Egypt Selected to Host Inaugural International Federation of American Football (IFAF) African Flag Football Championships
NFL Africa (www.NFL.com ) to Host Football Development Events in Egypt Alongside IFAF Championships
The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) is delighted to announce Egypt as the host nation for the inaugural 2025 IFAF African Flag Football Championships – AFRICA FLAG 2025.
AFRICA FLAG 2025 will take place from June 20-21 in Cairo, Egypt, welcoming elite men's and women's national teams from across Africa for the first time at an IFAF Continental Championships. As participation in flag football continues to grow rapidly throughout the continent, this inaugural event offers a pathway to qualification for the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships and represents a significant milestone on the journey towards flag football's historic Olympic debut at the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028.
"With the announcement of the first ever IFAF Continental Championships in Africa, we are taking another step in the global development of our sport,' said IFAF President Pierre Trochet. 'Looking ahead to flag football's historic Olympic debut at LA28, our Continental Championships provide a fantastic platform to further accelerate the sport's regional growth at grassroots and elite levels. Egypt will be a great host, and we are certain AFRICA FLAG 2025 will play its part in inspiring new athletes and fans across a continent that has already produced a rich heritage of American football talent.'
Hosted in partnership with the National Football League and Egyptian Federation of American Football (EFAF), various youth football development events will take place in Cairo in conjunction with the upcoming Championships — expanding the league's NFL Africa program to Egypt for the first time, creating more opportunities for young athletes from across the continent to play American football.
In collaboration with IFAF and EFAF, U12 teams of boys and girls from Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria will compete in a multi-day NFL Flag Continental Championship, facing off in the championship game on June 23. NFL Flag is the official flag football program of the NFL — working to bring the non-contact version of American football to young athletes worldwide.
The NFL will also host a football talent identification event with prospects from across Africa. Athletes will showcase their skills and abilities with the potential to advance on through the NFL Academy Europe-Africa program in Loughborough, U.K. or the International Player Pathway (IPP) program — two core pillars of the NFL's global football development initiatives.
A number of current NFL players will join these events in Egypt, including New York Giants' Bobby Okereke (Nigeria), Minnesota Vikings' Brian Asamoah II (Ghana) and NFL free agent Dieter Eiselen (South Africa). Okereke, Asamoah II and Eiselen are supporting football operations for national federations in the lead up to and during the Championships, as well as NFL Africa's youth football programming.
'I'm excited and inspired to lead the NFL's efforts in Africa and to again expand our programming to a fifth country: Egypt — an innovative market for sport, with incredible talent,' said two-time Super Bowl Champion and NFL Africa Lead Osi Umenyiora. 'Back-to-back days of NFL Africa events alongside the IFAF Continental Championships in Egypt helps showcase the aspirational pathways for talented young athletes across the continent, as we look ahead together to flag football in the LA Olympic Games in 2028. It will be a great weekend of football, and one that will create a powerful legacy as we introduce more and more young athletes to our game.'
AFRICA FLAG 2025 will reinforce the acceleration of flag football's growth across the continent. At the record-breaking 2024 IFAF Flag Football World Championships, Cameroon made history as the first African nation to compete on the global stage. Since 2023 participation in flag football has surged with Egypt and Nigeria seeing increases of 149% and 85%, respectively. In Nigeria, the national federation's outreach program has already engaged more than 13,000 young people, highlighting the sport's expanding reach and appeal.
IFAF and the NFL are working hand-in-hand to develop and grow flag football across the continent, collaborating to create meaningful educational pathways for coaches and officials delivering flag across Africa. This commitment was reaffirmed at the recent three-day flag football coach education and officiating clinic in Ghana (April 11-13). The clinic welcomed new and experienced coaches and officials from 10 African countries — Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia and Uganda — enabling further long-term engagement and participation in the sport in the region.
As part of the NFL Africa program, the league has also undertaken NFL Flag development, talent identification camps and fan events across Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria since 2022.
'We are extremely proud to be hosting the first ever AFRICA FLAG 2025 in Cairo and to be writing Egypt into flag football's history books,' said EFAF Founder Ali Rafeek. 'Hosting this tournament allows us to put a spotlight on our talented athletes and to show the next generation what's possible in this sport — whether you're picking up a football for the first time or dreaming of the Olympics.'
'AFRICA FLAG 2025 is a huge moment for the continued growth of flag football across our continent,' said Egyptian Women's National Team Quarterback Amira Nader. 'It's an opportunity to showcase the incredible talent and passion rising throughout Africa and take a meaningful step towards making history at LA28. As the first-ever Continental Championships, this event will inspire the next generation to pick up a football and believe anything is possible.'
IFAF continues to reinforce structured and competitive pathways for flag football, with the Continental Championships as an important stepping stone in the journey towards the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships. The record-breaking 2024 edition of the IFAF Flag Football World Championships was the culmination of IFAF's biggest-ever international cycle of flag football competition and brought together elite athletes representing 31 nations from five continents at the most competitive and thrilling tournament to date. Flag football is played by 20 million athletes in more than 100 countries, and with an ever-expanding African presence, these events will serve as key milestones on the road to LA28.
