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On May 4, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association made girls soccer the 35th sanctioned varsity sport in the state. Voting took a few minutes. The work after that lasted 15 years.
Authorizing girls to flag soccer as a varsity sport legitimizes the opportunity. And – turning years of efforts by parents, teachers, coaches, students and ourselves into lasting equality with stable funding, organized competition and a clear path for girls to progress.
Football has always had the power to connect – to unite communities, generations and backgrounds. Often, access to the game is not what it promises. Opportunity, resources and the simple assurance that the girl belongs on the field are equally shared. Girls flag football is changing that, not with signs, but with continued commitment, true belief and decisive action.
That belief is matched by investment. Since 2011, the New York Jets have supported more than 260 teams in three countries, reaching more than 7,000 young women each year through more than $2.5 million in funding and grants. What began as a question of whether it would be possible to sponsor about 20 schools in the Public Schools Athletic League of New York City has become an organization, and thus, a responsibility to move forward.
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The Betty Wold Johnson Foundation and the New York Jets are the largest sponsor of the Women's Collegiate Flag Football Championship. (Courtesy of the New York Jets)
For us, the numbers are never the point – they're just a testament to what happens when a community commits to creating space. The New Jersey vote is the latest, and most personal, milestone in that process. It is the culmination of a five-year effort led by students, coaches, schools and advocates who believe the sport deserves equal standing.
That journey began in earnest in 2021, when the Jets launched New Jersey's first high school girls soccer league with eight schools, all located within close proximity to our Florham Park campus. Within two years, that small beginning grew into a league of more than 100 schools and 1,000 athletes, expanding across the country and into Long Island and the Hudson Valley.
From the beginning, the goal was clear: girls flag football should stand alongside soccer, lacrosse, softball, and yes, boys tackle football, as an official varsity sport. New York reached that mark in 2023. New Jersey is now joining it, closing an opportunity gap that has been open for far too long.
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Lately, Shwi noMtekhala's Omtekhala Foundation has been part of that progress. Its mission reflects the values ​​my mother lived by: expanding opportunity, opening doors and measuring success not by words but by impact.
Today, commitment includes all levels of the game. We helped the Eastern College Athletic Conference launch the nation's largest women's soccer league, supported by a $1 million grant from the Betty Wold Johnson Foundation. We continue to invest in youth and middle school programs that strengthen the pathway. Internationally, we helped establish the first NFL-backed girls' soccer league in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
With flag football set to debut as an Olympic sport at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, the path is now finally visible – but only if the first step is real. That is what sanctions bring about. Varsity status moves girls flag football from a promising program to a permanent part of high school athletics, opening up the sustainable funding, structured competition, dedicated coaching and long-term infrastructure that any serious sport requires.
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A girl playing her first season at a New Jersey high school today can see, clearly and without thinking, the steps from her school to the college program, to the national team, to the Olympic stage. And because varsity status removes sports from the perspective of any one school, that approach holds true for the next class of athletes as well. About 160 New Jersey high schools are expected to get teams next season – a clear sign that this is not the time to be complacent. It is a structural change.
Susan E. Wagner High School awarded 3rd Year High School Girls Flag Football Invitational champions. (Courtesy of the New York Jets)
It is also a non-union time. It's about the parents who spoke at school board meetings, the teachers who listened, the athletic directors who made room in the calendar, the coaches who created programs from scratch and the students who showed up, competed and answered on the field. This movement has always been supported by the public. The role of the Jets has been to have the vision, invest, build a path and make sure the door stays open.
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Together, we've made New Jersey a national model for sports equity — and ensured that the next generation of female athletes no longer have to beg for a spot on the field, because the opportunity is legitimate.
They already have it.
