Meet KC’s women’s tackle football team. They’re only growing, they say

On a record-breaking 90-degree spring afternoon in Kansas City, Maria Fautali was keeping the pace high.

Her hair, wrapped in a long braid, is tucked in her helmet. She lines up outside for a short passing drill, quickly gets off the release on her route and makes cuts to get open.

As women’s sports continue to grow nationwide, Fautali and her Kansas City team are working to expand opportunities in a space where women have long been underrepresented: football.

Over the past seven years, the Kansas City Glory have built a women’s tackle football team in KC that’s carved out opportunities for women to tackle, lead and inspire young girls.

“There’s so many misconceptions about women’s football,” said Fautali, who’s one of the top running backs in the Women’s National Football Conference.

“I mean, for example, when I tell someone that I play, they always assume it’s flag, they assume it’s the lingerie league or anything like that.”

Now, with their season set to kick off Saturday, the team is inviting the city to not only come out to watch their game — but to pay attention.

It was hot Saturday, March 21, as the KC Glory entered the field ready for their last weekend of practice before their season opener on Saturday, March 28.

“If you’re a football fan, sports fan in general … you will love this game and you will keep coming back,” Fautali said.

Founded in 2019, The KC Glory compete in the WNFC, a league of 16 teams across the country offering full-contact, 11-on-11 tackle football for women of all backgrounds and experience levels.

While women’s flag football has also been gaining popularity over the last decade, women’s tackle football is on the rise.

But for many players and coaches, the Glory represents something bigger than the game itself.

“Some misconceptions people have about women’s football, especially tackle football, is that we can’t play it and it’s on a high school level,” said head coach and owner Keke Blackmon.

“That we are just ‘stay-at-home moms,’ which are the toughest people on the planet. If that’s what we are deemed, I’ll take it, because stay-at-home moms are tough,” Blackmon said. “They rock it out every day. They hold it down. And that’s similar to what we do out here on the field.”

Blackmon didn’t grow up playing football. She started as a player with the Kansas City Tribe in 2008 with a mission to show little girls anything is possible, she said.

The Tribe was a team in the Independent Women’s Football League, founded in 2008. The Tribe marked the return of women’s tackle football to the KC market after the Kansas City Storm, founded in 2004, left for the NWFA (National Women’s Football Association). The Tribe’s last recorded game was in 2017; the Storm, another KC women’s tackle team, is still active.

For many players, joining the team meant entering a sport they were not encouraged to pursue growing up.

The Glory emphasizes accessibility and inclusivity, said Blackmon. At the same time, coaches and players stress that the level of play is competitive and physical.

Practices are demanding. The competition is real.

“If you want to see some great football, you should show up,” said Kelly Whitehead, a linebacker. “Women’s sport is booming right now, and this team has athletes that get after it every single day.”

“And they’re there to show up for you to put on a show and you want to come and see it.”

The balance between performance and purpose is what defines the team’s culture. Internally, the Glory operate on a set of values known as T.R.U.S.T — which stands for Talk, Remember your why, be Unwavering in your stance, be Solid, and Together.

For many players, that culture translates into a sense of belonging that extends beyond football.

“I think about what I would tell my younger self sometimes ... I would definitely say don’t listen to people who tell you ‘no,’” quarterback Brenna Morris said. “Let that ‘no’ be your fuel. … Prove them wrong.”

That community impact is also part of the organization’s long-term vision, which is to empower KC women and girls to see themselves in spaces they may not have considered before, said Whitehead.

Take last summer, for example. When a video of a young girl in Minnesota went viral because a boy at school told her girls can’t play football, the Glory took notice. They flew the girl, Elena Easley, and her mom out to a game, rolling out the red carpet for her.

The goal: Show her girls can play football, too.

“That little boy in Minnesota lit a fire in ladies way across the state, in Kansas City, to do something that he said that we couldn’t do,” Blackmon said at the time. “And we did it on the biggest stage tonight.”

The Glory will open the 2026 season on Saturday at 4 p.m. against the Seattle Majestics. The teams will play at the Pembroke Hill School on its Ward Parkway campus.

They’re hoping Kansas City shows up.

“We’re a group of really athletic and talented women who just love the game of football,” Morris said.

This story was originally published March 27, 2026 at 6:00 AM.

Alexa Stone

The Kansas City Star

Alexa “Lex” Stone is a vertical video creator for the Kansas City Star, where her focus is highlighting Kansas City through digital storytelling across platforms. A proud Kansas City native, she earned her bachelor’s degree from Mizzou and her master’s degree from Georgia State University. She has a deep passion for culture, sports and community.