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The Ravens and Under Armour’s girls flag football initiative is expanding this fall, with Baltimore County Public Schools and St. Mary’s County Public Schools set to receive grant funding and uniforms ahead of the 2026 season.

Twenty-seven new schools in the two counties will join the program, which launched in 2023. There are now 132 participating schools in Baltimore City and across nine counties: Frederick, Montgomery, Washington, Calvert, Charles, Howard and Prince George’s, as well as Baltimore — where the franchise is headquartered — and St. Mary’s.

Each participating team will receive $10,000 in funding to help develop the program at its school, while Under Armour will continue to provide uniforms for each team. The Ravens said in a news release Tuesday that they’ve provided over $1 million in total funding to support the flag football initiative.

“As we enter the fourth year of girls high school flag football in Maryland, we’re proud to partner with Baltimore County, home of our Under Armour Performance Center,” Ravens senior vice president of marketing Brad Downs said in a statement.

He added: “We remain just as committed in Year Four as we were at the outset and will continue to provide grant funding and uniforms alongside Under Armour to schools across the state. We strongly believe that female athletes should have the opportunity to play football throughout Maryland, and we are working diligently to make that vision a reality.”

Downs said girls flag football is moving “closer to statewide sanctioning” as a high school sport and is “well-positioned for continued growth in 2026 and beyond.” Sanctioning requires at least 40% of the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association’s 200 member schools to participate in the sport at the varsity level. Then, the MPSSAA Board of Control can make a recommendation to Maryland’s schools superintendent.

According to the National Federation of State High School Athletic Participation Survey, 1,266 girls in 52 Maryland high schools played flag football during the 2024-25 academic year, more than quadrupling the previous year’s participation. Interest in the sport is growing at the collegiate level, too, and the 2028 Summer Olympics will host competitions for men’s and women’s flag football for the first time.

“Girls’ flag football is more than a new sport – it’s a movement that expands opportunity and redefines what’s possible," Baltimore County Public Schools Director of Athletics Micheal Sye said in the release. “Every time our female student athletes step onto the field, they show strength, courage and the unstoppable power of believing in themselves. This program builds confidence, leadership, and resilience, creating athletes who will inspire future generations and change the game far beyond the sidelines.”