'The sky is the limit' for flag football after NFL and YouTube team up for celebrity showdown event in London

The Copper Box Arena, a legacy venue of the Olympic Games London 2012, roared back to life this weekend as flag football took centre stage in a celebrity showdown co-organised by the NFL and YouTube.

The atmosphere inside Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park felt part sporting event, part festival, with a lineup to match. Rappers Aitch and Gunna captained opposing teams packed with star power, including NFL icons Ryan Fitzpatrick and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, flag football elite Diana Flores and Ashlea Klam, and viral creators Khaby Lame and Deestroying.

This was the first international celebrity flag football event in the UK, but it also carried the unmistakable hum of a sport on the rise. With its inclusion at the Olympic Games LA 2028, flag football continues its global rise.

To re-watch the full game, click here.

Exclusive - Diana Flores: “Flag football keeps showing us there are no limits”

Phoebe Schecter: “The sky is the limit" for flag football

Team Aitch ultimately claimed a 47–25 victory, with former NFL quarterback Fitzpatrick steering their offence. Team Gunna’s quarterback, Diana Flores, was perhaps the most decorated flag football player on the pitch; the Mexican star has twice led her country to World Games gold, and continues to be a global ambassador for the NFL and the sport.

Among the standout moments was a touchdown from Phoebe Schecter, the first British woman to ever coach in the NFL.

Schecter, a former American football player and a key figure in the sport’s growth in Britain, believes the momentum is only just beginning. “The sky is the limit (for flag football),” she told the Atlantic after the game. “There are more and more pathways that are occurring, whether it’s playing in high school or college — that’s going to keep increasing — and playing for your country. I just think that this is a game that has got such a high trajectory right now.”

Another highlight came from 2025 World Games silver medallist Ashlea Klam of Team USA, who shared similar sentiments to Schecter. “Hopefully, if someone didn’t know what flag football was, they came out here and saw people are playing and are good at it. There might be a younger girl who was sitting out there who thinks: ‘Wow, this girl just caught a huge catch. I want to do that too’.”

For many fans in the stands and all those watching on YouTube, the event was their first taste of a sport that has grown to more than 20 million players in over 100 countries.

Flag football will make its Olympic debut in LA with men’s and women’s tournaments in a five-on-five format, a lean and fast-paced version designed to showcase its speed and skill.

The debut may be three years away, but nights like this show that the sport’s future is bright, and there are plenty more flags left to be pulled.

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