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Flag Football’s Rise in Mexico: A Champion’s Journey to Lead the National Team
Flag Football is steadily gaining ground in Mexico, transforming from a little-known pastime to a celebrated sport, with its women’s team at the forefront of international success. One player who has been instrumental in this rise is the captain of Mexico’s women’s team, Silvia Contreras, who has led her squad to both gold and silver on the world stage. As they gear up for the next challenge—the defense of their title at The World Games in Chengdu—this Contreras’ story is a testament to the dedication and growth of the sport.
In this exclusive interview, we dive into Silvia Contreras’ inspiring path to captaincy, the sport’s booming popularity in Mexico after The World Games 2022, and how the team is preparing for future global competitions.
Please tell us a little about how and when you started to play Flag Football, and your journey to become captain of Mexico’s women’s team.
I started playing in high school by coincidence. I didn’t know the sport before, but a friend of mine was a big fan of American football and she wanted to try it out. I went with her to see what it was about, and I fell in love with it right away. This was in 2009. I made it to the national team in 2018, and in 2022 I had some duties as a captain. Last year, during the IFAF Americas Championship, I was officially named captain of the national team.
What kind of training do you do individually, in preparing for big competitions – and how does it fit in with your other activities and interests?
We have a fitness coach on the national team who helps us with our gym routines and conditioning. On the other hand, each person also has to train with their own team and has their own seasons and tournaments apart from the national team. I also work with a nutritionist and a physiotherapist who help me stay in optimal condition when I’m preparing for an important competition. Besides this, I’m a coach at a high school and have created my own sportswear brand, both of which give me the opportunity to train properly and fund this preparation.
How well-known and popular is Flag Football in Mexico, compared with other sports?
Its popularity has really grown a lot, especially in recent years. In the central part of the country, sometimes people recognize us in restaurants or on the street. It has been after our gold medal at The World Games 2022 that we have seen a bigger change and increased interest.
The Mexico Flag Football women’s team are TWG Champions from 2022 in Birmingham, Alabama, and have just won the silver medal at the 2024 World Championships in Lahti, Finland. How are you, as a team, preparing for the challenge of retaining the TWG title in Chengdu?
The World Championship in Finland has helped us a lot in seeing what we need to work on for next year. Obviously the goal in every tournament is always to go for the gold; this time we didn’t achieve it, but now we’re even more motivated for Chengdu.
How is Flag Football world-wide reacting to being included in the 2028 Olympic Games? What will be the biggest challenges for the sport, resulting from this success?
The entire flag football community and the people around us players are very excited. It’s a dream that, until a few years ago, we didn’t even know could come true. I think the biggest challenge will be for countries that don’t have much support to achieve it within the next four years, as there are other countries that have been preparing for this goal for a longer time.
The International World Games Association (IWGA) is a non-profit-making international sports organisation recognised and supported by the International Olympic Committee. The IWGA comprises 40 International Member Sports Federations. It administers and promotes The World Games (TWG), a multi-sport event held every four years that features around 35 sports on its programme. The next edition of TWG will be in Chengdu (CHN) from 7-17 August 2025. 5,000 participants from more than 100 countries are expected to take part in this 12th edition. The latest Games were hosted by Birmingham, Alabama (USA).
In this exclusive interview, we dive into Silvia Contreras’ inspiring path to captaincy, the sport’s booming popularity in Mexico after The World Games 2022, and how the team is preparing for future global competitions.
Please tell us a little about how and when you started to play Flag Football, and your journey to become captain of Mexico’s women’s team.
I started playing in high school by coincidence. I didn’t know the sport before, but a friend of mine was a big fan of American football and she wanted to try it out. I went with her to see what it was about, and I fell in love with it right away. This was in 2009. I made it to the national team in 2018, and in 2022 I had some duties as a captain. Last year, during the IFAF Americas Championship, I was officially named captain of the national team.
What kind of training do you do individually, in preparing for big competitions – and how does it fit in with your other activities and interests?
We have a fitness coach on the national team who helps us with our gym routines and conditioning. On the other hand, each person also has to train with their own team and has their own seasons and tournaments apart from the national team. I also work with a nutritionist and a physiotherapist who help me stay in optimal condition when I’m preparing for an important competition. Besides this, I’m a coach at a high school and have created my own sportswear brand, both of which give me the opportunity to train properly and fund this preparation.
How well-known and popular is Flag Football in Mexico, compared with other sports?
Its popularity has really grown a lot, especially in recent years. In the central part of the country, sometimes people recognize us in restaurants or on the street. It has been after our gold medal at The World Games 2022 that we have seen a bigger change and increased interest.
The Mexico Flag Football women’s team are TWG Champions from 2022 in Birmingham, Alabama, and have just won the silver medal at the 2024 World Championships in Lahti, Finland. How are you, as a team, preparing for the challenge of retaining the TWG title in Chengdu?
The World Championship in Finland has helped us a lot in seeing what we need to work on for next year. Obviously the goal in every tournament is always to go for the gold; this time we didn’t achieve it, but now we’re even more motivated for Chengdu.
How is Flag Football world-wide reacting to being included in the 2028 Olympic Games? What will be the biggest challenges for the sport, resulting from this success?
The entire flag football community and the people around us players are very excited. It’s a dream that, until a few years ago, we didn’t even know could come true. I think the biggest challenge will be for countries that don’t have much support to achieve it within the next four years, as there are other countries that have been preparing for this goal for a longer time.
The International World Games Association (IWGA) is a non-profit-making international sports organisation recognised and supported by the International Olympic Committee. The IWGA comprises 40 International Member Sports Federations. It administers and promotes The World Games (TWG), a multi-sport event held every four years that features around 35 sports on its programme. The next edition of TWG will be in Chengdu (CHN) from 7-17 August 2025. 5,000 participants from more than 100 countries are expected to take part in this 12th edition. The latest Games were hosted by Birmingham, Alabama (USA).
