IFAF Flag Football World Championship
The IFAF Flag Football World Championship has been held since 2002 and is the showpiece biannual tournament for senior national teams competing in 5-on-5 flag football and has separate competitions for men and women.
“Flag football is not only one of our key grassroots initiatives that introduces young players to the game, but also provides an exciting challenge for top athletes participating in the non-contact version of football,” said IFAF President Tommy Wiking.
| Year | Venue | Champion (M) | Champion (W) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Austria | Austria | Sweden |
| 2004 | France | Austria | Mexico |
| 2006 | Korea | France | France |
| 2008 | Canada | Canada | Mexico |
The 2008 championship was held in Canada for the first time when St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Quebec, hosted the event from July 25 to 27 and male and female adult teams from thirteen countries and three continents took part.
Host Canada’s men’s team and the women from Mexico were crowned champions at the Campus Fort St-Jean, located 12 miles from Montreal.
The championship games were filled with athleticism and emotion. The Canadian women attacked early, scoring on their first run of the game. Quarterback Vanessa Birri completed a pass to Ariane Gay that was just shy of a first down, but put the first points of the game on the board on the next play when she connected with Fmili Pfeiffes-Badoox in the end zone for a 6-0 lead. The pair combined again, this time with Pfeiffes-Badoox passing to Birri for a second touchdown.
Mexico needed a momentum change, and they got that from Jessica Jordan who forced a safety, for the first Mexican points of the game. Quarterback Saudra Romero showed her accurate arm completing passes to Rocio Flores for a first down and then a touchdown, bringing Mexico closer with a score of 12-9 at halftime.
The second half belonged to Mexico, who won a second world title having also triumphed in 2004. The team scored three more touchdowns and only allowed Canada to reach the end zone once. Mexico went up 27-18 with a touchdown from Rosa Rivera with two minutes left in the game and sealed the win with an interception by Alexandra Flores.
The men’s final was just as competitive. Denmark and Canada were evenly matched in the first half and both teams made great defensive plays to prevent either one from putting points on the board. Denmark’s Lars Skytte broke up four passes that would have been either first downs or touchdowns and had an interception return for the team’s only touchdown of the game. Canada drew level near the end of the first half with quarterback Byers connecting with Marc Rimillerd.
The second half continued to be a defensive battle with Denmark’s Jonas Christiansen forcing an interception, and Canada’s Alexedre Veudette breaking up passes that would have turned into points for the opposition. With less than ten minutes remaining, Canada broke the tie with the decisive championship-winning touchdown catch from Marc Andre Kery for a 12-6 victory.
The women and men’s bronze games both featured France and the United States, with France winning both contests. The men’s game was dominated by an explosive French team that led by 32 points at halftime and eventually triumphed 45-0.
The women’s bronze game was a closer contest. At the end of one half, France was ahead 12-6 before USA earned its first led of the game with a second half touchdown from Lauren Pringle and an extra point from Adrienne Smith. With less than two minutes remaining, France made its final run ending with a precise pass from quarterback Stephanie Brygoo to Elisa Bonneteau for the game-winning touchdown in a 19-13 victory.
In 2002, the first Flag Football World Championship was held in Vienna. The men’s champion Austria defeated Germany, while the women’s champion Sweden defeated France in the finals.
Two years later in 2004 the championship was held in Thonon-les-Bains, France where Austria won the men’s champion and Mexico won the women’s category.
In the 2006 world championship, held in Daegu, Korea, France won the women’s title by narrowly defeating Japan 51-49. France also claimed the third IFAF Senior Flag Football men’s world championship title by defeating Denmark 49-20.
Download IFAF Flag Football World Championship All-Time Results for: