Brooklyn, NY – What began as a series of pickup games in an effort to provide a group of Borough Park residents with a healthy outlet has evolved into a full scale formal flag football league that was so well received that, due to space limitations, had to turn away as many applicants as it accepted.

With a roster of forty players, the Borough Park Flag Football League is now winding down its second successful year with players hailing from all over the tri state area including Borough Park, Williamsburg, Flatbush, Marine Park, Queens, Lakewood and Monsey. Games are played every Sunday morning at 92nd Street and Cropsey Avenue with game temperatures ranging from twelve to seventy degrees, depending on the season.

“This all started with a bunch of guys who, like so many others, needed an outlet, something kosher to do,” explained Eli S.., one of the founding players. “We decided to give football a shot. It was never an organized thing. Every week we would make calls to see who was coming. Some weeks it was ten guys. Other weeks it was three on three. It is tough when you are in an environment where everything is frowned upon. This is a good thing and I encouraged people to join us.”



The games took on more of a formal nature with the addition of an official commissioner who created proper teams and a schedule. In its inaugural season, the BPFFL featured four five man teams. News of the league spread via word of mouth and the league’s website www.bpffl.com and by the second year, eighty applications had been submitted for the forty available positions, which now included ten players per team. Players were drafted for the team based on the results of qualification tests which were run on the field, with the top forty applicants selected for the league.

“We wish we could have accommodated everyone, but we have to work with what we have,” Commissioner Vilma told VIN News. “It was hard enough to get the two fields we currently use. The demand for more is there, but we need the facilities. It was very difficult to tell people that they weren’t drafted, but we tell people not to give up and to try again next year.”

Currently players range in age from eighteen to thirty two years old and as the BPFFL enters playoff season and looks ahead to next year, the league is hoping to add two more teams in order to be able to accommodate additional participants.

“We have guys with beards, guy with payos, guys who are tremendous athletes, you would never believe it just by looking at them,” said Commissioner Vilma. “We give out trophies every season for best quarterback, most valuable player, best lineman, best defensive player, rookie of the year. It drives people to be the best they can be. The guys have such a good time. It makes me feel so good to see them enjoying themselves.”