The Chicago Bears and Britain’s first female coach in the NFL, Phoebe Schecter, hosted the championship event in Birmingham for their historic Chicago Bears NFL Girls Flag Football League.
After the success of the foundation of leagues in London and Manchester, this year saw the Bears launch the league in the Midlands with 200 girls aged 12-14 taking part across eight weeks.
Former Bears cornerback Charles “Peanut” Tillman joined the girls at the championship event, celebrating the skills they had developed and the friendships they had formed over the eight weeks. His presence underscored the league’s core mission: to provide equal opportunities for girls from all backgrounds to experience the excitement and empowerment of American football.
After a competitive day of league play, St Michael’s CE High School were crowned official winners of the inaugural Midlands Chicago Bears NFL Flag Girls league and received a Chicago Bears Girls Flag trophy and branded Championship rings.
Flag football is the non-contact format of American football that empowers young athletes, both boys and girls, around the world. The game is fun, exciting, and accessible for all, with women and girls driving some of the fastest growth in the sport.
The league is a continuation of the Bears’ expansion across the United Kingdom, where they have marketing rights through the NFL’s Global Markets Program, with a championship events for their Near NFL Girls Flag Leagues held in London earlier this week, and another upcoming in Manchester later this week.
Tanya Dressen, SVP of Strategy and Global Affairs for the Chicago Bears, said: “As we celebrate our first year in the Midlands, we have forged meaningful relationships with both communities and schools, inspiring young people to play, watch and become members of the Bears family- all through flag football.
These programs are about more than just football. With each event, we’re offering young people the chance to create lasting memories, form new friendships, and develop valuable skills. Whether through our Mini Monsters clinics, or in our ever-growing flag footballs leagues, we are committed to growing football at a grassroots level, and by welcoming as many new Midlands and UK based fans into the Bears family as possible, we look forward to reflecting our core values of community in all our initiatives.”
Phoebe Schecter said: “It has been wonderful observing the young girls grow over the last five weeks, both in terms of their prowess on the pitch and the community they’ve formed. They have developed skills and confidence across the competition, and today has been a perfect celebration of all the girls’ efforts.”
With the Bears having already celebrating the culmination of the third year of the London Girls Flag League earlier this month, following the championship event in Birmingham the Bears will also celebrate the culmination of the second year of the Manchester Girls Flag League.
The Bears are in the UK and on a mission to create positive experiences in Flag and American football that entice all young people to want to take part and join the Bears family. Since the programme launched in 2022, the Bears have welcomed over 10,000 young people from aged 7 through to 21 in 11 regions spanning the UK from Edinburgh down to Exeter.
Nike are the official partner of Chicago Bears Girls Flag Football in the UK. To find out more about the Bears NFL Girls Flag Football League in London visit, www.chicagobears.com.