The National Federation of State High School Associations has published the first national rules book for high school flag football, establishing standardized playing rules for what officials call the nation's fastest-growing emerging sport.
The 2025-26 NFHS Flag Football Rules Book governs 7-on-7 competition and offers three field size options, including a regulation 11-player high school football field. The rules closely follow traditional high school football but feature key differences, particularly in advancing for first downs.
Girls flag football participation more than doubled nationally from 20,875 players in 2022-23 to 42,955 in 2023-24 — a 105% increase, according to NFHS data.
Sixteen state associations have sanctioned girls flag football for the 2025-26 season: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Washington. An additional 18 states operate independent or pilot programs.
Unlike traditional football's line-to-gain system, flag football awards first downs when teams advance the ball to "the zone to gain" — the next 20- or 40-yard line. Games consist of four 12-minute periods with touchdowns worth six points and field goals worth three points, if states adopt kicking rules.
The rules committee, chaired by Tyler Cerimeli of the Arizona Interscholastic Association and directed by Bob Colgate, NFHS director of sports and sports medicine, developed 18 rules options for state adoption, including field goal and extra-point kicking regulations.
"The popularity of flag football — for boys and girls — has been growing at the youth levels for the past 10 years," said Dr. Karissa Niehoff, NFHS CEO. She noted that about 500,000 girls ages 6-17 played flag football in 2023, a 63% increase since 2019.
The sport received additional momentum when flag football was added as an Olympic sport for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Flag football becomes the 18th sport for which the NFHS writes national playing rules and the first new sport added since boys lacrosse in 2000 and girls lacrosse in 2016. The federation has written sports rules since the 1930s, beginning with football in 1932 and basketball in 1936.
TSSAA head coaches receive free access to the digital rules book and are briefed annually on rules changes through mandatory rules clinics.
