MINNEAPOLIS — In a long-term effort to bring state-sanctioned girls high school flag football to Minnesota, the Vikings are investing $75,000 to start a new girls flag football program with Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) for middle schools.
The Minnesota Vikings announced on Monday its new partnership to launch the MPS Girls Flag Football program, which will include several teams from middle schools in the city.
The season starts on May 7 and will have games played at Roosevelt and South high schools. The final games will be played at the indoor practice fields of Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center on May 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Vikings added that further details about the games will be released at a later time.
The NFL's push for girls' flag football across the country parallels the league's efforts to bring flag football to the Olympics in 2028.
Vikings owner Mark Wilf said in the announcement that they are thrilled to launch the league in Minneapolis.
“We strongly believe football is for everyone, and through this partnership with Minneapolis Public Schools, we are taking the first step toward our vision of growing girls flag football into a high school sanctioned sport in Minnesota," he said.
According to the team, they hope that the future of girls flag football will expand to become a varsity sport under the Minnesota State High School League.
Schools that are interested in joining the program in future years are encouraged to contact the Vikings youth football manager, Madison Cortese, at cortesem@vikings.nfl.net.
MPS District Director of Athletics Antony Fisher said in the team's announcement that they're excited about this partnership with the Vikings.
“Together, we will continue to ensure that our female middle school student-athletes have a great athletic experience with the addition of flag football to our current athletic offering," Fisher said.
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