KC Glory leads increasing number of women playing football

Zoom in: The Glory is one of 16 teams in the Women's National Football Conference (WNFC). Three of six games are scheduled for their home turf at Robert L. Hicks Field at Pembroke Hill School.

• Glory fans showed up big last year, contributing to one of three sold-out crowds in the WNFC, league founder Odessa Jenkins tells Axios.

Context: The Glory didn't come from nothing. The team's roots date back to 2007 and the KC Tribe, a Women's Football Alliance (WFA) team that took home the championship in 2009.

• The Tribe merged with the Spartans, another local team, and became the Titans in 2013.
• The Titans disbanded in 2019, the same year the Glory was founded under the newly formed WNFC.

Owner and head coach Keke Blackmon is a former Tribe and Titans player. She says she became a coach because she knew how to uplift and empower athletes.

• "We were all Kansas City," she tells Axios. "You got to be a great teammate."

The intrigue: Katie Sowers, a Kansas native who coached with the Chiefs and made history as the first woman and openly gay coach at the Super Bowl, was the KC Titans' quarterback and general manager.

• Sowers now coaches flag football at Ottawa University in Kansas, where Glory rookie Alyssa Gillespie played.

What they're saying: "Working with Katie is transformational," says Gillespie, who now works as a graduate assistant alongside Sowers and her twin sister, Liz.

• "Katie taught me that nothing comes easy. Especially as a woman challenging opportunities in male-dominated fields."

Who we're watching: Gillespie (No. 8) comes to the Glory as a safety after playing both sides of the ball at Ottawa, finishing her 2025 season with 128 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

• Nova Nystrom (No. 52), a Swedish international lineman, joins the Glory after playing with Seattle.
• Mayo Alexander (No. 47), a WNFC all-pro receiver, returns for her fifth year.

What's next: The Glory's home opener is set for March 28 at 4pm. Tickets are $15 in advance, or $20 at the gate.

The state of women's football

Women are increasingly joining the typically male-dominated sport despite fewer leagues and opportunities.

The big picture: The NFL is investing in women's flag football, and the Olympics is planning the sport's debut in 2028.

• Most women who want to play turn toward flag football, but tackle is gaining traction.

The latest: At the high school level, 17 states' athletic associations have sanctioned girls varsity flag championships, and Kansas and Missouri are among others with pilot programs in play.

• Independent collegiate leagues, including the NAIA and NJCAA, already have flag football.
• In February, an NCAA committee recommended that Divisions I, II and III add flag football as an emerging women's sport.

Reality check: Access to tackle football remains scarce for women, and many athletes who wind up in pro leagues come from sports such as basketball and track.

• "There are more girls getting footballs put in their hands than any time, any other time in the world because of flag football," Jenkins says. But "most of the women that are playing tackle football right now are playing with the boys."

State of play: The WNFC is growing quickly, with league leaders securing an initial $1 million in seed funding in 2024.

• Jenkins says she's working on raising $15 million to expand the league's presence.

Between the lines: WNFC players aren't paid salaries, but the league provides stipends for influencer athletes, performance bonuses and end-of-season awards.

• Jenkins says part of their next round of funding put more money in players' pockets.

What's next: Local businesses are supporting the Glory, both past and present.

• The Dub, Kansas City's first women's sports bar, has a flyer in its window to support the Glory and has the team's home opener marked on its March calendar.
• We hope Vine Street Brewing and High Hopes Ice Cream bring back their specialty Glory flavors.