After playing in separate leagues and locations this spring, members from the Cuba Youth Football League and the Crawford County Youth Football League will be on the same team for the upcoming fall flag and tackle football seasons.

It was a happy ending for what began as a tumultuous split between the two leagues.

Representatives from each league met on July 29 and issued a joint Facebook post the following morning confirming the merger.

“We’re excited to announce that we’ve come together with one shared goal: bringing our youth back together,” the post read.

“We all want the same thing….to give our kids the opportunity to play the game they love alongside their friends, without families feeling like they have to choose one organization over another.”

In messages, Ciara Kitchen, president of the Crawford County league and Samantha McKimm, president of the Cuba league, said that the two leagues will technically operate as individual programs for the fall season and they hope to officially merge in the offseason.

“Currently we’re going to operate as two individual programs working together to support our young athletes and give them the best we can from both sides,” Kitchen said. “We plan to sit down during the offseason and work out the merger details. Right now, our focus has to be getting our teams finalized and geared so they can start practicing.”

McKimm said both groups are looking for the same thing.

“We met last night as two boards with the same goal,” McKimm said. “How do we bring our town back together for these kids? I don’t have all the answers as to how a full merge will end up, but there are goals set, and everyone is working as a team to give these kids a great season and environment to grow up in. We owe them that.”

The Crawford County Youth Football League was given the contract on Dec. 9, 2025, by the Cuba Board of Aldermen to use Hood Park. Until then, the Cuba Youth Football League had operated in Hood Park since 2004.

The idea for a new league began after a petition started circulating in early September that was signed by 200 community members requesting the removal of two board members of the Cuba Youth Football League. About 40 people, led by Kitchen, began the process of starting a new league.

The Cuba Football League held its spring flag football season in the field behind Cuba Elementary School while the Crawford County league played at Hood Park. 

The joint flag football league will be played in Hood Park this fall.

Cuba’s third and fourth grade tackle teams along with its fifth and sixth grade tackle teams will compete in the Rolla Youth Football League. All games are scheduled to take place at Rolla High School.

Kitchen said the boards from both leagues tentatively agreed to have Cuba’s seventh and eighth grade team play in the Four Rivers League because there are more non-school-affiliated teams. That team is expected to play at least two home games at Hood Park.

Cuba High School’s head football coach Kaleb Cason said that he was thrilled that the two leagues decided to come together, and he compared the camaraderie to that of Cuba High School’s recent co-op with Steelville High School.

“I’m happy to see everyone working together again. They’re putting the kids first and doing what’s best for the future of football in Cuba,” Cason said.

“They’ve already reached out to me to ask how they can help bridge the gap, and I appreciate that. It feels fitting that with the high school co-op coming together and now the youth leagues coming back together, our community is moving in the same direction.”

Registration for student-athletes interested in playing for the league this fall is available online on both leagues’ Facebook pages through Aug. 9, and league representatives will be at Hood Park on Aug. 9 for in-person registration.

Practices are scheduled to begin the week of August 10th, when coaches will start conditioning and skills training.