Brig. Gen. Joseph Campo, left, commander of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, and Royal Navy Commodore Steve Prest hold the winners’ belt, which was donated by the New York Jets, after a friendly matchup sponsored by the NFL team on Friday. (Kyle Alvarez/Stars and Stripes)
LAKENHEATH, England — The NFL’s New York Jets sponsored a friendly flag football contest between U.S. service members and U.K. armed forces at RAF Lakenheath’s turf football field Friday.
The two teams competed in a best-of-three series for a chance to win a custom-built championship belt donated by the Jets.
The U.S. team, representing U.S. military units across the base, won two of the three games, 20-18 and 22-0. The U.K. won the third game, 18-14.
“What a great example of sportsmanship furthering the friendship between the United Kingdom and the U.S. by playing American football, on a British pitch on a joint Royal Air Force base,” said Brig. Gen. Joseph Campo, commander of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath.
Royal Navy Commodore Steve Prest, deputy director Navy Acquisition, said the U.K. team looks forward to “coming back next year and taking the belt back.”
The Jets have sponsored multi-service flag football games on bases in Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey, Japan, Kuwait, Djibouti, Germany and in the U.S.
The quarterback for the U.S. Air Force team tries to find an open receiver while being pressured by the U.K. armed forces defender during a flag football game Friday at RAF Lakenheath. The New York Jets sponsored the multi-service flag football game and donated custom jerseys for each team to wear. (Kyle Alvarez/Stars and Stripes)
U.S. Air Forces Airman 1st Class Cody Alfred, from the 495th Aircraft Maintenance Unit, jumps up and snags the ball out of the air during a multi-service flag football game at RAF Lakenheath on Friday. (Kyle Alvarez/Stars and Stripes)
A United Kingdom air forces service member jumps and catches the football during a multi-service flag football game sponsored by the New York Jets at RAF Lakenheath on Friday. (Kyle Alvarez/Stars and Stripes)
U.S. Air Forces Tech Sgt. Javaris Samuels, from the 495th Aircraft Maintenance Unit, catches a 30-yard pass and runs the final 12 yards for a touchdown during a multi-service flag football game against a British military team at RAF Lakenheath on Friday. (Kyle Alvarez/Stars and Stripes)
The U.S. Air Forces sideline gets ready for the snap of the football during a flag football game at RAF Lakenheath on Friday. (Kyle Alvarez/Stars and Stripes)
RAF Lakenheath High Schools JROTC flag detail raise both the American and United Kingdom flags during the opening ceremony of a service flag football game at RAF Lakenheath on Friday. The game was sponsored by the NFL’s New York Jets. (Kyle Alvarez/Stars and Stripes)
