In the constant crush of news events, you may have missed a significant headline: The United States National Flag Football Team swept the IFAF World Championships in Panama earlier this month.
Then again, you might be forgiven for not even realizing flag football was an international thing—or that it had evolved much beyond community beer leagues.
Matt Reimel, a Hatfield resident, Lansdale native and North Penn High School grad, can disabuse you of that notion. He coached the adult men’s US National team to its victory in the 10-country International Federation of American Football flag football tournament Aug. 9-12, sweeping games against India, Austria, Japan, Denmark, Panama and Israel.
He works for the youth National Flag Football program, and he has been an enthusiastic participant and fan of the sport for years.
"It always has been a fun hobby for me, but now after 10 years, I’ve been able to turn it into a career,” said Reimel, 31.
A former director of the North Penn Valley Boys and Girls Club, he left his most recent position late last year as program director at the Montgomery Township Community and Recreation Center to join the NFL-affiliated youth league as a national events coordinator.
In those travels, he’s gotten to know most of the most talented adult players as well. And, when the Flag Football World Championship Tour, for the first time, hosted a national qualifying event for USA Football’s team for the biennial international tournament, Reimel became the team’s coach.
In past years, strong local teams have represented the USA—and usually have won. While most of 2018’s dozen players still were from strongholds such as Florida and Texas, Pennsylvania, California and New Jersey also were represented. Players’ ages ranged from 22 to 46.
That wide range of ages, as well as varying skill sets, body types and styles of play, help explain what Reimel says is the booming popularity of flag football.
"No body size or shape fits the description of a flag football player. It’s more so what’s up in your head,” said Reimel. "Any person can play flag football, no matter your shape, size, speed or strength.”
To recap the rules: Flag football is football without the physical contact. Players wear flags on each hip, and in lieu of blocking and tackling, the opposing teams "tackle” the person with the ball by pulling off a flag.
That means "the equipment required is pretty simple: a flag belt, a mouth guard and cleats,” said Reimel. And, perhaps more important, it also means that the kinds of injuries common in tackle football —in particular the cumulative damage of concussions and debilitating leg injuries—are no longer a major worry.
For adults, that means they can still enjoy a game they may have played in younger years.
"Once you pass high school or college, or even if you had pro tryouts, after that what more can you do?” Reimel said. "So we resort to flag football, which is an altered style of the game, but it’s still football. And to a lot of us, football is still the greatest sport out there.”
For youngsters and their parents, the no-contact style and inexpensive price of entry are particularly big draws.
"It’s very popular in the youth market. Parents don’t want their kids getting hit in tackle,” said Reimel, whose company—one of several under the NFL’s aegis— manages 50,000 youth players annually in 12 states.
And for the members of the world championship team, it was the ability to realize a dream.
"What did we get out of it? A paid trip to Panama, a medal, the pride, the chance to bond with some of the best flag football players in the country,” he said. "And we got to represent our country, playing a sport we love.”
Which leads to the next dream, says Reimel: the Olympics.
"To be recognized by the IOC, you have to have a world championship, and you have to have a number of countries participating to make it legitimate,” he said. "These were the final steps needed. There is an opportunity for flag football to one day be in the Olympics—and one day it will be.”
For adults interested in flag football, Reimel points them to the Flag Football World Championship Tournament site at
www.ffwct.com, where "you’ll find all the events, all the leagues, everything.” For youth flag football, he recommends the NFL’s aggregate site
www.nflflag.com, where you plug in your ZIP code to find local leagues.
Editor's note: This story was updated to clarify that the FFWCT hosted the qualifying event for USA Football.
