She was 12, just entering secondary school, when she gave up fútbol for the fledging sport of flag football. Franklin said the NFL has emphasized girls' flag football because virtually every high school in the country has a tackle-football program for boys. Eight years later, she made Mexico's national team, playing in the first of four Flag Football World Championships in which she has appeared so far. "It empowers women," Flores said of flag football, which in Mexico challenges not only sporting stereotypes but gender ones as well. According to Flores, an estimated 3 million people play flag football in Mexico, where colleges are beginning to award scholarships for women to play.

Source: Los Angeles Times September 20, 2022 16:29 UTC