East Kilbride Pirates have teamed up with top NFL side the Jacksonville Jaguars after the American outfit’s popular grassroots programme, JagTag, touched down in Scotland for the first time.
With American football soaring in popularity in the UK, the Jacksonville Jaguars – based in Florida – have signed a one-year agreement with South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture to bring their youth participation initiative to primary and secondary schools across the region.
The free of charge programme, which is a simplified, non-contact version of American football, will be delivered alongside Scotland’s best American Football team, East Kilbride Pirates.
The exciting initiative officially kicks off in style on the Tuesday (June 18), with 250 boys and girls aged 10-16 from the East Kilbride area taking part in the country’s first official JagTag session at Duncanrig Secondary school, from 10am-12pm.
Alongside the Jaguars’ UK team, there will be eight youth coaches and seven adult players from the East Kilbride Pirates there to help teach the programme and the sport.
Sessions will include skill drills and an array of fun games.
The Jaguars’ UK mascot, Union Jaxson, will be at the launch event to meet everyone and hand out free Jaguars merchandise.
Pirates chair Amanda McDonald - who recently made a visit to London to celebrate the Jaguars' commitment to playing in the UK, where she was joined by East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow MP, Dr Lisa Cameron - said: “East Kilbride Pirates are Scotland’s oldest American football club.
“We have a long-standing commitment to the growth of youth and junior football so we’re absolutely delighted that East Kilbride has been chosen as the location to launch JagTag in Scotland.
“We’re thrilled to be working with the Jacksonville Jaguars and we know JagTag will give young people from all backgrounds in South Lanarkshire schools a fantastic introduction to the sport and offer them a new and exciting way to get active.”
Hussain Naqi, Senior Vice President of International Development for the Jaguars, said: “We can’t wait to officially launch our JagTag programme into Scotland.
“We have seen huge success across England as JagTag has proven popular with all ages and sexes.
“We already have JagTag delivered in over 100 different schools and over 13,000 children across Britain involved in our grassroots initiative and we’re really looking forward to giving even more kids the opportunity to get involved in the fantastic sport of American football.”
