NFL starting to tap into African market with annual competitions

[p]US sports have increasingly sought to break into the African market, with the NBA launching a high-profile Basketball Africa League in 2019, based in Rwanda.[/p][p]Recent days saw a third annual flag football competition staged by the National Football League (NFL) in Africa - a non-contact version of the sport that has grown in popularity around the world and will make its Olympics debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.[/p][embed guid="4599609d-0ebc-4e65-bc22-929b78c39a83" url="https://x.com/cgtnafrica/status/2075962053190152471?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]The three-day competition saw Egypt emerge as winners of the men's contest against teams from Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa, while the women's contest was won by Nigeria.[/p][p]The event also included a talent-spotting session with NFL scouts, looking for the next star to join the league.[/p][p][b]"Flag football is very accessible, everybody can play it,"[/b] said [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/umenyiora-osi/2VOR7sbr/"]Osi Umenyiora[/a], who won two Super Bowls with the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/new-york-giants/lIrBvlxF/"]New York Giants[/a], and now heads NFL Africa.[/p][p][b]"As the NFL looks to expand and keep on growing, especially across the continent of Africa... participation is a huge part of it,"[/b] he said.[/p][p][b]"We all know what sport can do for people, it can allow them to escape whatever situation they're in, and give them hope, and that's what we're trying to do here," [/b]he added.[/p][p]Nigeria has already earned itself a place at the flag football world championships in Dusseldorf, Germany in August - where it hopes to qualify for the Olympics.[/p][p][b]"We have been playing NFL flag football for a long time - since 2016 - and the game has exploded to 40 teams (in Nigeria), which gives us the edge over other countries in Africa,"[/b] said Nigerian coach Ephraim Faloughi.[/p][p][b]"I never thought I could be an Olympian - now we have the opportunity,"[/b] he added.[/p][p]The NFL has expanded internationally in recent years, playing a handful of its games in Europe and South America.[/p]