NFL opens fan registration for record 2026 FLAG Championships

The NFL is not treating the 2026 NFL FLAG Championships like a tucked-away youth tournament. Free fan registration is open for the July 23-26 event at Droplight Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Indiana, and the league is selling it as a marquee spectator property, with championship games set for Sunday, July 26.

The scale tells the story. More than 350 girls’ and boys’ teams are scheduled to compete in the third annual NFL FLAG Championships Presented by Toyota, a field that includes regional champions from all 32 clubs and more than 10 international teams. That mix gives the event a world-championship feel, not just a domestic title chase, and it is part of why the NFL is framing this edition as the premier youth flag event.

Access is free, but entry is not casual. NFL OnePass registration is mandatory, and every adult 18 and older must register individually before they can bring up to five minors. The event is also listed as stay-to-play required, a detail that underlines how far the championships have grown from a one-off showcase into a national destination for families, teams and sponsors.

The move to Westfield is another marker of the sport’s rise. After previous editions in Canton, Ohio, the championships are heading to Indiana for the first time, landing at a 400-plus-acre complex with more than 30 multi-purpose fields. That kind of infrastructure matters when an event has outgrown a single main field and needs to operate like a full tournament city for four days.

RCX Sports is the official operating partner, and Toyota remains the presenting partner after first stepping into that role across NFL Flag tournaments in 2024. The NFL is also tying the championships to a much bigger pipeline, pointing to flag football’s growth to more than 20 million players across 100-plus countries and six continents, plus the sport’s path through youth, international and HBCU competition and, ultimately, toward the LA28 Olympic debut. For the NFL, this is no longer just about crowning a youth champion. It is about building the sport’s next big event and making sure families, players and sponsors all show up for it.