Find out what clicks on FoxBusiness.com.
Flag football is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States, and an NFL legend continues to contribute to that growth with a major partnership announced Tuesday.
New Orleans Saints legend Drew Brees and his youth flag football league Football ‘N’ America (FNA) have partnered with Unrivaled Sports, the nation’s leader in youth sports experiences, to continue to elevate the game that Brees credits with founding football.
Brees and Chris Stuart founded FNA in 2017 with the goal of making flag football fun, competitive and community-oriented for boys and girls of all ages and skill levels.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXBUSINESS.COM
Drew Brees coaches flag football at an FNA event on September 6, 2019. (Football ‘N’ America)
“I’m really excited,” he told FOX Business by phone about the partnership with Unrivaled Sports. “When we embarked on this project in 2017 and created the FNA, it was really with the idea of creating the benchmark for flag football. I had three young boys who were starting to play the sport. I played flag football until ninth grade. In fact, the first time I put on pads was in ninth grade – a lot of people don’t know that. quarterback, understanding passing patterns and everything about flag football.
“So not only did I come from someone who played this game, but also someone who had kids who wanted to play. Plus, I’ve coached all of my kids, including their friends, so far, they’re high school football players, so I kind of see it coming full circle.”
BRONCOS’ SEAN PAYTON TALKS ABOUT OPPORTUNITY TO COACH TOM BRADY IN INTERNATIONAL FLAG FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT
Unrivaled Flag has the same ambitions as FNA, and they are ready to leverage their vast resources to help grow the leagues nationally through new operators and communities, while connecting them to Unrivaled Flag’s programming, including the High School Girls Nationals, The Gold Jacket Classic and the Youth Flag World Championships.
“We are proud to work with Drew and the FNA team to create incredible experiences for athletes and set the standards for the sport as the flag continues to grow and gain popularity with girls and boys across the country,” said Jim Reynolds, CEO of Unrivaled Flag, in a statement. “We are inspired by the momentum for flag football as it heads to the world stage in 2028, and we are proud to help lead the charge in the youth field.”
As Reynolds mentions, flag football will be an Olympic sport in Los Angeles in 2028, and there is already huge buzz around what should be an exciting part of the Games.
Drew Brees coaches flag football at an FNA event on September 6, 2019. (Football ‘N’ America)
Brees has witnessed the impact of American football around the world, given his time in the NFL and his knowledge of their international games. But after serving as an analyst for Netflix’s international broadcast of the Christmas Day football game last season, he saw the millions of viewers who tuned in not only to watch the game, but also to ask him and NFL RedZone host Scott Hanson questions about the game.
“The viewership was crazy and the reach was just right,” Brees said of that show. “It was really eye-opening for me to see how many people around the world are interested in American football.”
When it comes to the game itself, Brees believes flag football is a “entrance sport,” giving kids the opportunity to learn so many different things that they can use in other sports as well as everyday life.
“Back in the day, you could say the first thing you got your kids involved in was football. But I think in a lot of cases now, I see young kids playing flag football for the first time at five, six, seven years old and that’s really their introduction to the sport,” Breese said. “I see a lot of girls doing it too, which has never been the case. We’re in a time where flag football is becoming a gateway sport for a lot of kids.”
Drew Brees coaches flag football at an FNA event on September 6, 2019. (Football ‘N’ America)
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
With collective determination and a drive to continue to impact children and communities nationwide, Unrivaled Sports and FNA are ready to work in tandem to impact the future of flag football and youth sports in general.
“Partnering with Unrivaled only adds fuel to the fire because of Unrivaled’s leadership and access to incredible resources,” Brees said. “They run incredible facilities across the country that are going to host some really iconic events when it comes to the tournament series in our flag football leagues. And then some really cool experiential events around flag football that I think currently exist in other sports but don’t exist in flag football yet. We have a chance to be pioneers in this area for many years to come.”
Follow Fox News Digital sports coverage onand subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
