Registration Is Open: How Your Family Can Attend the 2026 NFL FLAG Championships for Free

In just over two weeks, the largest youth flag football tournament on the planet lands in Westfield, Indiana — and for the first time, your family doesn't need a qualifying team to be part of it. Fan registration for the 2026 NFL FLAG Championships Presented by Toyota is officially open, and it's free. If you've ever wondered what it looks like when youth flag football gets the full professional-sports treatment — ESPN cameras, Super Bowl trophies on display, thousands of families in one place — this is the week to find out.

What's Happening

From July 23–26, 2026, the Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield will host the third annual NFL FLAG Championships, the biggest edition yet with more than 350 boys' and girls' teams competing — including regional champions from all 32 NFL clubs and squads representing more than a dozen countries, from Mexico and Brazil to Spain and Canada.

Here's what families need to know:

▸ Registration is free but mandatory — every adult must sign up through the NFL OnePass app or at NFLFlag.com/championships, and each adult can bring up to five minors under their registration.

▸ Games run Thursday through Sunday, roughly 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on the early days and wrapping up by 5:30 p.m. on championship Sunday, with a Fan Experience zone open alongside the games.

▸ National TV coverage begins Friday, July 24, with games airing across ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, NFL Network, ESPN Deportes, NFL+, and select Disney platforms — meaning a kid on a home flag field this spring could be watched by millions this summer.

▸ Fan Experience attractions include real Super Bowl rings, the Vince Lombardi Trophy, and interactive player stations for younger siblings who aren't on the field themselves.

Why This Matters Beyond Westfield

It's easy to think of a national championship as something that only matters to the teams playing in it. It doesn't. Every one of those 350+ teams started the same way local players do everywhere: a Saturday morning league, a coach with a whistle, a kid learning to read a route. Teams like the youth squad heading east from Snohomish, Washington this summer didn't skip a step — they won their league, then their region, and earned their spot the same way any local team theoretically could.

For league organizers, that's the pitch: the sport your program runs on a Tuesday night has a visible, televised ceiling. For parents whose kids aren't on a championship-bound roster this year, free fan registration is a low-cost way to show them exactly what that ceiling looks like — and what it might take to reach it next season.

What to Do With This

You don't need a qualifying team to make the trip worthwhile. Register free through NFL OnePass, plan around the Friday–Sunday broadcast window, and treat it as a scouting trip for your own athlete's next season. If Westfield isn't in the cards this July, the pipeline that gets teams there starts much closer to home.

▸ Find an NFL FLAG-affiliated league near you to start building toward next year's championship pathway.

▸ Browse the full Flag Football Finder league directory to compare programs by age group and format.

▸ Check upcoming tournaments to see which regional events feed into next season's championship bids.

▸ Catch up on more youth flag football coverage on the Flag Football Finder blog.

Whether you're watching from the stands in Westfield or from your couch on ESPN, the message for youth flag football families is the same: the sport's biggest stage has never been more reachable. Will your league be represented next year?

Sources:
Fan Registration Now Open for 2026 NFL FLAG Championships – WebWire
Colts.com – Guide to the 2026 NFL FLAG Championships
WISH-TV – NFL Flag Championships Set for Indiana
Snohomish County Tribune – Local Team Heading to Nationals