Still attached to Victoriaville, Atlanta Falcons guard Matthew Bergeron is behind the creation of a very first flag football league in Quebec to be sanctioned by the NFL, in his hometown. A project set to take on a significant scale in Quebec in the years to come.
The idea first germinated in the minds of two friends and former teammates of Bergeron, Félix Turgeon and Émile Poisson.
“Émile and I are retired from college and university football, but we wanted to play in the summer. We set up a small committee to create a structured and competitive league. We had land availability issues and a few other pitfalls. We talked to Matthew about it to see if he could help and that’s when he got involved in the project,” said Turgeon.
A first
Matthew Bergeron, last September, after his first regular season NFL game in Atlanta. Stephane Cadorette
For his part, Bergeron wanted to give back to his community. He initially had the idea of organizing a camp, but he quickly dove into what became NFL Flag Victoriaville.
“The more I thought about it, the more I wanted something more consistent than a camp to give back to the community. I saw Félix and Émile’s seriousness, then I contacted NFL Flag and they were up for it.
“NFL Flag is involved in other leagues in Montreal, but we talk more about tournaments, while we prioritize a calendar with a season and series, with permanent teams,” noted the offensive rookie of the year at the Falcons.
Departure May 19
The calendar starts on May 19 for an eight-week season. The top six teams among the Falcons, Ravens, Texans, 49ers, Dolphins, Vikings, Lions and Seahawks will qualify for the playoff matchups.
It was also the members of the NFL Flag Victoriaville Facebook page, where registrations were sold out in just 20 minutes on Wednesday, who voted for the names of the NFL teams that were selected.
“Let’s just say I would have taken it badly if it had been the Saints!” Bergeron joked about his division rivals in the NFL.
The league is focusing its launch on the competitive men’s section for ages 16 and over, but the offering is expected to grow.
“We already know that in the winter, we will offer mixed. If we can make a completely female league, we will go for it, and we also want to create a junior division. The goal of NFL Flag is to get young people moving and make the project accessible to everyone,” said Émile Poisson.
For his part, Matthew Bergeron sees the coming season as the start of a much larger project.
“If we see that there is a lot of enthusiasm, I would like to extend it throughout Quebec. “It’s a structure that allows people to develop with a safe introduction to football,” he noted.
The matches will take place seven against seven, every Sunday, between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.
2024-05-08 14:33:15
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