Diana Flores – Flag Soccer’s Well-known Feminine Face

Certainly one of Mexico’s most recognizable athletes, and one of the vital recognizable figures in flag soccer globally, Diana Flores is paving the way in which for girls and LatinX athletes in sports activities.

Flores is a Flag Soccer World Champion and the NFL’s International Ambassador for Flag Soccer, who starred because the lead within the NFL’s first-ever Flag Soccer Business throughout Tremendous Bowl LVII. Flag soccer’s having a historic increase given main headlines recently, with the NFL’s resolution to permit NFL gamers to play flag within the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. 

Flores is spearheading the game’s international progress, particularly for girls, in an area traditionally dominated by males. She’s been featured in Vogue Mexico, and lately spoke to Cosmopolitan Mexico for her historic flag soccer camp she hosted with Below Armour final month. 

She’s a phenom on the sphere—main Mexico to a Gold Medal and MVP title on the final World Video games. 

Now, with a ebook on the horizon, Flores makes use of her platform to encourage younger athletes—particularly ladies and LatinX opponents—to pursue their goals on the highest stage

SWAGGER: You’ve change into the worldwide face of flag soccer, in very many regards. How has this journey personally reshaped the way in which you view your position within the sport?

This journey has utterly remodeled how I see my goal. At first, it was all about competing—about being one of the best quarterback I may very well be, and representing Mexico with pleasure. However over time, I spotted it’s a lot larger than me. Each alternative, from the World Video games to the Tremendous Bowl, has proven me the facility of visibility. When younger women see somebody who appears like them main on that stage, they begin to imagine it’s potential for them too. My position now could be about opening doorways, constructing bridges, and leaving the game stronger for the subsequent era.

SWAGGER: Flag soccer’s inclusion within the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is a historic second. What does this milestone imply to you—and what do you hope it indicators for the way forward for the game worldwide?

It’s a dream realized—not only for me, however for each participant who has believed on this sport for years. Flag soccer being a part of the Olympics is validation that our recreation belongs on the world’s largest stage. I hope it indicators a brand new period the place younger girls and boys in every single place can aspire to change into Olympians by way of flag, the place nations spend money on packages, and the place our neighborhood continues to develop throughout each continent. It’s proof that zeal, perseverance, and unity can really make historical past.

SWAGGER: You’ve usually spoken about listening to “no” early in your profession due to your gender or look. How do you channel these early rejections into motivation and empowerment at this time?

These “no’s” formed me. They taught me resilience and gave me a deeper understanding of what I’m preventing for. In the present day, I exploit these reminiscences as gas—to not show anybody unsuitable, however to point out others what’s potential if you imagine in your self, even when the world doubts you. Each time I step on the sphere or converse to younger athletes, I would like them to know that their value just isn’t outlined by another person’s limitations.

SWAGGER – Because the NFL’s International Ambassador for Flag Soccer, you’re bridging worlds between elite athletes, younger gamers, and followers. What has been your most memorable second in that ambassador position up to now?

There have been so many, however one which stands out was seeing children from world wide come collectively on the NFL Flag Championships—talking completely different languages, but united by the identical love for the sport. Watching their faces gentle up jogged my memory that sport is a common language. It connects us past borders and backgrounds. That second captured precisely what being an envoy means to me: serving to folks see that this recreation belongs to everybody.

SWAGGER: Your upcoming ebook Flag Soccer for Dummies is extremely anticipated. What do you hope readers will take away out of your story?

I’m thrilled to share that I’m partnering with the writer of the enduring For Dummies sequence to launch  Flag Soccer for Dummies on January 20, 2026! It’s such an unbelievable time for flag soccer—the sport is uniting communities, creating alternatives, and now heading to the Olympic stage. I’ve devoted my life to rising this sport, and this ebook is an extension of that mission. My objective was to make the sport straightforward to grasp and thrilling to study—to offer each participant, coach, and fan the instruments to fall in love with flag soccer the way in which I did. 

SWAGGER: Being certainly one of Mexico’s most seen athletes, how do you view your position in representing each your tradition and ladies’s empowerment on a world stage?

It’s a deep honor and an awesome duty. Every part I do carries my nation and my tradition with it. I need to present the world the power, coronary heart, and creativity that comes from Mexico and from Latin America as a complete. As ladies, we’re rewriting the narrative of what management and excellence appear like in sports activities. My mission is to characterize that proudly and to maintain creating pathways for others to shine.

SWAGGER: How does it really feel to have simply obtained the 2025 “Re-Write the Sport Award” from Billie Jean King’s Girls’s Sports activities Basis for altering the sport on the sphere and beyone this yr?

It feels superb. Billie Jean King has at all times been such a mentor to me, and receiving this award from the Girls’s Sports activities Basis was deeply humbling. It represents not simply my very own journey, however the goals, sacrifices, and braveness of each lady who has dared to alter the sport. This second is each a celebration of how far we’ve come and a reminder to maintain pushing for a future the place equality and alternative in sport are the norm, not the exception.

SWAGGER: You latterly led a camp with Below Armour and have been featured in Vogue México and Cosmopolitan México. How do you stability the athletic and ambassadorial sides of your profession?

Each side gas one another. The athlete in me brings authenticity and self-discipline to all the things I do off the sphere, and my ambassador roles assist me join the game to new audiences and encourage others. I remind myself to remain grounded in my goal—to develop the sport and empower others by way of it. Whether or not I’m in cleats or on a stage, all of it comes again to that very same objective.

SWAGGER: How do you practice—bodily and mentally—to remain on the prime of your recreation?

Bodily, I concentrate on velocity, agility, and precision—the core of flag soccer. However simply as essential is psychological coaching: visualization, mindfulness, and preparation. Earlier than each competitors or look, I take time to middle myself and keep in mind why I play. I usually suppose again to Billie Jean King’s phrases: “Stress is a privilege.” That mindset retains me sharp, balanced, and grateful for each problem.

SWAGGER: You’ve spoken about creating area for the subsequent era of women in sports activities. What actual progress—and challenges—do you see in that motion proper now?

We’ve made large strides—there are extra women than ever choosing up flags, becoming a member of groups, and dreaming massive. The visibility of girls’s sports activities is rising, and that’s highly effective. However there’s nonetheless work to do by way of funding, illustration, and respect. The problem now could be to verify this progress is sustainable—that women not solely have alternatives to play, however to steer, coach, and be celebrated as athletes in each sense.