CONTACT:
Chris Widmaier/Ariane Romano, NFL
212-450-2000

The National Football League (NFL) and the National Association of the Police Athletic League (PAL) are teaming up to provide children ages 6-14 with youth football programs.

Now, children everywhere can sign up at local P.A. L. facilities to participate in a NFL Flag fall or spring league. NFL Flag is presented by Nike. The P.A.L. currently has 300 law enforcement agencies serving over 3,000 communities and a half million youngsters throughout the United States.

Furthermore, C.I.T.Y. Football, the league’s free urban football program, will launch a "junior player development" program to provide more advanced football training to boys ages 12 to 14 years old with the help of the P.A.L. The program will be available in all C.I.T.Y. football markets including New York, Oakland, Chicago, Miami, New Orleans, Detroit, Boston and Washington D.C. Designed as a year-round activity, the program introduces and teaches the game of tackle football and provides full access for 12-14 year old boys to play the game in urban communities.

The NFL will embark on developing new youth tackle leagues in inner-city communities, allowing all participants the opportunity to play free of charge. The program will use high school coaching staffs to build a link to varsity football teams. Incorporated into the program will be instructional clinics, football camps, league play and a fully integrated academic/mentoring initiative that will combine classroom work with on-field football activity.

"Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for kids to play football," said Scott Lancaster, senior director youth football programs. "The P.A.L. extends our reach even deeper into communities across the country."

"The NFL has become a motivational, mentoring organization to young people and that coincides exactly with the mission of the P.A.L. which is to give children the ability to contribute and succeed in society," said Joe Wilson, executive director of the National Association of the P.A.L. "This partnership was one that made perfect sense to us."

With this new relationship with P.A.L. and the expansion of all the league’s Play Football programs into new markets and school districts, more than 3 million children are expected to participate in NFL Play Football programs this year.