The National Football League has announced it will touchdown in Fiji later this week as part of its continued efforts to grow the game internationally and expand its presence across the Asia-Pacific region.
The visit will feature a series of NFL Flag Come and Try days held in Suva and Lautoka from Saturday till next Friday designed to introduce the local community to American football, as well as NFL Academy and International Player Pathway (IPP) talent identification opportunities aimed at identifying emerging talent from across Fiji and the wider Pacific region.
NFL Flag Come & Try Clinics will be held at Bidesi Park from 10am for children aged 5 to 15, while NFL Flag Coaching Accreditation will be held at the HFC Bank Stadium, Corporate Box for anyone interested in learning how to coach NFL Flag.
On Wednesday, the team will be at Central College, Lautoka from 3.30pm for children aged 5 to 15 and on Friday at Churchill Park, Lautoka Field 3 from 3.30pm.
NFL representatives and Australian-born Denver Broncos player, Patrick Murtagh, will engage directly
with the local community through school visits, cultural events, and a series of engagements with
government agencies and the US Embassy.
NFL Australia & New Zealand General Manager Charlotte Offord says following what has been a hugely successful few weeks for the league internationally, they are delighted to be bringing the NFL to Fiji for the first time.
Offord says the visit forms part of the NFL’s broader international strategy, focused on increasing NFL Flag participation, building pathways for young athletes, and strengthening the league’s global footprint.
She says they are looking forward to fostering meaningful and lasting experiences for the Fijian people during their time here.
Murtagh, a former AFL Gold Coast Suns player, is currently on the practice squad with the Denver
Broncos and will also participate in the visit.
He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2024 via the NFL’s IPP program.
Born to an Australian father and a mother from Papua New Guinea, he grew up in Fiji on Malolo Island for a short time during his early childhood.
Murtagh says it is going to be really nice to go into the local schools and villages out there and give them a little introduction into what the NFL is about, and obviously, the best way to do that is through Flag Football.
It is just special to be able to give back to those communities because he knows how much little
things mean to them, so bringing something as big as the NFL to them, is going to mean the world to
them.
A strong sporting nation, Fiji has produced just the one NFL player, Freddy Keiaho, who was born in
Suva and played for the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars, and won a Super Bowl (XLI)
with the Colts.
More recently, there have been several athletes from the South Pacific Nation selected for the IPP — the NFL’s elite global talent identification program aimed at providing selected athletes with the opportunity to develop their skills and ultimately earn a spot on an NFL roster.
Historically, it has welcomed athletes from a range of sporting backgrounds.
Head of NFL Academy Asia-Pacific, Will Bryce says they know that Fiji has a rich sporting history, but as they have continued to see, many young athletes might not be suited to the sports they are currently in, whether that is because of their size or other contributing factors.
Bryce says they think there is a great opportunity to offer those athletes an alternative pathway to professional sport, and their NFL Flag ‘Come and Try’ clinics are a great first step towards that.
He says the NFL is committed to investing in the development of the game year-round through global
partners, programs and initiatives across the Asia-Pacific region.
The NFL opened its Asia-Pacific office in 2022 on Australia’s Gold Coast, established an NFL Flag football program in 2022 and officially launched the NFL Academy APAC in 2024.
Flag football, the non-contact format of the game, will make its debut as an Olympic sport in Los
Angeles 2028 (LA28).
It is currently played across all states and territories in Australia and New Zealand, with more than 136,000 participants from over 750 schools currently playing the game throughout the region.
In partnership with the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) the league continues to showcase efforts to increase participation globally and inspire the next generation, with Brisbane ‘32 aspirations also in its sights.
