The Bears have wrapped up their 2026 Spain Flag Football Tour, marking the fourth consecutive year the club has held flag football clinics in Spain and showcasing their commitment to growing the game globally ahead of the sport's debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Former Bears cornerback Charles "Peanut" Tillman, who joined the team for stops in Valencia and Madrid, checks in from the capital to discuss his first experience helping teach flag football in Spain with the Bears.

What's up Bears fans,

We just finished our fall tour in Spain and man, that was fun. I came over here on Halloween and spent the past week or so helping with our clinics in Valencia and Madrid, learning more about the culture here and, of course, seeing the NFL Madrid game that happened on Sunday.

This was my first time in Valencia. I thought it was a beautiful city. It's right on the coast. There's tons, I mean tons, of beaches. Beautiful sand, fresh air, sunny, warm. I went for a nice walk on the beach one of the days, and I mean, it was just incredible.

And of course, the clinics were great. It was funny; the kids started using the nickname "el cacahuete" which is "Peanut" in Spanish, and they thought that was absolutely hysterical. So I proceeded to get bullied by a bunch of 10-year-olds for a couple of days, which was fun.

But the kids were seriously awesome. They were so receptive to us and had a ton of fun learning about football. Some of the kids had already played a little bit of the sport, but a lot of them didn't even know what football really was. I thought it was cool to be able to introduce football to some of the kids and really spread the word about how great flag football is.

When we got over to Madrid, things were a little different. Madrid is like the mothership — you've got like seven million people in the city. From the people to the music to the food to the atmosphere, everything there is just super lively.

And the clinics there felt the same way. A lot of the kids in Madrid had a really good understanding of what American football is, specifically flag football. We started flag football leagues here about a year ago, so it's obvious that the kids are really getting involved, starting to really grasp the game and have fun playing.

We got a chance to work with the Spanish Women's National Flag Football team, and those ladies pretty much ran the camps in Madrid. They did a phenomenal job and they ran a tight ship. Everybody was listening, including myself. It was a great time. We had a lot of fun and again, the kids were soaking it all in and really enjoying themselves.

Obviously, I've been involved in clinics back home and in England, but this was my first time experiencing them in Spain. The only difference, really, is the language barrier. My goal for next time is to be a better Spanish speaker so I can interact more with the kids. We had Roberto Garza with us too, and man, he was the coolest guy ever.

Not only is he this big dude who played football, he speaks Spanish, so they're all flocking to him and asking him questions. I was jealous that he was able to really help them out in different ways. But he was amazing with the kids and I think his presence was super important.

Representation matters. When you see someone that looks like you and sounds like you and has accomplished so much, you really believe, "Wait, I can do that too." It's great for those kids to experience that and learn from Garza, so kudos to him and kudos to the Bears for making his presence a priority here.

We finished up the tour by going to the Madrid game between the Bengals and the Falcons, which was a really cool experience. I always love the international games because you see the game growing in real time. There's always all 32 jerseys represented at the games, no matter who is playing. You're seeing Bears jerseys, Dick Butkus jerseys, Eagles jerseys, Chiefs, Dolphins - it's really interesting to see.

I think if the Bears continue to dedicate time and resources to Spain, as much as we talk about there being a sea of blue and orange in Chicago or in the UK, there will be the same level of fandom here. It's just a matter of time. I mean, we've been in the UK for so long, so we have that market pretty sewn up. But it's obvious the people in Spain are becoming more and more interested in football and are seeing what the Bears have done in the past few years with youth flag football here.

I'm looking forward to coming back soon, hopefully speaking more Spanish and getting made fun of by more kids calling me el cacahuete.

Appreciate everyone for the support on this tour!

-Peanut