.S. climbed from 15,716 in the 2021-22 school year to 102,360 today, according to the governor’s office. Participation jumped 48.7% in the past year alone, and the sport now sits among the ten most popular for girls.

Ravyn L. of Westford said that kind of momentum should be matched by official standing. Varsity status, she said, “would give female athletes greater access to organized competition, college recruiting opportunities, and a pathway to continue playing beyond high school.”

Robert Kraft, chairman and CEO of the Patriots, said in the release that the team’s investment gave him confidence in where the sport is headed. 

“To see it grow to 90 teams that we have been proud to financially support in just four seasons demonstrates that these athletes are ready for the next step,” he said, adding that the Patriots “strongly advocate” for the MIAA designation.

Some players are already looking ahead to what’s next for their flag football careers. 

“I want to play flag football through high school and college, and it’s a growing sport across the country!” said reader Jonasi of Brighton. 

Luca M. of Stoneham sees it from the sideline. He said he coaches and trains with his younger sister, whom he called “one of the best players in the state,” and wants her five years of hard work in the sport acknowledged. 

“I, as her brother, coach, and training partner, want to see her passion become something recognized by the state,” he said.

The sport is currently going through a new pathway the MIAA’s board adopted in 2025, where a sport can first achieve “Emerging Sport” status and later advance toward varsity status as participation grows. Getting started requires backing from at least 15 percent of member schools. 

Advocates to get the sport sanctioned by the state filed a new application on Oct. 1, after the MIAA turned down their request in 2025. Kayla Balamotis, the co-founder of All Girls Flag, a grassroots campaign behind the push, said she hopes for emerging status in 2027 and full sanctioning by 2028. No decision date has been set by the MIAA, she said.

Parents say the stakes go beyond the scoreboard, too. Jaime T. of Holden said her daughter’s involvement in the sport was so much more than just an extra curricular activity. 

“Watching her find her people, feel comfortable being herself, and gain confidence along the way has been the absolute best,” she said. “What more could you ask for your teenage daughter?”

Even skeptics of change, it seems, are coming around. Tommy S. of Medford described himself as “an old-school Boston sports guy” who grew up thinking football meant “boys in helmets on a cold Friday night.” But, he said, “girls’ flag football is real football, the competition is real, and the athletes deserve a real varsity sport.”

Timing may help the cause. Flag football debuts at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

For one anonymous reader from Lowell, sanctioning the sport all comes down to access: “Every girl should have the chance to get out on that field, compete, have fun, and show what she can do!”

Annie Jonas is a Community writer at Boston.com. She was previously a local editor at Patch and a freelancer at the Financial Times.