Flag Football Star Diana Flores on the Collective Power of Women's Sports

Flag football player Diana Flores's résumé is filled with athletic milestones, from becoming the youngest-ever player to compete in an international tournament for her sport (at age 16), to clinching Under Armour's first-ever ambassador spot for a flag football player (at age 26). She's competed in four World Cups and a World Games; her trophy case at home contains gold, silver, and bronze medals. She would be the last to say she reached these heights in her sport all on her own.

In conversation with Under Armour Chief Communications Officer Amanda Miller at Marie Claire's Power Play event, Flores credited each and every accomplishment to two groups of women who inspire her: the ones who break gender barriers in sports by playing with her now, and the ones who could follow her example in the future. (Okay, discipline has also played a role.)

"The thing I love the most is that you can feel this sense of sorority between all the athletes, [all from] different countries, no matter your sport," Flores said. "I bet if you see a female athlete succeed, you're going to cheer with her. And that's what it's all about."

Flores has been as devoted to championing gender parity in flag football as training for her own games. Flag football is at an exciting juncture, she noted: More than 200 million athletes currently play it across one hundred countries, and it will be included in Olympics for the first time at the Summer 2028 Games.

Still, flag football isn't a professional sport—meaning athletes are not paid for playing. Instead, they make a living outside of the arena while devoting countless hours to practicing and competing for free. "You actually pay to play, and you actually pay to represent your country, and you actually give from your pocket your time, everything, to do what you love," Flores said. "You have to be ten things at the same time, which makes, I feel, every accomplishment and every goal and every journey more to admire."

With every game and every major opportunity (like, say, a role with a massive athleticwear brand), Flores hopes to unlock new pathways for up-and-coming players—as well as that official, professional sport status.

When she found the sport at age eight, Flores had to train with teenagers because there wasn't an outlet to practice for her own age group. Now, she gets to be the example she didn't have on an international scale growing up. (And, she pays it forward by hosting training camps for young girls.)

"Everything we're working for has a bigger purpose," she said, "that it is not for us. It's for the girls that are coming behind us." Building a more equitable arena really is a team sport.

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