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Josh Ball

Trying to carve out space in a city where team sports are dominated by rugby and football is not an easy task, so having the shiny new toy of the Olympic movement and an association with the richest league in the world helps.
Flag football may yet prove to be a flash in the IOC’s pan, with its participation in Los Angeles in 2028 a one-off in the same way breaking was in Paris two years ago, but there is ample evidence to suggest otherwise and if its popularity in mainland China is anything to go by, the sport is here to stay.
According to the International Federation of American Football (IFAF), more than a million people now play the non-contact version on the mainland, and a women’s national team is making its major international debut this week at the IFAF World Flag Championships in Germany.
While numbers are significantly fewer in Hong Kong, interest has grown rapidly and the path to wider acceptance is working its way through the city’s schools.
“Hong Kong is predominantly rugby and soccer, so one of the main things that we’re trying to do is educate the crowd,” Jay Ma Ming-yui, president of the Hong Kong American Football Legion, said.
“We try to go into schools, start interest classes and hopefully expand into an inter-school league eventually.”

When Ma started playing in Hong Kong, the sport was largely dominated by expats, post-Covid it has become a far more local crowd, and a women’s team that had just 12 players last year now numbers between 20 and 30 at any given practice.
The connection with the NFL and the sport people can watch on television helps, as does the less physical nature of the flag version. At a time when the dangers of long-term head trauma are becoming more widely known, there is an attraction in a game that cuts down on the rough and tumble of tackle football or rugby.
“I wouldn’t say Hong Kong people are afraid to get into contact sport,” the 32-year-old Ma said. “But flag football is a perfect way for them to dip their toes in and test it out, I think the non-contact aspect has a huge appeal.”
One thing flag football has that rugby sevens does not, is immediate name recognition for some of the players now being used by the NFL to sell the sport globally.
The likes of former New England Patriot quarterback Tom Brady have been pushed out in a marketing blitz as it seeks a “Barcelona 92” moment in LA in two years.
IFAF president Pierre Trochet compared the opportunity for his sport to the impact of NBA players in the US “dream team” at the Olympics in Spain.
“I watched [Michael] Jordan and I watched [Charles] Barkley and I wanted to be one of those superstars as well,” he said. “The most important is to have the best competitive players in the world qualify for the biggest multi-sports event in the world. That being said, nobody is entitled to be an Olympian. Everybody will have to earn their spot.”
Some of the game’s best have been spreading the word in China and Hong Kong over the past several months.
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson made the trip to Shanghai and Wuhan as part of Under Armour’s year-long push to boost the sport’s popularity on the mainland.
Ma was at the second of those events and said “thousands of people showed up”. With the chance of another Olympic medal up for grabs in the long term, should the sport survive, China is reportedly pushing to have 5 million players by the time the 2032 Brisbane Games roll around.
“It definitely won’t be like breakdancing because it perfectly aligns with the NFL’s goal to come here in Asia,” Ma said. “As you can see, all the athletes, all the legends, they all want to come.”
In Hong Kong, that push brought former Cleveland Browns star Marquise Goodwin, the Atlanta Falcons’ Mohamed Sanu and kicker-turned-agent Johnny Townsend to the city for a three-day camp at Football Club.
The trio put groups of children through their paces, and for Ma, who has been president of the HKALF for two years, it was another step towards eventually having men’s and women’s teams who are a force internationally.
Goodwin is retired, so won’t be playing in two years’ time, but is already an Olympian having represented the US at London 2012, when he finished 10th in the long jump.
However, his cousin, Loryn Goodwin, is battling to make the American team after injury cut short her career in the WNBA.
“I think flag football being in the Olympics is instrumental for the growth of the sport, especially because of the inclusion factor,” Marquise Goodwin said. “We have not only males, but we have females. They get to experience this game that has changed a lot of American football players’ lives, and the more exposure that we can get for this sport the better.
“It’s not rugby, it’s not as hard on the body. So, I like that aspect of it to where I think you have a lot more longevity in the sport, and people have to rely on their skill sets as opposed to just physicality.”


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As flag football grows in China, Hong Kong pushes to join the fun with NFL stars

Lin Wenze is one of the players representing China at the Flag Football World Championship in Germany. Photo: AP

Former NFL wide receiver and Olympian Marquise Goodwin helps coach some of the city’s youngsters at Football Club. Photo: Elson Li

Sport

Hong Kong

Other Sport

Jay Ma has been involved in the sport for years, now he’s president of the Hong Kong American Football Legion and has Olympics in his sights


Jay Ma has been involved in the sport for years, now he’s president of the Hong Kong American Football Legion and has Olympics in his sights.


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Hong Kong Football Club

As flag football grows in China, Hong Kong pushes to join the fun with NFL stars

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Jay Ma has been involved in the sport for years, now he’s president of the Hong Kong American Football Legion and has Olympics in his sights

Jay Ma has been involved in the sport for years, now he’s president of the Hong Kong American Football Legion and has Olympics in his sights