Chicago Bears Celebrate Flag Football Growth with Championship Event in London
Lillian Baylis were crowned champions of the 2025 Chicago Bears NFL Girls Flag Football League
For the third year in a row, the Bears brought their all-girls flag league to London, specially designed to promote equity and access to sport for girls from all socio-economic backgrounds
League Ambassador Phoebe Schecter hosted the championship event alongside Bears alumnus Charles “Peanut” Tillman at Haberdashers' Knights Academy in Bromley
Flag football will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles
LONDON, 4 June 2025: The Chicago Bears and Britain’s first female coach in the NFL, Phoebe Schecter, returned to London to host the championship event for their historic Chicago Bears NFL Girls Flag Football League.
After the success of the first two years in West London, this year saw the Bears re-launch the league in new boroughs in South London with 250 girls aged 12-14 taking part across ten weeks.
Former Bears cornerback Charles “Peanut” Tillman joined the girls at the championship event, celebrating the skills they had developed and the friendships they had formed over the eight weeks. His presence underscored the league’s core mission: to provide equal opportunities for girls from all backgrounds to experience the excitement and empowerment of American football.
In a thrilling Championship game Lilian Baylis defeated Dunraven with a walk-off touchdown in overtime to claim the title. Tillman and Schecter then led a trophy presentation with the winning team receiving Chicago Bears NFL Girls Flag Football Championship Rings.
Flag football is the non-contact format of American football that empowers young athletes, both boys and girls, around the world. The game is fun, exciting, and accessible for all, with women and girls driving some of the fastest growth in the sport.
The league is a continuation of the Bears’ expansion across the United Kingdom, where they have marketing rights through the NFL’s Global Markets Program, and will later this month hold championship events for their Near NFL Girls Flag Leagues in Birmingham and Manchester.
Tanya Dressen, SVP of Strategy and Global Affairs for the Chicago Bears, said: “As we celebrate another year in London, we continue to forge meaningful relationships with both communities and schools, inspiring young people to play, watch and become members of the Bears family- all through flag football.
These sports programs are about more than just football. With each event, we’re offering young people the chance to create lasting memories, build community, form new friendships, and develop life skills. Whether through our Mini Monsters clinics, or in our ever-growing flag football leagues, we are committed to growing football at a grassroots level, and by welcoming as many new London and UK based fans into the Bears family as possible.
Phoebe Schecter said: “It has been wonderful watching the young girls grow over the last eight weeks, both in terms of their prowess on the pitch and the community they’ve formed. They have developed skills and confidence across the competition, and today has been a perfect celebration of all the girls’ efforts.”
Following the championship event in London on 3 June, the Bears will also celebrate the culmination of the second year of the Manchester Girls Flag League and the inaugural Birmingham Girls Flag League.
The Bears are in the UK and on a mission to create positive experiences in Flag and American football that entice all young people to want to take part and join the Bears family. Since the programme launched in 2022, the Bears have welcomed over 10,000 young people from aged 7 through to 21 in 11 regions spanning the UK from Edinburgh down to Exeter.
Nike are the official partner of Chicago Bears Girls Flag Football in the UK. To find out more about the Bears NFL Girls Flag Football League in London please visit, www.chicagobears.com