Starting in the 2025-2026 school year, all Fairfax County public schools will have a Girl’s Flag Football program. This decision, which opens up a competitive flag football league for all girls in Fairfax high schools, has been discussed for months by FCPS leadership.
“Girl’s football has been growing throughout the country. There’s a couple states that already have it as a sanctioned sport, [although] Virginia does not have it yet,” student activities director Geoffrey Noto said. “Fairfax is going to get a grant [from the Washington Commanders] for all 25 high schools in Fairfax County to have one girl’s [team for] each school. ”
Being a new decision, Langley’s upcoming girls flag football team does not have a coach or a sponsor yet. However, applications are currently open to any staff member interested.
“My initial step is to see if anyone in the building is interested, and if no one’s interested in the building, then I would reach outside,” Noto said. “Fairfax County has a website where every Wednesday they put out a call for coaches. Not every coach is a teacher… a lot of our coaches don’t work in the building.”
Flag football will run from September to November starting this fall. Noto emphasized how it will be a major time commitment, similar to any other fall sport.
“They’re saying it’s not going to start in August, [which is when] the other fall sports start. It would start after Labor Day, so like in early September, you would practice like one or two times a week, and you would have eight games,” Noto said. “If you [are] gonna do girls flag football, you’d have to be committed all of September, all of October, and then the season would end in early November. It’s a big commitment.”
Each team will have a roster of 25 girls. Interest meeting dates will be determined depending on when a coach or a sponsor is found.
“A good sized roster would be 25, but, since it’s brand new, we may not have enough or we could have 50 girls,” Noto said. “I honestly have no idea yet. ”
Langley does have a football team, however this new decision is specifically for girls football teams. Many girls at Langley are looking forward to the new opportunity.
“I would not be interested, but I think a lot of girls would. I already have my sports set, and I need to focus on those. However, I think it is great that they have made this an option,” sophomore Jordan Dittamo said. “I also know a rising freshman that plays flag football and would be very excited to be on the team.”
Both students and staff are excited about the new sport. A new flag football team provides a chance for more people to figure out what sports they may like.
“[Flag football] is very fast growing, and it’s another opportunity for kids.” Noto said. “Say they don’t want to do volleyball, they don’t want to do cross country, or they’re not into field hockey. It’s another thing in the fall [that] girls could participate in.”
Football, and sports in general, has not always been the most gender inclusive. A girl’s flag football team would be a step towards more inclusivity for girls in sports.
“I used to be set on playing football in high school, and I am glad this opportunity is opening for girls,” Dittamo said. “I think it is important to open up more sports for girls because it gives girls the confidence they need. Oftentimes, girls are put down and told they cannot do anything, so a predominantly male sport opening up for women to play is a game changer.”
Opening up more flag football teams for girls in Virgina helps break the stereotype that football is an exclusively masculine sport. It could help encourage more girls to step outside of the comfort zone that society has built for them from a young age.
“There have been so many sports that have just been deemed ‘masculine,’ limiting opportunities for girls who are interested,” sophomore Shriya Gubbi said. “Especially a sport like football, where women’s teams are almost nonexistent throughout the country. Langley creating a team like this is one step forward for more gender equality in the athletic world.”