Efforts to grow the sport of American football in Benoni and South Africa, and more specifically flag football, are gaining ground.
The first round of the social flag football tournament, dubbed the ‘Championship League’, got underway at Old Benonians Sports Club on June 30 where players from the Benoni Silverbacks, Benoni Buckeyes, Pretoria Mustangs and Tsakane Chargers face-off for a day of fun flag football.
The Mustangs are based at the University of Pretoria and the Tsakane Chargers are a development team in the township of Tsakane, near Brakpan.
Flag football is a version of American football in which the basic rules are similar, but instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier to end a down.
Gavin Thompsett, founder and organiser of the Benoni-based teams, said that it was a good opening to what will be a good season.
“We’ll have about six legs of the tournament with the final being the seventh leg,” he said.
“Flag football is growing.
“It started from 12 local guys trying to keep fit to 38 guys on the field today, so it’s doing well.”
Asked what some of the hopes and dreams for the sport in South Africa are, Thompsett said: “Well, America has a championship with 270 teams. We want to get South Africa close to that.
“There seems to be a lot of interest in the sport, especially after today where people have been coming up to us and asking how they can join.
“The sport is great fun.
“It’s not full contact, but it’s not zero contact either, so you can be safe but still have a good, competitive game.”
Anybody who would like to start a social team can get in contact with Thompsett via email at thompsettgavin@icloud.com
CLICK HERE for a GALLERY of photos taken on the day.
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American football, Benoni-style
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