NFL Hosts Flag Football Coaching Clinic for Women in Egypt, Accelerating Growth Across Africa
The National Football League (NFL) organized a dedicated coaching clinic for female flag football coaches in Cairo, Egypt, as part of its ongoing commitment to accelerating the development and expansion of flag football across the African continent.
The training brought together 36 women coaches from Egypt, Nigeria, and Morocco for an intensive program combining theoretical and practical sessions. The clinic aimed to enhance the skills of both novice and experienced coaches, fostering long-term engagement with flag football throughout Africa.
A distinguished panel of NFL and international experts led the sessions, including:
Amina Soliman, Football Operations and Pro Scout at the Philadelphia Eagles
Avia Low, NFL’s Global Flag Football Development Lead
Elisa De Santis, Captain of France’s national flag football team and Ambassador for IFAF and the NFL
Chris Durham, Head of the NFL Europe-Africa Academy
Jordan Mabin, Director of Football Development at the NFL and former league player
Flag football is one of the world’s fastest-growing sports, embraced for its speed, accessibility, and inclusivity. With over 20 million players in more than 100 countries, women and girls continue to play a pivotal role in driving the sport’s global momentum.
The Cairo clinic follows a similar session held in Ghana in April 2025, which welcomed 50 coaches and officials from 10 African nations: Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia, and Uganda. Both initiatives are part of NFL’s broader strategy to build grassroots coaching capacity and elevate the level of play across the region.
As part of its visit to Cairo, the NFL also organized a series of community-focused activities, including:
A talent identification showcase hosted by two-time Super Bowl champion and NFL Africa ambassador Osi Umenyiora, featuring athletes from Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, Kenya, and South Africa. Standout players were scouted for potential inclusion in the NFL Europe-Africa Academy in Loughborough, UK, or the NFL’s International Player Pathway (IPP) program, key platforms in the league’s global development pipeline.
In collaboration with the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) and the Egyptian Federation of American Football (EFAF), Cairo hosted an Under-13 continental flag football championship, which crowned Team Egypt as Africa’s first champions in this youth category.
Earlier in the week, 11 teams from eight African countries competed in the inaugural “Africa Flag” continental championship, the first IFAF-sanctioned African tournament of 2025. Nigeria emerged victorious in both the men’s and women’s divisions, marking a major milestone as flag football gains momentum on its path toward its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.