SOURCE: USA Football
INDIANAPOLIS – USA Football announced today the beginning of the selection process for the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams competing in the 2020 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Flag Football World Championships in Denmark next summer. A member of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and the sport’s national governing body, USA Football organizes and manages U.S. National Teams for international competition.
The IFAF Men’s and Women’s Flag Football World Championships, held biannually since 2002, unite the world’s top national teams to compete for gold, silver and bronze medals.
Player selections for the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Flag Team rosters are based on skill and character evaluations by USA Football. The U.S. Men’s and Women’s Selection Committee will evaluate athletes at flag football competitions and events nationwide. Other athletes may be considered based on their participation in non-scouted events.
Athletes interested in being considered for the U.S. Men’s and Women’s Flag National Teams are encouraged to complete a player application form here. The Men’s team form closes Aug. 1, while the Women’s form closes Oct. 30.
Prior to the 2020 IFAF World Championships in Denmark, USA Football will announce a men’s preliminary roster later this summer and a women’s preliminary roster in the fall. Athletes on the preliminary rosters will be formed into teams to compete in tournaments and events for further evaluation. Final rosters will be announced in the spring of 2020.
U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams have competed in IFAF Flag World Championships since 2008.
The U.S. Men’s Flag Team has earned gold medals in each of the previous three IFAF World Championships: 2018 in Panama City, Panama; 2016 in Miami; and 2014 in Grosseto, Italy. The American men have participated in six IFAF Flag World Championships, winning gold in four of them – 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2018 – the most of any country in the event’s history.
The U.S. Women’s Flag Team will enter Denmark looking to repeat as gold medalists, a feat it accomplished for the first time in 2018 in Panama. The American women also have earned three silver medals (2010, 2012, 2014).
Previous IFAF Flag Football World Championships have been played in Austria (2002), France (2004), South Korea (2006), Canada (2008, 2010), Sweden (2012), Italy (2014), the United States (2016) and Panama (2018). According to IFAF, approximately 70 countries across six continents play American Football.
About USA Football: USA Football designs and delivers premier educational, developmental and competitive programs to advance and grow the sport. As the sport’s national governing body, member of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and organizer of the U.S. National Team for international competition, USA Football partners with leaders in medicine, child advocacy and athletics to support positive football experiences for youth, high school and other amateur players.
