NEW YORK —The NFL Foundation announced Wednesday its $1.5 million commitment to USA Football's Heads Up Football program—a new approach to ensuring the health and safety of youth and high school football players, focusing on concussion awareness, proper equipment fitting and tackling techniques.
Cowboys chief brand officer and NFL Foundation chair Charlotte Jones Anderson joined NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and USA Football executive director Scott Hallenbeck for the official announcement and check presentation during the Play 60 Youth Football Festival in New York.
Also on site to celebrate the announcement were NFL alumni serving as Heads Up ambassadors, including former Cowboy Tony Casillas. Casillas will serve as the official Heads Up ambassador representing the Cowboys and the NFL in North Texas this season.
Already more than 900 youth football leagues across the nation representing more than 200,000 players and 30,000 coaches have committed to the health and safety of their players by adopting Heads Up Football. The Heads Up program features five main components: Heads Up Tackling, coaching certification, concussion recognition and response, Player Safety Coach and equipment fitting. To learn more, visit http://usafootball.com/headsup.
USA Football, youth football's national governing body, is the official youth football development partner of the Dallas Cowboys and the NFL. An independent nonprofit organization, USA Football offers coaching and game official education, innovative digital resources for players and coaches, subsidized background checks for leagues' adult volunteers, $1 million in annual equipment grants and more.
