Vernon Kay proved to a be a real sport today as he kicked off an American football match to introduce the game to youngsters.

The Bolton radio and TV presenter was at Bury Grammar School to cheer on those play9in in the game of JagTag, a simplified version of the sport.

The session was staged by Edstart and sponsored by AO.

Children learnt the basic techniques of throwing, catching, evading and defending and began to learn how to create their own play tactics.

NFL superfan Vernon Kay was at the event.

He was joined by two NFL Jacksonville Jaguar players, Foyesade Oluokun and Ross Matiscik and coach Tony Boselli.

The JagTag event at Bury Grammar SchoolThe JagTag event at Bury Grammar School (Image: NQ)

Sean Ogden, joint area manager for Edstart said: “We have three players from the Jacksonville Jags who have come over from the USA, this is the Manchester leg of a tour which is a three-part event.

“Our company Edstart have partnered with the Jacksonville Jaguars so we’re their lead provider in the Northwest.

“We want to raise the profile of the sport as well as ourselves. On the turf today, we have around 180 kids taking part.”

This is the biggest JagTag event that has ever taken place, with the event happening in Bristol yesterday and moving onto Dublin tomorrow.

Children played alongside the NFL stars whilst parents cheered them on from the sidelines.

Vernon Kay taking part in the JagTag event Vernon Kay taking part in the JagTag event (Image: NQ)

Speaking about the event to the Bury Times, Vernon Kay, AO ambassador said: “This is JagTag with the Jacksonville Jaguars and it’s encouraging kids to get active.

“In this digital era that we live in, this generation can sometimes get superglued to the sofa on a device, and we forget about things my generation did like going out playing tig and climbing trees.

“I think kids miss that because everything they ever want, and need is in the palm of their hand, so this is a great way to encourage kids to get out and about.

“American football is a great sport and it’s a family sport. It’s entertaining and it’s an occasion too so you can watch a game but also have a great day out.

“If we can do anything in the North west to bring big names like the Jaguars to our local area it’s always a positive and it’s always good that we’re never forgotten.”