IFAF Flag Football World Championship is the international championship in flag football, organized by International Federation of American Football.[1] The men's and women's competitions are usually held in the same venue. The tournament starts with pool play to fill in the seeding and follows an elimination-style of play after that. At the end of the tournament the top teams are rewarded with Bronze (3rd), Silver (2nd) or Gold (1st). The IFAF Flag Football World Championship is held every two years in different countries.
| Sport | Flag football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2002 |
| Most recent champion(s) |  United States (men) United States (women) |
| Most titles | United States (men; 6 titles) United States (women; 3 titles)  Mexico (women; 3 titles) |
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 championships in Denmark were cancelled. The championship was rescheduled for 2021 in Jerusalem from December 6 to 8, with a record 42 teams featured, double that competing at the 2018 event in Panama.[2] The top seven teams at the event, not including the United States, will qualify for the Birmingham 2022 World Games.[2]
The first championship was held in Austria in 2002 and was won by the host country team in the men's categoryand by Sweden in the women's. The latest edition was held in Lahti, Finland, from August 27-30, 2024.[3] The United States won the title in both, the men's and the women's categories.
Men's
edit| Year | Host Country | Gold medal game | Bronze medal game | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | Score | Silver | Bronze | Score | Fourth place | ||
| 2002 Details |
Austria |
Austria | 6–0 | Germany | France | 12–6 | Sweden |
| 2004 Details |
France |
Austria | 26–24 | Germany | France | 40-23 | Japan |
| 2006 Details |
South Korea |
France | 46–32 | Denmark | Thailand | 45–33 | Austria |
| 2008 Details |
Canada |
Canada | 12–6 | Denmark | France | 45–0 | United States |
| 2010 Details |
Canada |
United States | 35–19 | Denmark | Italy | 28–24 | Canada |
| 2012 Details |
Sweden |
Austria | 47–40 | United States | Denmark | 44–33 | Mexico |
| 2014 Details |
Italy |
United States | 40–14 | Mexico | Italy | 53–14 | Canada |
| 2016 Details |
United States |
United States | 33–32 | Denmark | Mexico | 39–26 | Austria |
| 2018 Details |
Panama |
United States | 19–13 | Austria | Denmark | 38–34 | Mexico |
| 2021 Details |
Israel[4] |
United States | 44–41 | Mexico | Panama | 45–40 | Italy |
| 2024 Details |
Finland |
United States | 53–21 | Austria | Switzerland | 41–35 | Mexico |
Medal table
edit| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | Austria | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | France | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | Canada | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Denmark | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 6 | Mexico | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | Germany | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | Italy | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 9 | Panama | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Thailand | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (11 entries) | 11 | 11 | 11 | 33 | |
Women's
edit| Year | Host Country | Gold medal game | Bronze medal game | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | Score | Silver | Bronze | Score | Fourth place | ||
| 2002 Details |
Austria |
Sweden | – | France | — | — | — |
| 2004 Details |
France |
Mexico | 42–12 | Finland | Sweden | 6–0 | France |
| 2006 Details |
South Korea |
France | 46–32 | Japan | Finland | 45–33 | Sweden |
| 2008 Details |
Canada |
Mexico | 27–18 | Canada | France | 19–13 | United States |
| 2010 Details |
Canada |
Canada | 31–18 | United States | Austria | 33–20 | Mexico |
| 2012 Details |
Sweden |
Mexico | 33–32 | United States | France | 39–27 | Austria |
| 2014 Details |
Italy |
Canada | 32–21 | United States | Austria | 34–20 | Mexico |
| 2016 Details |
United States |
Panama | 35–22 | Austria | Mexico | 41–20 | Canada |
| 2018 Details |
Panama |
United States | 27–12 | Panama | Canada | 19–13 | Mexico |
| 2021 Details |
Israel[4] |
United States | 31–21 | Mexico | Austria | 26–13 | Brazil |
| 2024 Details |
Finland[5] |
United States | 31–18 | Mexico | Japan | 41–40 | Austria |
Medal table
edit| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | Mexico | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | Canada | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | France | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 5 | Panama | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Sweden | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 | Austria | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 8 | Finland | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Japan | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Totals (9 entries) | 11 | 11 | 10 | 32 | |
References
edit- ^ "International Federation American Football". ifaf.org. April 3, 2023.
- ^ a b "IFAF says record number of teams to compete at Flag Football World Championships". insidethegames.biz. May 11, 2021.
- ^ "Finland to Host 2024 IFAF Flag Football World Championships | NFL Football Operations". operations.nfl.com. August 11, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
- ^ a b "IFAF Flag Football World Championships head to Israel in December". ifaf.org. March 15, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
- ^ "FLAG FOOTBALL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2020". ffwc2020.com. March 10, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
External links
edit- International Federation of American Football IFAF
- Flag Football World Championship 2014 Archived September 13, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
