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Silvia Contreras
Mexican flag football player (born 1993) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Silvia Yolanda Contreras Medina (born 1993) is a Mexican flag football player. She captains the Mexico women's national flag football team and is a two-time World Games gold medalist in 2022 and 2025.
In 2024, Flag Football Nation magazine described her as "one of the most recognizable names and faces in the sport of women's flag football."[4]
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Early life
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Contreras was born in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, and moved with her family to the border city of Tijuana, Baja California, at age three.[5] Her mother encouraged her to stay active in her youth, no matter the sport, leading her to participate in gymnastics, basketball, and athletics throughout primary school.[6] Coming into high school, Contreras was initially interested in becoming a cheerleader.[6][7] Instead, in 2009 she accompanied a friend to a tryout for her school's first-ever flag football team: "I went with her to see what it was about, and I fell in love with it right away."[8] Claro Sports described Contreras as a "pioneer in Baja California" in the sport.[7]
"The first training session we didn’t see or do anything concerning flag football. It was pure conditioning and physical but I liked it and I came back the next day, then the next, and so on until today, 14 years later." –Contreras in 2024 discussing her first training sessions in high school[9]
Contreras attended the Centro de Enseñanza Técnica y Superior (CETYS), Tijuana campus, where she continued playing flag football at the university level for the Osas CETYS Tijuana,[10] helping the team win the 2014 LIFA championship.[11][12] She earned her Licentiate degree in marketing administration in 2016.[13]
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Career
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Club career
In 2013, Contreras debuted in the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Americano (FMFA) national league. She was named the most valuable player after leading her team to a 5v5 national championship in 2019,[2] and won another national title in 2022.[14]
After graduating from college, Contreras and her friends started their own Tijuana-based club, Osas Flag Football, with Contreras serving as club president and team captain.[15] Contreras debuted in the LEFAFCASE in 2016 and the FlagTex tournament in 2017.[2] In 2018, Cadena Noticias reported that she had won "close to 30 [Baja California] state titles".[6] Contreras helped the Osas win the 5v5 women's flag football championship at the 2020 International Bowl in Arlington, Texas, which she described as an "incomparable experience".[2][16]
In 2024, Contreras was selected by the Dinos de Saltillo ahead of the inaugural LFA Torneo de Flag Football Femenil Profesional, sponsored by the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA).[17] She returned for the second LFA tournament in 2025,[18] this time joining the Osas de Monterrey.[19]
International career
Contreras earned her first call-up to the Mexico women's national flag football team in 2018.[8] She took part in that year's IFAF Flag Football World Championship held in Panama, helping the Mexican team the a fourth-place finish.[6] In an interview with Ensenada newspaper El Vigía, Mexico men's national flag football team hopeful Iván Méndez Nuza spoke on the significance of Contreras' participation for players from the Baja California region. He said her call-up confirmed to them that it was possible to reach the national team when they had previously thought selectors "would never look at [northern Mexico]".[20] Contreras was called up again for the 2021 IFAF Women's World Championship in Israel.[21] She helped her team reach the final, catching a touchdown pass from Diana Flores in a 31–21 loss to the United States.[22]
The following year, Contreras helped Mexico win the gold medal at the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama. She caught three touchdown passes from Flores in a 39–6 blowout win over the United States in the final.[23] Contreras also served as an occasional team captain for the first time during the tournament,[8] and was officially named team captain ahead of the 2023 IFAF Americas Continental Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina.[8][24] She helped Mexico reach the final, catching two touchdown passes from Flores in a 26–21 loss to the United States.[25][26] The following year, Contreras captained the team at the 2024 IFAF Women's World Championship in Finland.[27] She caught two touchdown passes from Flores in a 40–31 win over Japan in the semifinals.[28] In the final, Contreras recorded a touchdown catch on offense and an interception on an extra point attempt on defense in an eventual 31–18 defeat to the United States.[29][30]
Ahead of Mexico's gold medal defending campaign at the 2025 World Games in Chengdu, China, Contreras was described by ESPN Deportes as the "emblematic center, captain, and voice of the team".[31] "The plan for the Mexican team is to win our second World Games gold medal by advancing through the group stage undefeated," she declared, adding that "the level of flag football has grown significantly in recent years, and it’s something that excites [her] greatly to be able to see and experience this level of competition."[32] After going undefeated in group stage play, Contreras caught four touchdown passes – including three from Tania Rincón – in a 40–0 win over hosts China in the quarterfinals.[33][34] She caught another touchdown pass from Rincón in their 25–13 semifinal win over Canada, which marked her team-leading seventh touchdown reception.[35] Mexico went on to defeat the United States in the final, 26–21, to capture the gold medal in a historic title defense.[36]
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Personal life
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In 2013, Contreras received an honorable mention in a sports photography contest sponsored by the Baja California state government; her photo depicted "the roughness of American football".[37] She has sold candies and cookies to help help finance her flag football career, which requires frequent trips to Mexico City for national team training camps.[38]
In her personal life, Contreras has worked to promote the sport of flag football in Mexico. She runs a Youtube channel called De FLAG con Silvia,[39] as well as a Facebook group with the same name where news and information for players and fans of the game is shared. Contreras owns a sports apparel brand called "Flag Is Life, Flag Is Love", which gained popularity among the Mexican flag football community. Contreras has also served as a youth coach. In 2024, she coached the Baja California under-16 team at an NFL Flag tournament and led the Dragons Ensenada U13s to an NFL Flag Chargers Regional tournament title.[40] Contreras is also a high school flag football coach.[7][8]
In November 2022, Contreras was inducted into the Paseo de la Fama de Tijuana Innovadora (Tijuana Innovadora Walk of Fame) following her World Games gold medal.[41][42] In March 2023, she participated in a "Women in Sports" panel at the second annual Gala del Deporte alongside fellow Mexican sportswomen Jackie Nava and Yazmin Jauregui.[38] Contreras was named a Personality of the Year by El Imparcial in 2024.[40]
Contreras featured on the cover of the inaugural issue of Flag Football Nation magazine in January 2024.[43]
Bibliography
- Gross, Scott (January 2024). "Flag is Life, Flag is Love" (PDF). Flag Football Nation. No. 1. pp. 8–11. Retrieved 20 August 2025 – via Heyzine.
References
External links
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