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NFHS releases first rules publication for girls flag football

IMG_8358by: Andy Villamarzo06/17/25Andy_Villamarzo
Syndication: The Commercial Appeal
Southwind’s quarterback Malani Duncan (2) runs with the ball as she dodges Millington defenders trying to pull her flag during a game at Millington High School on Thursday, April 24, 2025. This is the first year girls flag football is a sanctioned high school sport in Tennessee and Southwind ended the regular season undefeated at 8-0. (© Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

There’s little doubt around the growth of high school girls flag football. The sport is the fastest growing on the high school end and it’s continuing to blossom around the United States.

Now, there’s an official rulebook for all of the sanctioned 16 states to follow, with over double that currently in pilot programs for the sport.

On Monday afternoon, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) released its first set of rules for girls flag football.

From The NFHS Press Release

“The zone to gain is the next 20- or 40-yard line in advance of the ball’s foremost point when a new series of downs is awarded. When a new series of downs is awarded, the penalties for all fouls (including nonplayer and unsportsmanlike) committed prior to the ready-for-play shall be administered before the zone to gain is established. The zone to gain then remains fixed until the series ends and a new zone to gain is established.” – NFHS girls flag football rulebook

“The popularity of flag football – for boys and girls – has been growing at the youth levels for the past 10 years. In 2023, about 500,000 girls ages 6-17 played flag football – a 63 percent increase since 2019. At a higher level of competition, more universities are beginning to offer flag football for girls, which will certainly enhance the appeal for girls playing the sport at the high school level. And internationally, the sport received a huge boost with the addition of flag football as an Olympic sport for men and women at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.” – Dr. Karissa Niehoff, CEO of the NFHS

“The NFHS looks forward to being involved with the continued growth of flag football in schools nationwide, particularly now with playing rules specifically for the high school game, as more opportunities for participation unfold in all 50 states.” – Dr. Karissa Niehoff, CEO of the NFHS

Kicking Becoming Apart Of Girls Flag Football?

Yes, you could be very well watching girls attempt field goals once the 2025-2026 season rolls around based on the NFHS first rulebook release.

The rules are going to closely follow those of high school football, in which there will be four 12-minute quarters and touchdowns counting for six points. What differs now is when teams decide to opt against going for it on fourth down inside their opponents’ redzone, they’ll be able to send a kicking unit onto the field.

Now the caveat with that is if your state association decides to adopt adding field goals, you may do so and gain three points. In mostly all cases around the country, teams have to go for it on fourth down and have no option of kicking a field goal or extra point.

Teams Could Play On a Full-Size 11-On-11 Regulation Field

We know in a lot of cases around the nation, girls flag football teams are able to play on their respective high school football field.

What normally happens is girls flag football is played on a field that’s marked off 80 yards long, with two 10-yard end zones), and 40 yards in width. The NFHS provides three options for gameplay, including a regulation 11-on-11 high school football field.  

That’s a little bit of a difference when comparing the two, as a regulation high school football field is marked off at 120 yards long and 53.3 yards wide. For the math majors out there, that’s 40 yards longer and nearly 14 more wider in diameter.

Once again, this is just an option they list, but one that a state association would have to adopt into their current rules. It would be interesting to see if any state decided to go this route.

The Growth Of Girls Flag Football Is Evident

Football is king on the high school level and that’s easily transferrable when looking at girls flag.

The NFHS’ press release states that the sport has seen a 105 percent growth from the 2022-2023 season to 2023-2024. What are those numbers looking like exactly?

2022-23: 20,875

2023-24: 42,955

It’s safe to saying with the 18 states sitting with pilot programs that may eventually sanction girls flag football within their respective association, that the numbers will continue to grow for the sport.

States That Have Sanctioned High School Girls Flag Football

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

California

Colorado

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Illinois

Louisiana

Mississippi

Nevada

New York

Pennsylvania

Tennessee

Washington

State Associations Currently With Independent/Pilot Programs

District of Columbia

Delaware

Indiana

Kansas

Louisiana

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Missouri

Montana

New Jersey

North Carolina

Ohio

Oregon

Rhode Island

Texas

Wisconsin