By: NICOLAS FIERRO
Salina Post
Seventy plus board members from the Kansas State High Schools Activities Association (KSHSAA) would need to vote on whether to sanction girls flag football as an official state sport on Thursday, April 23, 2026.
In order for the vote to pass, it would need 51% of the majority favor.
The Kansas City Chiefs have been actively providing opportunities for girls to compete in flag football across the state and Missouri. The Chiefs have launched local leagues, hosted coaches clinics and sponsored high school teams to expand opportunities.
Sheila Sickau, Senior Marketing Manager for the Chiefs, has been the frontrunner of pushing the sport to potentially become sanctioned in Kansas. She helped push the start of a "pilot program" for high schools to participate in the sport, which started in 2024.
In 2024, teams grew from 11 to 29 in 2025 after finishing its second season last fall. The teams who competed ranged anywhere from Kansas City to Wichita.
With the support from NFL teams, popularity with the sport, cost-effectiveness of equipment and growth as the fastest growing youth sport in America, it makes sense to add girls flag football as a sanctioned sport in Kansas.
Sickau grew up in New York, playing tackle football with boys and has always had a love for the game. She has played girls tackle football professionally for 10 years (Knoxville Lightning, KC Titans, KC Glory), and coached girls flag football for Ottawa University in their inaugural season, bringing a national championship.
She now oversees the Chiefs' flag football programs such as the NFL FLAG teams, general youth, high school tackle, youth tackle as well as the international growth
Sickau has spoken with various high school Athletic Directors (ADs) across Kansas and Missouri on why girls flag football would benefit their sports programs, while giving an opportunity for their female student-athletes.
Some ADs have been all-in with the idea, but concerns have come across those conversations.
One concern included taking away female student-athletes from other sports. However, Sickau said there are national statistics showing that 50% of girls joining high school flag football teams, have never been on another sports team for their school.
Other concerns involve facility usage and what season girls flag would take place.
Sickau stated the sport would be played in the Fall for Kansas, and Spring for Missouri. For the facilities concern, Sickau said the sport is adaptable and is “very unique” since it would be a new addition.
“Flag football is very unique, especially with it starting and alot of the girls have never even played before," she said. "You don’t need to have a full field to practice. A great practice could be in a classroom setting, going over routes, coverages and Football IQ to start and you don’t have to be outside either, since you are not tackling people to the ground. You can be in the gym running routes, flag pulling and carrying the ball.”
Plus, adding girls flag football as a sanctioned high school sport in Kansas would help fill in the missing gap of youth to middle school and college.
“That will be completing that whole path line. We are even telling the athletic directors that there is scholarships available for these girls out of high school," said Sickau.
Girls flag football operates as a 48-minute running game clock with 12-minute quarters, 1 minute break between quarters and 5–20 minute halftimes.
Usually a girls flag game would take around an hour and fifteen minutes, which can fit around three games the same time as one regular men’s tackle football game.
Sickau said a girls high school flag football team roster size ranges from around 10-20 players.
"It is more than just saying yes to the sport": Chiefs drop the 'Let Her Play Campaign'
By adding girls flag to KSHSAA, Sickau said girls would then be apart of something bigger than themselves, especially with the Olympics addition in 2028, the NFL push and the announcement of the future NFL Pro Flag League.
Moreover, Sickau stated the reason girls flag has been growing at such a positive trend is due to the demand always being there, but not being offered. Plus, the sport is very accessible since it does not involve alot of equipment as other sports.
“For a girl to be in this moment and have a chance to be apart of it, I think alot of us look back and say man I wish I would have had this chance and live through it right now,” she said. “Who would not want to be apart of that if you could be?”
Just recently, the Chiefs dropped the Let Her Play Campaign, which celebrates the sport’s rapid growth and the expanding opportunities it is creating for student-athletes across the region – while spotlighting what is still missing.
The campaign shows a video, featuring a broad mix of voices joining the Chiefs in support of the upcoming vote, including head coach Andy Reid, Chiefs legends Will Shields and Trent Green, trailblazing coaches Liz and Katie Sowers, and Kansas City cultural icons Tech N9ne and Heidi Gardner. Players, coaches, staff members, and community leaders chant “Let HER Play,” underscoring the collective call for access and school-based participation in Flag Football.
Moreover, a petition was released for Kansans to sign and show their support in girls flag potentially becoming an official KSHSAA sport.
This petition will be presented to the KSHSAA board before the official vote occurs on April 23, 2026.
Click here to gain access to the petition.
“It is more than just saying yes to the sport, it is creating the opportunity for girls to become the future leaders they can be through a sport that they want and love to play,” Sickau said.