Saskatchewan’s U16 Raiders to compete in NFL flag championship

Saskatchewan’s U16 Raiders will represent the province in the international division of the 2025 NFL Flag Football Championships held this week in Canton, Ohio.

The Raiders were part of the Regina Youth Flag Football League (RYFFL) and won the provincial championship in June, a full circle moment for head coach Mike Thomas.

“Definitely football in the air, a great time of the year here. Hopefully (we’ll) bring home a championship in the next little bit,” Thomas shared on The Green Zone.

Listen to the full interview:

As one of the founding members of the RYFFL, Thomas has grown the league to well over 5,000 participants, a significant achievement from its initial 75 players in 2007. This year, 3,508 athletes were involved in the spring season, and another 1,615 have already registered for the fall season that begins in September. A special selection of ten players are a part of coach Thomas’ provincial winning team, calling themselves “the Bomb Squad.”

The team will compete from July 17 to 20 against competitors from eight different countries across five continents. It’s not the first time this group of athletes has been to the U.S. for flag football, last year, the group played in the Pro Bowl Games.

“We did end up having to play the American teams, and we actually didn’t do too bad. We got fifth place, I think. Everyone thought we’d get destroyed, so I was pretty happy with how we did,” said defensive back Simon Bunka.

“I think we have an advantage having played the higher division but I guess we’ll see when we go down there. I haven’t seen the other (countries’) gameplay,” he said.

Simon Bunka (left) closing in on a receiver to make one of his many stops on defense. (Jakub Kostura/RYFFL)

Thomas reminisced that the core of the squad are life-long friends, “It really started with a bunch of kids that we had that were playing club basketball together. Some of these kids have been together since Grade 2.”

More recently, top talent from Moose Jaw has joined the team, especially as the players aged into competitive divisions and Thomas looked to win regional tournaments. Athletes from around Regina commute to the north end to practise at Iannone Park, and multiple players from Moose Jaw travel into the city to practise and play with the team.

“Mike was looking for new players to join his team, he talked to my coach, then Mike watched my game and then shot me a message saying he wanted me,” Bunka explained.

It was a smooth transition for Bunka, even though his main sports at the time were hockey and golf, and he’s become fast friends with his teammates.

“It was awesome, we kind of got along right away. They were super welcoming, we just connected and the chemistry was there.”

Games throughout the weekend will be televised on multiple streams, ESPN+, Disney+, NFL+, NFL Network and ESPN YouTube.