UK Schoolchildren meet American Football stars while competing in NFL Flag Summer Bowl tournament

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Schoolchildren from around the country came face-to-face with American Football stars while competing in the final of the NFL Flag Summer Bowl tournament.

After a year-long national competition to find budding football stars in schools, pupils from Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and Tewkesbury went head-to-head in the grand finale.

Around 1,000 children aged 8-11 were coached by six NFL superstars including current Super Bowl champion and Philadelphia Eagle Mack Hollins, and Tennessee Titan Jurrell Casey, who acted as honorary coaches.

The final, presented by Subway, was a taste of the UK for the sporting stars, who will be returning in October for the NFL London games.

The Summer Bowl attendees earned their place at the season finale by winning their respective regional tournaments throughout the year and included pupils from Thorpe Primary (Leeds), Primrose Hill (Manchester), George Betts Primary (Birmingham) and Gretton School (Tewkesbury).

The final was eventually won by Chorley Seahawks, and the Head of Community for NFL UK, Jason Brisbane, said: “Today’s event has been a huge success and continues the positive growth of NFL Flag in the UK.

“This event is testament to the positive impact American Football can have on children in the UK and a great celebration of this year’s national NFL Flag tournament.

Congratulations to Chorley Seahawks for being crowned national champions.

“We have been really impressed by the talent of the young players we have been working with as part of the NFL Flag programme in the UK.

“We have seen a number of players who we predict could have a good future in the game, so we really hope they will stick at it.”

NFL Flag, presented by Subway, is currently operating in eight cities including London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol, Gloucester, Peterborough and Cardiff.

More than 10,000 school children across the UK have been involved in the programme since its launch in 2014.

The NFL and Subway sponsorship aims to help school children develop their characters by focusing on the NFL core values of respect, integrity, responsibility and resilience, plus the importance of a healthy lifestyle and getting active.

Subway’s UK & Ireland Marketing Director Sacha Clark added: “Our partnership with the NFL is all about bringing the NFL closer to everyone.

“One of the ways we’re helping to do this is by enabling the NFL to grow its Flag programme, taking the sport into an increasing number of schools, to encourage everyone in the family to get active.”

For the opportunity to become an NFL Flag school go to http://www.nfluk.com/events/subway-schools.html to register your interest.
ENDS

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