PEI·NewThe first all-girls tackle football team on Prince Edward Island is kicking off its first season, and players taking to the field say — it’s been a long time coming. ‘For there to finally be a girls team, it’s awesome…we’ve been pumped up for this’Delaney Kelly · CBC News · Posted: Sep 12, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 30 minutes agoThe first all-girls tackle football team on P.E.I. is kicking off its inaugural season. (Cody McKay/ CBC)The first all-girls tackle football team on Prince Edward Island is kicking off its first season, and players taking to the field say — it’s been a long time coming. “For there to finally be a girls team, it’s awesome…we’ve been pumped up for this,” said Brynley Letner, 14, who plays lineman. She played on boys tackle football teams for several years, and said she got used to people doubting her abilities because of her gender. “People’s faces were like, ‘I just got tackled by a girl.’ So that’s always fun.”She said she hopes having this team will show younger girls that football is not a boys-only sport. “Maybe they were told, like, ‘Girls can’t play football. You can’t play football, you’re a girl.’ I know I was told that stuff,” she said. “So it’s really awesome to see that there are girls who can play.”Brynley Letner said she is excited to finally have an all-girls tackle football team after years of playing on boys teams. (Cody MacKay/CBC News)The Island’s team is made up 19 girls, aged 14 to 17, from tip to tip. They will be facing off against teams in New Brunswick.Letner said the distance players are willing to travel is a testament to their dedication and desire to play the historically male-dominated sport. “It’s so awesome to get to see how much they’re committed and to truly get to know them,” she said. “I would have never met them without football.” ‘The connections seem a lot more true and a lot more genuine playing with the girls,’ Letner said. (Cody MacKay/ CBC News)Letner said one of the differences she has noticed playing on the all-girls team is the bond the players share.”The connections seem a lot more true and a lot more genuine playing with the girls,” she said. “It’s so awesome getting to see them grow and getting to grow together.”‘It’s going to finally be a thing’As for 17-year-old running back Mela Richard, this will be her first-ever season playing tackle football. Previously, she played flag, but said she’s been wanting to try tackle for some time.And the commute from her home in Tignish to the field in Cornwall isn’t stopping her. She said she’s just happy to come play with her team.”[It’s] pretty exciting to just get out there and try our hardest.”Mela Richard, 17, said this team has been years in the making. She is making the switch from playing flag football to tackle football. (Cody MacKay/CBC News )Richard said the physicality of the sport doesn’t intimidate her, and she looks forward to the tackling. She said she’s been able to pick up some new skills from her teammates who have played on boys teams, and she’s excited to hit the field for her first game.”I feel like we’ve been planning this for a few years now. We’ve been planning to play. So yeah, it’s cool. It’s going to finally be a thing.” Players from the Island’s first all-girls tackle football team say they are pumped for the season to kick off. (Cody MacKay )An exciting opportunitySteve Letner, the Executive Director Football P.E.I. and one of the team’s coaches, said there is a lot of excitement around this team.”Flag has exploded on the Island, and female flag especially, and so we really just tapped into that to help get them on the field,” he said. “[For] some it might be their last year, so to be able to do this before they leave is awesome.”‘Happy for the ladies, happy for the province, as football, obviously…is something that we want to see pushed,’ Steve Letner, Executive Director Football P.E.I. and one of the team’s coaches, said. (Cody MacKay/ CBC News)”So just pure excitement. I think it’s kind of the buzz right now for sure.”The team’s first game is scheduled for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Cornwall. ABOUT THE AUTHORDelaney Kelly is a journalist with CBC P.E.I. who studied journalism at Concordia University. She was previously a reporter at Iori:wase in Kahnawake Mohawk Territory. With files from Cody MacKay
Game-changer: Island girls make history with first tackle football team
