Prince William touches down with American football

It was a park in Kennington in south London rather than a fluorescent Super Bowl field, but the Prince of Wales has joined the increasing numbers in the UK playing American football.

Prince William was credited with an “unbelievable” throwing arm, as he played the role of quarterback hurling the ball to a team-mate.

There are now 60,000 boys and girls in 650 schools in the UK playing the non-contact version of American football.

This version of the sport, called flag football, is going to make its debut at the Olympics when the games are in Los Angeles in 2028.

Prince William told Phoebe Schecter, who plays for Great Britain’s women’s flag football team, that he had played American football when he was younger.

She suggested that he needed to move his hips more by “embracing your inner Shakira,” referring to the Colombian singer.

Perhaps the prince could have borrowed some moves from his father’s impressive display of Samoan dancing at a recent reception.

But Phoebe thought Prince William had potential on the gridiron, even though the prince is better known for his support for the type of football played by Aston Villa.

“Honestly, Prince William was great – his arm strength is unbelievable, when he let that first ball rip I couldn’t believe it,” said Schecter.

She also got technical with talk about offence, hand-offs and calling the cadence, which in American football is the series of instructions shouted by the quarterback, rather than anything more musical.

Prince William also met former Wales rugby player Louis Rees-Zammit, who left the UK to pursue an NFL career in January and is currently with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who play at Wembley on Sunday.

The event in Kennington Park brought together children from Birmingham, Manchester and London.

And Prince William particularly commented on the wide appeal of flag football: “It’s so good to see all the women getting more involved in it.”

There was also some sound parenting advice from Prince William when he was presented with a football for his children.

“Never go home empty-handed, that’s a crucial motto. They will love that, we’ll do some practising at home – see how many windows I can smash,” he said.