Packers salute local youth flag teams headed to NFL FLAG Championships in Westfield, Indiana

The Green Bay Packers are putting a spotlight on the next generation of players, naming 10 local teams as representatives for the Packers at the NFL FLAG Championships, a youth flag football tournament billed as the largest of its kind in the world. The teams, drawn from communities across three states, will get the chance to compete on what the NFL describes as a global stage during the event’s championship week in late July.

This year’s NFL FLAG Championships run from July 23 to July 26 and bring together hundreds of youth squads from around the globe, with the Packers’ announcement placing the field at more than 350 girls and boys teams. The tournament has grown to become a year-to-year showcase for flag football’s breadth and participation, and Green Bay’s involvement underscores the organization’s youth-development emphasis within the wider NFL football ecosystem.

For the Packers, the emphasis is both competitive and community-based. Ryan Fencl, the club’s football outreach manager, said the team is “incredibly proud” of the young athletes and the squads representing Green Bay at the championships. He also linked the event to expanding access to football in all forms and fostering future athletes, framing the tournament as more than a one-off competition for the families and coaches involved.

The tournament venue also matters for the scale and logistics of what’s expected to be a major regional gathering. For the first time, the NFL FLAG Championships will be held in Westfield, Indiana, at the Droplight Grand Park Sports Campus, a complex the Packers describe as a 400+ acre facility with more than 30 multi-purpose fields in the Indianapolis metro area. That shift to a larger campus aligns with a format designed to accommodate a heavy schedule of games across multiple divisions.

While the teams will compete in youth football’s flag format, the event is being treated like a major media property. The Packers said ESPN will provide live coverage throughout championship week, with games available on ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, NFL Network, ESPN Deportes, NFL+ and the ESPN app, along with select games distributed across Disney Channel and related Disney platforms. The multi-network approach is expected to extend the tournament beyond on-site spectators, allowing more families to follow teams in real time.

For fans hoping to attend in person, the Packers said entry is free and that adults must register, with each registration allowing up to five children per entry. The club pointed families to the NFL OnePass app or to for registration details. Adult registration is a notable requirement for access management, especially for an event hosting thousands of participants and supporters across several days.

Looking ahead, the key storyline for local followers will be how the 10 Packers-representing teams perform against peers from outside their region once play begins July 23. Beyond the results, the event provides a high-visibility recruiting and participation touchpoint for youth flag programs, and it will also serve as a marker for how flag football continues to expand under the NFL’s national umbrella.