BALTIMORE AREA YOUTH FOOTBALL PLAYERS BEGIN JOURNEY TO NFL FLAG NATIONAL TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS AT BALTIMORE RAVENS FLAG REGIONAL TOURNAMENT

WHO:              More than 200 Baltimore-area youth football players

WHAT:           Local boys and girls will compete in the round-robin, day-long NFL FLAG powered by USA Football Regional Tournament, coordinated by the National Football League and the Baltimore Ravens. The winning teams from each age bracket (9-11 coed; 12-14 boys; 12-14 girls) advance to the National Tournament of Champions in early 2012 (site to be determined).  The tournament features players from local NFL FLAG teams.

Other NFL teams hosting NFL FLAG powered by USA Football Regional Tournaments in 2011 include the Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints and Oakland Raiders. Those seven regional tournaments are joined by one in New Canaan, Conn.

WHEN:           Sunday, Nov. 6

                        8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

WHERE:         M&T Bank Stadium

                        1101 Russell Street

                        Baltimore, MD 21230

CONTACTS: Matt Little, Baltimore Ravens, (410) 701-4132

                        Steve Alic, USA Football, (317) 489-44175

More information:

NFL FLAG powered by USA Football promotes physical fitness and teaches the sport’s values and life skills on and off the field to more than 150,000 young people.  A non-contact version of traditional football offered for boys and girls ages 5-17 in cities across the country, the program emphasizes safety, fun, teamwork, self-esteem, discipline and goal-setting.

USA Football is the sport’s national governing body in the United States and the official youth football development partner of the NFL, the Ravens and each of the league’s other 31 teams.

For more information on NFL FLAG powered by USA Football visit www.NFLFLAG.com.

About USA Football

USA Football, the sport's national governing body in the United States, hosts more than 80 football training events annually offering education for coaches and game officials, skill development for players and resources for youth football league commissioners. The independent non-profit is the official youth football development partner of the NFL and each of the league’s 32 teams. USA Football manages U.S. national teams within the sport for international competition and provides $1 million annually in equipment grants and subsidizes youth league volunteer background checks. Endowed by the NFL and NFL Players Association in 2002 through the NFL Youth Football Fund, USA Football is chaired by former NFL team executive Carl Peterson.