Midland launches first NFL-affiliated all-girls flag football league
Midland will add its first NFL-affiliated all-girls flag football league when GirlPower West Texas opens Sept. 13, giving female athletes ages 6 to 18 a new place to play in the Permian Basin. The GirlPower Flag Football Organization is launching the league as a fall-and-spring program, creating two seasons each year instead of a single short window.
The setup matters in a football region where organized pathways have often leaned toward boys’ teams or school-based programs that can be hard to access at younger ages. GirlPower West Texas gives girls a dedicated place to learn the game, get game reps, and stay in football year-round as they move from elementary-school ages into middle school and high school. Midland already has youth football infrastructure in place through the Midland YMCA and the Permian Basin Youth Football League, and that existing base gives the new league a clearer route to players, volunteer coaches, and families who already build their schedules around local football.
The league also fits a much larger push. NFL FLAG says girls flag football is on the rise and that its league network is growing, while the third annual NFL FLAG Championships presented by Toyota gives the sport a national showcase. In Texas, the Dallas Cowboys and the Gene and Jerry Jones Family Foundation have said they are committed to growing girls flag football through the Dallas Cowboys Girls Flag Football League, adding another layer of support around the state.
JP Shoemaker described the launch as “an investment in the next generation of female leaders and athletes right here in our community.” That framing gets at the practical value of the Midland league: it gives girls in a smaller West Texas market a recognizable football brand, a structured schedule, and a place to compete without having to wait on school programs alone.
For Midland, GirlPower West Texas is a proof-of-concept market for where girls football can go next. If the league builds steady turnout across its age range and two annual seasons, it could become a real feeder into school-based teams and regional competition, while helping the Permian Basin claim a larger place in the sport’s fast-growing map.