USA FOOTBALL ANNOUNCES BROADCAST TEAM FOR INTERNATIONAL & NATIONAL FLAG FOOTBALL EVENTS IN LOS ANGELES

Kyle Bailey (play-by-play) & Wes Bryant (analyst) will bring Junior International Cup and additional flag football events to fans through HomeTeam Live, July 11-14 

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. & CHARLOTTE, N.C. – USA Football, the sport’s governing body in the U.S. and a member of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), today announced the broadcast team for the organization’s Week at The One, presented by Under Armour, a series of elite flag football competitions at Dignity Health Sports Park, home of the five-time MLS Cup winners LA Galaxy, from July 11 - 14.  

Kyle Bailey, a veteran sportscaster with more than 17 years of experience, will serve as the play-by-play voice of the events and will be joined by Wes Bryant, a former Wake Forest University offensive lineman who has serves as an on-air host for radio and television sports coverage and made his debut as a college football game analyst in 2023.  

Both Bailey and Bryant are on-air hosts for Sports Radio 92.7 WFNZ in Charlotte, N.C. – a city where USA Football’s U.S. National Team program has strong connections. U.S. National Team Trials and Training Camps for adult and junior athletes are hosted at the United States Performance Center on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  

Bailey and Bryant will team up to bring coverage to flag football fans across the country free of charge on HomeTeam Live, a streaming service available at app.hometeamlive.com. HomeTeam Live will provide coverage of every game across the Junior International Cup, the Select Bowl and The One Flag Championship. Bailey and Bryant will call select games across all three events.  

HomeTeam Live made its debut with USA Football in Charlotte at last year’s Week at The One and the IFAF Americas Continentals Championship. 

“The Week at the One presented by Under Armour is home to USA Football’s premier flag football events, and we’re thrilled to have a pair of announcers in Kyle and Wes who will bring the fast-paced, creative and exciting nature of flag football to life for our viewers on HomeTeam Live,” said Joe Banach, Director of Corporate & Strategic Partnerships for USA Football. “Flag football’s popularity, growth and reach are accelerating at an unbelievable pace. The excitement that both Kyle and Wes have already shown for this discipline of the sport, and their familiarity with each other, make them a great fit for USA Football.” 

All the action begins on July 11 with the Junior International Cup, an international competition that brings together 15U and 17U Boys’ and Girls’ National Teams from around the world to compete in flag football.  

Canada, Japan, Mexico and Panama will field teams to compete alongside the U.S. this summer. The U.S. Junior National Teams swept the gold medal podiums in 2023 while Japan claimed the silver medals. Many of the athletes competing in the Junior International Cup could be part of the next crop of Olympians when flag football makes its debut in the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. 

“Becoming the voice of USA Football’s premier flag football events is an unbelievable honor. The athletes that comprise these teams are amazing, and so are their stories,” Bailey said. “I can’t wait to share this experience with the players, coaches and fans of the sport, and I’m especially excited to work with my good friend Wes Bryant. His professionalism, preparation and enthusiasm for the game will shine on these broadcasts. To play a small part in representing USA Football means a great deal to me, and I can’t wait to get started.” 

Bailey hosts “The Kyle Bailey Show” on WFNZ in Charlotte. He also hosts “Charlotte Hornets Pregame” for all 82 games of the NBA season and leads WFNZ’s Carolina Panthers pregame coverage. An alum of Virginia Tech University, Bailey’s play-by-play experience includes football, baseball and basketball at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. He has called a variety of events in these sports, ranging from high school state championship games to Power 5 college football to Division I men’s basketball. He also served multiple seasons as the voice of the New York Yankees’ Appalachian League affiliate. 

Bryant co-hosts “The Wes and Walker Show” on WFNZ in Charlotte and is a host, producer, editor and voice-over talent for the ACC Digital Network. He has provided coverage of ACC football and basketball, including the ACC Football Championship Game and the ACC men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments.  

In 2023, Bryant made his debut as a college football analyst for the ACC on the CW Network. Other career highlights for Byrant include serving as co-host of “Hornets Live” on Bally Sports South in 2021-22 and creating and hosting Wes Got Range, an independent lifestyle show in which he explored local restaurants while interviewing local sports personalities. Bryant was a three-year letter winner at Wake Forest from 2003-05 after earning All-America honors at Vance High School in Charlotte. 

“Taking this opportunity with USA Football was a no brainer for me because I’ve enjoyed football, in all its variations, since I was a kid. I simply enjoyed the sport and wanted to be part of it,” said Bryant. “I love the athleticism, skill and different strategies in flag football, and I look forward to seeing the best in the sport compete. To be able to call the games with Kyle is the cherry on top of this opportunity. We’ve become fast friends, and our relationship is only going to enhance our ability to bring a great experience to the viewers.” 

Bailey and Bryant will call several Select Bowl games, and all games will be streamed on HomeTeam Live. Part of USA Football’s National Team Development Program, the Select Bowl features regional Select Teams across several age divisions. Select Team athletes receive help from their specially trained coaching staff to hone their skills and raise their games as they compete for future opportunities to try out for the U.S. National Team. 

The week of exciting flag football action concludes with The One Flag Championship, presented by Under Armour, from July 12-14. The One is USA Football’s annual championship that spans youth and adult levels across more than ten divisions. For the past several months, the nation’s best club teams have competed in USA Football Sanctioned Tournaments and Qualifier Tournaments to earn their invitations to The One. U.S. National Team coaches and scouts will be on-hand during The One to identify athletes for invitations to 2025 U.S. National Team Trials. 

All USA Football events feature the International Federation of American Football’s (IFAF) five-on-five rules to promote and maintain a consistent style of play that mirrors Olympic-style flag football. USA Football is the organization responsible for selecting and organizing the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams in federation-sanctioned international competition, including the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. 

Flag football’s popularity has grown substantially over the past decade and skyrocketed following the International Olympic Committee’s announcement in October 2023 that flag football be an Olympic sport in 2028. USA Football research shows the number of boys and girls ages 6-17 playing the sport increased 38% from 2014-23, reaching a peak of more than 1.6 million this past year. According to the NFL, flag football is played by 20 million people across more than 100 countries.  

Much of flag football’s growth in the U.S. is being driven by girls and women. High school girls’ flag football is now sanctioned as a varsity sport in 11 states – including California – and many more have pilot programs. These athletes now have chances to earn college scholarships and compete for a championship in flag football at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) level.  

About USA Football: USA Football is the governing body of American football in the United States, the sole U.S. member of the International Federation of American Football, and a recognized sports organization of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Its non-profit mission includes designing and delivering premier educational, development, and competitive programs for American football, including tackle and flag football. USA Football is the only organization that selects and organizes men’s and women’s U.S. National Teams in federation-sanctioned international competition. 

About HomeTeam Live: Founded to bring broadcast-quality streaming to amateur sports, HomeTeam Live ensures you never miss a game. HomeTeam Live serves professional, college, Olympic, youth, and high school sports across North America, transforming sports broadcasting. The team of engineers, broadcasters, designers, and machine learning specialists produces thousands of events with ground support in Canada and the USA. HomeTeam Live will broadcast every game at The Week at The One live on app.hometeamlive.com.