Our 2023 Flag Football World Championship in Tampa was a resounding success, setting new milestones for the sport. With over 950 participating teams, the event spanned four adrenaline-packed days, showcasing talent across 40 diverse divisions with teams from all over the world.
For half a decade, our events played a pivotal role in selecting and facilitating the U.S. National Team program. Our overarching aim is to elevate the sport to an Olympic level, which is now realized, fostering a culture of excellence and camaraderie.
Our events transcend the boundaries of typical tournaments, morphing into grand festival-style experiences. Featuring prominent brands, local vendors, and an array of engaging activities at each event. This unique approach not only caters to the travelling teams but also enriches the overall experience, fostering a vibrant and inclusive community.
Incepted in 2015, the Flag Football World Championship Tour (FFWCT) emerged from a passionate venture by two entrepreneurial flag football veterans. This initiative sought to unify the sport under a single, powerful brand, achieved through alliances with leading independent flag football events nationwide. The goal? To draw high-profile sponsorships and amplify player-focused marketing strategies.
The year 2016 marked our kick-off, starting with a 350-team event in Tampa, experiencing a 20% boost in registration within two months. Thanks to over 15 sponsors, we added significant value to this event. The year culminated in ten diverse locations, from Illinois to Florida, each witnessing increased participation and revenue.
2017 saw our first major cash prize event in Orlando, garnering national recognition and positioning us as the top flag football organization. This success prompted nationwide bids for hosting our events, a testament to our influence in the sports tourism market.
Our triumphs propelled us towards our ultimate goal - Olympic inclusion. With our assistance in managing the U.S. Flag National Team for the IFAF World Championship, both the men's and women's teams brought home their first ever joint gold medals. This collaboration also fostered the development of the official governing body for flag football.
Our journey continued, with our events scaling exponentially. From launching the first open invitation World Championship to orchestrating the largest flag football tournament in history - the 2019 FFWCT Battle Orlando National Championships with 700 teams (a record we have broke every year since), we have continually pushed boundaries.
Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 in 2020, our Flag Football Tournament Events experienced extraordinary growth, with a record-breaking 600+ adult teams participating in the Orlando World Championships. We continued our ambitious expansion plans, working on the establishment of an official governing body and pursuing the standardization of rules.
As we started the year with our Panama City Beach World Championships, it became our first ever 7-day, 2-weekend event, marking a significant milestone. We saw an overwhelming hunger for play and travel in the post-Covid world, and our events were instrumental in scouting and developing the National Team program. This culminated in both men's and women's teams winning Gold Medals at the IFAF World Championships in December of 2021.
2022 set a new benchmark with over 780 teams marking their presence at our Tampa World Championships. With the addition of a dozen events nationwide, we successfully penetrated new markets. The year was also notable for the World Games in the United States, where the U.S. National Men's and Women's Teams clinched Gold and Silver medals, respectively. Our summer youth camps added further vibrancy to our calendar, hosting over 30 across the nation.
The most transformative decision came in Fall 2022 when we chose to move all leagues, tournaments and camps under the USA Flag umbrella, strategically positioning us to expand the sport for potential Olympic inclusion. As a destination partner, you have the opportunity to be part of this exciting journey as we continue to revolutionize flag football tournaments.
2015 - 2022As we ushered in 2023, we made global headlines with a record-breaking event that saw nearly 1,000 teams from across the globe competing in our Tampa Flag Football World Championship over a riveting four-day period. Each subsequent event throughout the year has continued this upward trajectory, building a momentum that promises a monumental 2024 season.
The recent announcement of Flag Football's inclusion in the 2028 Olympics signals a pivotal moment for our sport. This milestone is set to ignite an explosion of interest and participation in Flag Football worldwide. Parallel to this, we are witnessing the rapid expansion of high school girls' varsity teams across numerous states, coupled with Flag Football's rising stature as a collegiate scholarship sport.
We stand on the brink of a major global sporting revolution. As potential sponsors, this is a thrilling opportunity to align your brand with a sport that is not just growing, but thriving. Your partnership would not just support our events, but also contribute to the continued growth and elevation of Flag Football on the global stage.
THE PRESENT2024 is set to be a year of explosive growth with USA Flag leading the way. With contracts to host double the number of events already confirmed across the nation, including major international destinations on the horizon, and an increasing number of brand partners coming on board daily, this is an opportunity you don't want to miss. Partner with the hottest sport in the world and be a part of the excitement and success that awaits in the coming year!
THE FUTURE
Our Open events are local to regional tournaments that drive local participation to feed into our Regional Cups, Nationals and World Championships! We look to host 8-12 Open events per year in mid to major markets that our players will travel to consistently.
Our Regional Cup tournaments are official qualifier tournaments that guarantee top seeding and ranking points for our National and World Championships at high priority locations! We look to host 4-6 Regional Cup events per year in major markets for our sport.
Leading directly into our World Championships, the National Championship events will provide teams with their only chance to “punch their ticket” to the 2024 World Championships, with official bids and guaranteed seeding.
Starting in 2024 we will be hosting a series of tournaments outside of the United States in markets that would be prime for flag football expansion and growth! We will be working with international leaders in our sport to collaborate on an exciting opportunity for all!
The 2025 Flag Football World Championships, hosted in Tampa, FL, will play host to ~1,000 of the world’s top teams from the United States, Canada, Panama, Mexico, Denmark, Bahamas, UK, Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico and others, competing for over $50,000 and the title of World Champion!
For all Open, National and World Championships, we are looking to be able to host our event with full field costs covered, including field striping, field maintenance and cleanup. Regionals it is highly preferred but can be negotiated depending on the market and amenities.
Based on full size 120×60 yard minimum field dimensions. Grass or turf acceptable.
As an organization that is travelling an above average amount of staff and officials into events due to the nature of the sport not being as locally supportive in most areas, along with cash prizes being a significant draw to our travelling teams, rights fees are required for most all events.
Per year, per event in each market. National, International and World Championship event support ranges from $100,000 to $1,000,000 depending on size, scope and market.
2-3 BOTTOM LINE RELIEF ITEMS
If there are benefits the local CBV or venue can provide to help offset additional costs for running our event that will be a big bonus when considering future event locations.
SUPPORT AREAS
International events provide an additional tier of travel and logistical challenges for our staff and officials to ensure a properly run and marketed event, with greater lead time and support requested. Below are some additional areas of need.
We focus our marketing efforts heavily in social media, building a community of followers that are actively engaged and plugged into our every move across multiple channels. Currently sitting at over 75k followers on instagram, 61k followers on facebook and a facebook community with over 15,000 members strong.
Our website focuses on developing our community with regular content for players, coaches and officials with an easy way to get event information. We’ve experience 100% growth in visitors and total website hits in the last 12 months and over 45,000 hits on average per month, peaking around major events.
We send regular email blasts sent to an active and opted in group of fans, coaches, players and organizers promoting event activity, sponsors and general flag football information. Our database features over 325,000 active subscribers.
Here are some of the most common questions we get asked!
We do have a housing group we work with and have minimum rebate requests and room blocks. We can work with a venue’s housing group but prefer not to if at all possible.
Our events are not stay to play. We prefer to work with markets who understand 100% of our room blocks will be in their required area, pushed to the teams, with surveys sent out, but difficult to track every hotel booked without stay to play.
No we do not require a bid fee, only a rights fee due after signing depending on the event size.
For our tournaments, teams usually travel up to 4 or so hours for regionals, 5-12 hours for Majors and world wide for our national and world championships. Many teams travel nationwide for any tournament in high priority travel destinations.
"*" indicates required fields
