The chief executive officer of Showtime Flag Football League (SFFL), Manal Nassar was beaming with delight on Sunday, as this year’s edition of the innovative coed competition began with four new teams added to the log.
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As action unfolded at the venue in Lekki area of Lagos, with all the teams battling towards what has been stylishly tagged Showtime Bowl XII, the CEO said in an exclusive interview with Sports247 that this year’s edition of the league, which is contested as a variant of American Football, marks another step forward for the sport in Nigeria.
Nassar added, “This season, we have four new teams, which shows how much interest there is for flag football in Nigeria. We are really excited to have the new teams join the other four that were here last season and for the other one previously.
“One other thing I love about this season is that we also have a lot of new players as well. It just shows that so many people want to learn about the sport and be part of the league. We are also happy that we have such a beautiful arena here for them to be part of the platform and showcase their talents.”
While revealing that the unfolding league, which is staged under the aegis of Nigeria Flag Football Federation (NFFF), will climax on June 1st with Showtime Bowl, Nassar added that Sunday’s first day of action showed that this year’s contest will be greater than that of 2024.
Nassar noted, “All the players are gaining the key aspects of them joining our league. They are putting their all into every single game, and they want to enjoy every moment, as they reveal their talents. That’s also very important and really exciting for us.
“This year, we have eight teams and the league will run for 10 weeks. The final, which we call Showtime Bowl, will be on June 1st. That’s our version of USA’s Super Bowl.”
She concluded by pointing out that Nigeria’s version of flag football and the league itself, which became professional last year, have made giant strides in becoming a brand and symbol that does not need further references to what applies in any other country for it to be truly appreciated; as was again seen in the massive turnout of fans at the venue on Sunday.
“We want to talk about our own competition without making reference to any other one. We proved last season how flag football has grown in Nigeria, with the large turnout of players and the arena packed beyond capacity. The turnout on our first day this year also showed that this season’s league will be better,” Nassar predicted.
Sports247 gathered further that this season in the competition that is officially sanctioned by the NFFF will feature the older quartet of Lagos Warriors, LA Knights, Panthers and Off Season facing the new breed of Raptors, ICAN Sports, Greenbacks and Lagos Alphas.
Among major innovations for the league are the introduction of video assistant referee (VAR), as well as a number of youth development and training programmes that preceded the competition itself.
Among them were Showtime Pro and Showtime Combine, which came to an end on March 9th, while a schools’ outreach campaign is expected to commence fully after what is now officially known as Showtime Flag Football Summer Series.
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