Flag football creates opportunities for Saskatchewan’s female athletes

Flag football is emerging as a significant pathway for female athletes in Saskatchewan, with the sport's rapid growth creating unprecedented opportunities. Ella Sowden, a standout player from Saskatoon, recently earned one of only two NFL and RCX Sports Foundation International Women's Flag Football Scholarships awarded globally.

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When I won, I just started crying because I was so happy. My family was there, and all my teammates, and friends were there to watch, and it was just a really great moment.

Sowden, who switched to flag football in 2022 after playing soccer, expressed immense joy upon receiving the scholarship. "When I won, I just started crying because I was so happy," she said. "My family was there, and all my teammates, and friends were there to watch, and it was just a really great moment."

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On the field, it gives me more purpose and determination with what I do; it gives me a bit of sense of myself and what I want to do, and it will also get me through school with no debt or anything, make sure I’m financially stable leaving school so I can just continue my career however I want.

The five-figure scholarship will fund Sowden's studies and football career at Lindsey Wilson University in Kentucky. She highlighted the scholarship's importance for her future: "On the field, it gives me more purpose and determination with what I do; it gives me a bit of sense of myself and what I want to do, and it will also get me through school with no debt or anything, make sure I’m financially stable leaving school so I can just continue my career however I want."

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Before, it was considered just a club sport for universities here in Canada and not necessarily varsity and part of U Sports, and for this, it gives it an actual league and a bit more of a purpose than it already had. And it just gives more opportunities for people in Canada locally to play post-secondary.

This development reflects a broader expansion of women's flag football in Canada. Both the University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan offer women's programs, and U Sports is actively growing the game nationally. The sport recently received pilot designation for five seasons, signaling its increasing integration into university athletics and providing more post-secondary opportunities for Canadian athletes.

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Of course, with the NCAA, they’re fast-tracking everything, so I’m really glad that U Sports is able to hop onto the same kind of wave we’re riding right now with flag football, and so we don’t lose too many of these great athlete