Prince William touches down with American football
Prince William touches down with American football
PA Media Prince William was told to "embrace your inner Shakira" to move his hips
It was a park in Kennington in south London rather than a fluorescent Superbowl pitch, but the Prince of Wales has joined the increasing numbers in the UK playing American football. Prince William was credited with an "unbelievable" throwing arm, as he played the role of quarterback hurling the ball to a teammate. There are now 60,000 boys and girls in 650 schools in the UK playing the non-contact version of American football. This version of the sport, called NFL flag, is going to make its debut at the Olympics when the games are in Los Angeles in 2028.
PA Media Prince William said he had tried US football before when he was younger
Prince William told Phoebe Schecter, who captains Britain's women's flag football team, that he had played American football when he was younger. She suggested that he needed to move his hips more by "embracing your inner Shakira," referring to the Colombian singer. Perhaps the prince could have borrowed some moves from his father's impressive display of Samoan dancing at a recent reception. But Phoebe thought Prince William had potential for the grid-iron game, even though the prince is better known for his support for the type of football played by Aston Villa. "Honestly, Prince William was great - his arm strength is unbelievable, when he let that first ball rip I couldn't believe it," said Schecter. She also got technical with talk about offence, hand-offs and calling the cadence, which in American football is the series of words shouted by the quarterback, rather than anything more musical.
