The Kansas City Chiefs are pushing for girls’ flag football to become a sanctioned high school sport in Kansas, launching a new campaign called “Let Her Play” ahead of a key statewide vote this month.
The team announced the campaign on Thursday as it tries to persuade the Kansas State High School Activities Association, or KSHSAA, to approve girls’ flag football. The KSHSAA board is set to vote on April 23 on whether to sanction the sport in the state.
In a 55-second video, the Chiefs feature several girls who already play flag football, then turn to girls in Kansas who can only hope to represent their schools through organized flag football.
The Chiefs said they want the campaign to raise awareness before the vote. They also said support from KSHSAA would give more girls the chance to play and expand pathways to college competition.
“There’s over 20 million people playing flag football worldwide right now,” Chiefs president Mark Donovan said Thursday. “Over half of a million girls [ages] 6 to 17 play flag. Right now, a girl in Kansas can’t play for a state championship and can’t play organized high school flag football. What this vote does is give them that opportunity.”
Donovan said the Chiefs have spent six years working to grow the sport among girls in Kansas.
Based on campaign data cited by the team, participation in high school girls’ flag football in Kansas grew 163 percent from 2024 to 2025.
The Chiefs, who have won three Super Bowls in the past seven years, are also backing the push publicly through their website, where fans can sign the petition.
The vote will be decided by the 73 members of the KSHSAA board, including high school principals, school board representatives, athletic directors and superintendents. At least 51 percent of the board must vote yes for the petition to pass.
If the measure passes, Kansas would become the 18th state to sanction girls’ flag football.
Chiefs club owner Clark Hunt also spoke about the growth of the sport earlier this week at the NFL owners meeting.
“What we do know is flag, globally, is growing very fast,” Hunt said Monday at the NFL owners meeting. “It’s growing fast in the U.S., particularly the female demographic. There’s lots of positive statistics about a translation of people who played flag football becoming fans of the NFL. Long term, it’ll be very beneficial for the league.”
The Chiefs’ campaign video closes with several prominent members of the organisation calling on the KSHSAA board to approve the sport. Coach Andy Reid, Donovan and players including right guard Trey Smith, center Creed Humphrey and receiver Xavier Worthy each say the same three-word message: “Let Her Play.”
Donovan said approval in Kansas could open the door for girls to compete for state titles, pursue college opportunities and aim for bigger stages later on.
“That would make it possible for a young girl in Kansas being able to play high school flag football for a state championship, get a full-ride scholarship to play college flag football, play on an Olympic flag football team and then after that play in a professional flag football league,” Donovan said Monday at the owners meeting. “That’s an exciting opportunity that we’ve been a real, real big supporter of.
“There’s probably some kids, boys and girls, who are potentially going to really focus on flag. Maybe they’re smaller, faster, quicker or [other] reasons why they’d be better at that than tackle football. It’s another opportunity for those kids.”
Read more from ESPN.