Atlanta Falcons bring girls flag football to 20 Alabama high schools

Lakewood’s Paige Johnson (10) pulls the flag from Alonso’s Sarah Peterika during a quarterfinal round of the state high school flag football tournament in Boca Raton, Fla., Friday, May 7, 2010. About 5,000 girls competed this spring at the college level in Florida, where the state has recognized a high school champion since 2003. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — The Atlanta Falcons will bring girls flag football teams to several Alabama high schools, including three in the greater Birmingham area.

Through the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, the Falcons will provide grants to 20 high schools across the state to create girls’ flag football teams. Specifically, in central Alabama, grants will be awarded to Montevallo, Mountain Brook and Pell City high schools to create teams.

In 2021, the Alabama High School Athletic Association voted to sanction girls’ flag football as a recognized high school sport. The Falcons were then involved in early discussions to bring the sport to Alabama.

“After discussions with the Atlanta Falcons for several months, we are excited to add this women’s sport to our membership,” AHSAA Associate Executive Director Alvin Briggs said in a statement at the time. “We think it’s going to grow quickly.”

Since then, there have been three women’s flag football state championships in Alabama. Today, 112 schools across the state now have their own teams.

The full list of Alabama high schools that will receive grants this year includes: