American football and the National Football League (NFL) have become massively popular in Ireland. Over the summer, the Pittsburgh Steelers faced the Minnesota Vikings in the first-ever NFL game to be played in Ireland.
As the popularity of the game increases, more initiatives are being created to help young people get involved in sports. This includes the New York Jets NFL Girls Flag league in Dublin.
Participation has doubled for the 2026 edition of the initiative, following a successful first year. It is the first league of its kind in the country, it aims to increase girls’ access to and participation in sports through NFL Flag – the official flag football program of the NFL. With a fun, exciting, and accessible format, it helps participants build lifelong psychological skills in strategy, communication, and resilience as they work together to plan and execute winning plays.
VIP Magazine spoke to NFL star Jermaine Sherwood on his love for the sport and why it’s important to keep girls in sports…
Hi Jermaine. Is this your first time in Ireland?
Yes, ma’am, it is. So far, the experience has been great. It’s a blessing just to play football in the NFL. Football has done so many things for me. I would have never thought I would be in Ireland if it wasn’t for football. It’s a blessing to be a part of this flag football that we’re trying to do as well. It’s been great. We’ve still got a couple of days here. There’s a lot of other stuff that I want to see and get to experience while I’m here.
You play for the New York Jets. At what point in your life did you know that you could do this as a career?
I’ve been playing football since I was five. I’ve got two older brothers. My mom grew up a football fan. My mom played powderpuff football. I don’t know if they had flag football when she was younger. But it was almost tackle football-ish. My sister played sports as well. Ninth grade is where we start high school. In ninth grade, going into tenth grade, I got my first letter from my favourite college. I was just like, “Geez, I could get the opportunity to go to school”. I was not the best one on my team growing up. My friends were better than me, faster than me, scored all the touchdowns. I made plays when I was supposed to, but my friends were great. I got into the gym, started working out. Long story short, I got my first offer to go to school at the end of my tenth grade year, then by the time I finished my eleventh grade year, I had a bunch of offers. When I got the chance to go to college, I always believed in myself. Not knowing if it was going to be possible, but I never doubted myself at all. Instead of doing four years, I did three years of college. When I went, I ultimately signed up for the NFL draft. Whatever happened, happened. I couldn’t turn back. I just put my faith in God. I’m standing here today.
So was American football always your favourite sport growing up?
When I was younger, I tried every sport. I think the first sport I tried was soccer. Like I said, I started football when I was five. I have a picture of me playing soccer when I was four. I tried basketball in third grade, but everybody had already started playing basketball. So they were better than me. It’s not that I’m not a competitor, but they were just so good. I was so uncoordinated, I didn’t want to play. I played football in the fall, so from August to November or December. That’s when football starts and ends. Then from January to May, that’s when I tried something new. In third and fourth grade, I tried baseball. Fourth grade, I went to a private school. I ran cross-country. I played basketball. I played soccer. Ultimately, football was the one that stuck with me.
So we’re here today for Girls Flag Football League. What does it mean to you to be involved in an initiative to support young girls in sport?
I think it’s cool, and I definitely do think it’s beneficial. I personally love to see girls being active. When I was in high school, our girls’ flag football team was good. When my football practice ended, the coach of the football team, he coached the girls’ flag football team. Me and my friends, we would always go over there and help them. Obviously, to get them ready for the games, we would play offence, let them play defence, and vice versa. It’s so fun. I feel like girls should play every sport. They should make it to where it can go to the highest level, so girls can have the same competitive advantage as men do.
NFL has become a global sensation in the last couple of years. What does it mean to you that people across the world are cheering on your sport?
I think it’s cool! My first time out of the country was in 2021 when we played our game over here in London. So to see that people across the world cheer people on a sport they probably never played, the game of football, I think it’s a blessing. The game of football and sports in general bring people together. It brings family together. People in America love football because that’s what it does. I love going to a Super Bowl party, and I would love to go to a Super Bowl as well. Just the camaraderie, hanging with my mom, she loves football, hanging out with my friends, us joking about who’s going to win the Super Bowl.
If you could go back to teenage Jermaine, what advice would you give him?
Just keep being you, you know what I’m saying? The way I grew up, I was super shy. I’m still humble, but I was very reserved, wouldn’t talk to anybody. I would never say I grew up bad or grew up poor, I grew up the way I needed to. And ultimately, that made me today, so I wouldn’t tell myself anything different.
Irish fans can stay up to date on the latest news about the New York Jets and hear about their upcoming activities here