Nike Kickoff Classic returns with international high school football game

For the third year, Nike and the NFL will partner to host high school football events to celebrate the beginning of the youth season. This year, it comes with an additional element: The boys game will be an international matchup.

Washington High School (Massillon, Ohio) will take on The NFL Academy based in the United Kingdom as the league works to expand its following to a broader international base. Washington Massillon, which has had a football team since 1894, according to the event’s press release, has the second-most wins in high school football history (948) and is coming off an undefeated, 16-0 season.

The NFL Academy, which has a location in the United Kingdom and in Australia, is a football development program offering intensive training alongside full-time education. In total, 30 alumni have received a football scholarship in the United States, 19 of whom played for a Div. I program.

On the girls side, De La Salle High School (La.) will take on South Anchorage High School (Alaska) in a flag football game. De La Salle is coming off an undefeated championship season under the New Orleans Saints Girls High School Flag Football league, and South Anchorage went 12-4 in its inaugural season last year, according to MaxPreps.

These games will take place at the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, on Aug. 22. Each will be live-streamed on the NFL YouTube channel and then aired again on the NFL Network on Aug. 31.

Over the past two years, Nike and the NFL have used this game as an opportunity to introduce athletes to the business side of sports in the Nike facilities, provide mentoring and training opportunities, and grow flag football at the grassroots level.

“Growing things from a grassroots standpoint shows that you care about the future of the game in a tangible way, and celebrating it by actually playing a game on (Nike’s) campus is the best tribute to that,” said Roman Oben, a former NFL player who is the vice president of NFL Football Development, in an interview last year.

That will continue this year, with the international game incorporated into the programming for the first time.

In addition to this event, the NFL Academy has more games lined up against high school teams. Edgewater (Fla.), De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) and IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) will all travel to Europe to play against the academy during the season.