Prince of Wales impresses American football stars with ‘incredible arm strength’

The Prince met teenagers working with the NFL Foundation UK, learning to play ‘flag football’

The Prince of Wales was praised for his “incredible” arm strength by American football stars when he tried his hand at the sport.
Prince William, 42, joked that he would practise his newly acquired NFL (National Football League) skills at home and “smash some windows” after joining a community event in south London hosted by the NFL Foundation UK, a charity that works with young people in deprived areas.
It uses NFL Flag, a non-contact version of American football, to engage teenagers in the hope of changing their lives.
The Prince, wearing pristine white trainers, had a go at several throwing drills before taking to the pitch as a quarterback.
Louis Rees-Zammit, a former Welsh rugby player who recently switched to NFL, was impressed with his skills.
“He can throw the ball,” he said. “He can throw the ball better than me. He can get a good spiral on the ball as well, not like me.”
Phoebe Schecter, the GB women’s flag football team captain, added: “His arm strength is incredible. I could not believe how far he could throw the ball. He did a great job. Very coachable.”
One activity involved throwing the ball into one of several small holes in a large net.
After getting some advice on how to stand and how to hold the ball, the Prince missed his first shot but was elated to get his second in the net.
There were jubilant high fives all round as he joked: “One out of two’s alright. I’ll retire on that. That’s my NFL career.”
After being persuaded to go again, he was disappointed to miss, complaining that he “got no spin on it”. The Prince asked how to get the ball to “spin properly” before throwing his fourth shot wide of the net but then scoring his fifth, to loud cheers.
William also tried his hand at throwing the ball to teenagers who ran and dived onto a crash mat as they landed and throwing it to others from a distance, with mixed results.
He admitted he did not understand the tactics, saying that if he did, he “might get a bit more into it”.
When he was given three mini-balls to take home for his three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, as well as a full size one for himself, he laughed: “Never go home empty handed. Great motto! I’ll do some practice at home and see how many windows I can smash.”
The Prince was accompanied on the visit to Kennington Park by Henry Hodgson, general manager of NFL UK, and Will Stone, the organisation’s head of social impact and government strategy.
They explained that flag football has become increasingly popular in the UK, with a surge in the number of schools involved and the sport due to be played at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The NFL Foundation, which is celebrating its three-year anniversary, is the first NFL charitable arm to be launched overseas.
The Prince met representatives from NFL UK and community partners to hear about the work being undertaken to help young people develop confidence and reach their potential through sport.
He asked the teenagers playing for their communities what it was they liked about the sport, how it differed from rugby and football and what skills they needed.
He told Ms Schecter that when he was younger he used to play the sport on the beach. “Once summer we had 12 of us on the beach, it was loads of fun,” he said.
But while he acknowledged that he would try his hand at most sports, he said he did not do any of them “very well”.
As patron of the Welsh Rugby Union, the Prince had met Rees-Zammit on more than one occasion, most recently when he took Prince George to watch Wales take on Argentina in the quarter final of the Rugby World Cup last October.
“Good to see you again, different guise!” he said as they were introduced again on Tuesday.
The Prince asked which skills the NFL were looking for and what the differences were between the two sports. “Is it like chalk and cheese?” he asked. “Do you come on for two minutes and just blitz it and go off again?”
The NFL has been playing regular-season games in London since 2007, with games being played this month at the Tottenham Hotspur and Wembley stadiums.
The NFL Foundation UK launched in 2021 in partnership with the Mayor of London’s Sport Unites fund and has since  received funding from Sport England to expand beyond London to Greater Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds through a partnership with the San Francisco 49ers.