Since the 2011s American football has been an interest to African youth, as their counterparts in the Western World have been making wave in the sport over the years. In June 2011 the Nigerian Institute of American Football was created, by 3 American Former-Athletes, Daryl Hayes (an assistant coach at Shepherd University of West Virginia), Ricardo Dickerson (Oakland Raiders), and Gregory Hendricks (former Basketball Pro./coach). The Institutes goal as of that time was to teach eager young players and interested coaches the basics of the sport.

At the same time, the first Nigerian American Football Team was created (A.B.U TITANS). After this, it was noticed that the interest was not only in West Africa, as teams and leagues began to spring up in North Africa, in Egypt and Morocco. A few years later in 2013, Nigeria had its second team created, the Lagos Marines and this happened also in other parts of West Africa, like Ivory Coast and other countries across Africa.

As of 2016 American Football made a statement across Africa, with major events like the African American Football Championship that was to be held in Rabat Morocco, Lagos Marines a Nigerian based team playing in the first official American Football game in West Africa against the A.B.U Titans, and many more events going on across Africa, in South Africa and East Africa.

In 2018, the Shitsuke Flag Football League was created focusing on flag football and equality by insisting that every team plays with female players. The organization which ran on Lagos Island and was the first Co-ed flag football league in Nigeria.  The list of its earliest teams included;

• The Titans
• Vortex Athletics
• Spartans
• The Gidirons
• Trogons
• Knights
• Panthers
• Windrunners
• Lagos Rebels
• Stingrays

At around the same time, another league was being developed in Abuja. Eventually christened the Abuja Flag Football League, this was the first and only league running in Northern Nigeria to date.

By 2022, three years after the establishment of NAFA, the Nigeria Secondary School Flag Football League which was the first grassroots focused league in the country. It rapidly grew into the largest flag football league in the country and subsequently on the continent.

Not far away from Lagos, the Ogun State Flag Football League was born out of the activities of NSSFFL as NAFA continued to expand its presence across states in the country.

By 2023, Shitsuke Flag folded up and was taken over by the Showtime Flag Football League. Showtime is currently still active until date and is known for its Showtime Bowl Series.

2025 saw the launch of another league in Lagos; the Community Flag Football League. Teams from the defunct Shitsuke League came together to form a new League to drive community development activities at the Semi-professional level