JOHNSON REVELS IN BEARS FLAG ROLE
As the sun shone across Manchester, Birmingham and London over the course of the past week, the NFL continued to make moves to consolidate football’s position as the up-and-coming sport in the United Kingdom.
With huge progress having already been made with regards to the explosion of the sport’s popularity as a result of the NFL International Series, attention has now turned to the next generation.
Sport has sorely lacked behind many other fields with regards to its inclusivity towards women and young girls, but both the NFL and the Chicago Bears continue to seek an improvement by ramping up a flag football initiative launched in the UK several years ago.
Running back Roschon Johnson was eager to help out as the Bears’ representative at three events in the space of five days, running drills and holding a Q&A with young girls who have an interest in the sport. And, the consummate gentleman that he is, Johnson also agreed to give us a few minutes of his time to discuss the project in more detail and the importance of the sport continuing to grow.
“I think it’s very important for the sport in general to spread globally,” Johnson told Gridiron. “Flag football is definitely an opportunity for all types of demographics, and being able to come out here to the UK and explain the sport to the girls and expose it to the country is a great thing.”
When pressed on the influence the Bears could have by spearheading the project, Johnson praised the interest his franchise had shown in the initiative.
“Yeah, the Bears I think have done a great job in being international partners and having a presence internationally as a whole,” he noted. “I think it’s definitely an opportunity to spread the sport, which the Bears can take advantage of, and I think it’s hugely positive stuff for the organisation.”
NFL has been on a meteoric trajectory in the UK since the middle of the 2000s, in large part due to the Sky Sports coverage of the sport on a near-daily basis. When you can’t necessarily go and find a club to play at, interest in a sport depends entirely on media coverage, be that television or through video games. UK viewers have taken the NFL to their hearts, with the momentum having even led to rumours of a London franchise some years ago — and now, with the British fanbase having been cemented, attention has turned to inclusivity.
Representation is hugely important and former NFL coach, and British flag football captain, Phoebe Schecter’s presence on our screens in the last couple of years has been key to increasing the interest in the sport from the female demographic.
“Definitely,” Johnson said of his co-host at the three Bears Girls Flag events. “As I mentioned before, football is the greatest team sport on the planet. Spreading that, not only to young men in America, but also young women globally is something that everyone can take advantage of.”
Flag football’s exposure is expected to explode following its confirmation on the roster of events for the Olympic Games in 2028, and Johnson knows from first-hand experience how important it can be to the development of a prospective NFL star.
Initiatives like the UK NFL Girls Flag league only serve to improve the quality of players in Britain, and he sees no reason why this shouldn’t contribute to future NFL players coming from these shores.
“Personally, I started off playing flag football, so the more we introduce the sport globally, the more young kids can take advantage of it, get introduced to it and lead to them playing tackle football,” he concluded, before returning to the task at hand under sunny skies at London’s Battersea Park.