Details regarding AFRICA FLAG 2025's participating nations as well as the 2025 Continental Championships for other regions will be announced in the coming weeks, offering teams from around the world more opportunities to compete and prepare for the journey toward LA28.
For more details on the Championships, visit the IFAF website (https://apo-opa.co/42LiURK) or follow us on social media. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of National Football League (NFL).
For more information on NFL Flag, the official flag football program of the NFL, visit here (https://apo-opa.co/3G70ylD).
For the latest NFL Africa activity, follow @ NFLAfrica on:
Instagram: https://apo-opa.co/43VmZnx
X: https://apo-opa.co/43QGKN7
About IFAF:
The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) (https://apo-opa.co/42LiURK) is the international governing body for the sport of American football and is responsible for all regulatory, competition, performance and development aspects of the game on a global level. Fully recognised by the International Olympic Committee and a signatory to the WADA Code, IFAF has 75 member nations across 5 continents.
About the National Football League:
The National Football League is America's most popular sports league, comprised of 32 franchises that compete each year to win the Super Bowl, the world's biggest annual sporting event. Founded in 1920, the NFL developed the model for the successful modern sports league, including national and international distribution, extensive revenue sharing, competitive excellence, and strong franchises across the country.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Today
a day ago
- Gulf Today
Top seed Fritz stumbles as Rybakina and Fernandez win at DC Open
US top seed Taylor Fritz dropped an early on Saturday morning marathon to Spain's Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina while Britain's Emma Raducanu and Canada's Leylah Fernandez reached the semi-finals of the ATP and WTA DC Open. World number four Fritz, two points from victory in the ninth game, dropped the last five games in defeat to the 26th-ranked Spaniard 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 7-5 after three hours and five minutes in a match ending just before 2:00 am. Davidovich-Fokina advanced to the semi-final against US fourth seed Ben Shelton, who beat sixth-seeded hometown hero Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (7/2), 6-4. Fritz, who had 20 aces and six double faults, served for the match in the ninth and was up 30-0 but lost, then failed to take advantage of three double faults by Davidovich-Fokina in the 10th game. The other men's semi-final will send French lucky loser Corentin Moutet against Australian seventh seed Alex De Minaur, who eliminated American Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 6-4. Moutet withstood leg cramps to eliminate eighth seed Daniil Medvedev 1-6, 6-4, 6-4. 'I tried to survive every point because it was hard physically,' Moutet said after fighting off leg cramps. 'I'm just proud of myself.' Raducanu reached the brink of her first WTA final since winning the 2021 US Open, ousting Greece's Maria Sakkari 6-4, 7-5. And Fernandez, whom Raducanu beat in that Flushing Meadows championship match, reached the other semi-final by dispatching American Taylor Townsend 6-4, 7-6 (7/4). Raducanu, who missed most of 2023 after hand and ankle surgery and part of last year with a left foot injury, reached her first WTA semi-final since last year at Nottingham by dispatching Sakkari in sweltering conditions of 95F (35C). 'It was one of the toughest matches conditions-wise I've ever played in,' Raducanu said. 'Those points in the second set, I was getting a bit wobbly I'm just happy I could close it out and it was two sets. 'I think the humidity here, as well, it just makes it feel completely like you have just opened an oven and it just stayed open and your head is in there. That's how it feels.' Left-hander Fernandez overcame leg cramps in the second set in advancing to face third seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who beat Polish fifth seed Magdalena Frech 6-3, 6-3. Raducanu will next face Anna Kalinskaya, who defeated Danish fourth seed Clara Tauson 6-3, 7-5. Raducanu, Britain's first women's Grand Slam singles champion since Virginia Wade in 1977 at Wimbledon, beat four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in the second round before downing Sakkari after a medical timeout in the second set. 'Brutal conditions. Right in the peak heat of the day. It was incredibly difficult,' Raducanu said. 'I had to call a doctor on. Wasn't feeling too good in the second set. 'When it's at that stage you know you're going to suffer and you have to just go until you physically can't anymore. It could be a little dangerous but you just leave it all out there on the court as an athlete.' Raducanu rallied to win the final five games of the match, calling it a 'big benchmark' to reach the semis. 'You get to a point where you're so tired that you don't really know what you're doing anymore, and I think maybe that helped,' Raducanu said. Fernandez called it a 'good steppingstone' to reach the semis, fight off leg cramps to break Townsend on her eighth chance in the 10th game to reach 5-5 on the way to victory. 'It was definitely an adventure,' Fernandez said. 'This was the first time I've had to go through this. I'm proud I was able to stay mentally tough.' Agencies
Gulf Today
2 days ago
- Gulf Today
Raducanu books DC Open semis berth with Sakkari romp
Britain's Emma Raducanu defeated Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-4, 7-5 to reach the semi-finals of the ATP/WTA DC Open on Friday. It's her first WTA Tour-level semi-final in more than a year and her first on hardcourts in three years. In her third appearance in the nation's capital, Raducanu took one step further than she did in 2022 and 2024. Her quarter-final record improves to 3-9 and her career mark against Sakkari climbs to 4-0, reported WTA. On the tournament's hottest day so far -- the temperature hovered in the middle 90s but it felt close to 100 -- it was Sakkari who got out of the blocks the fastest. Thanks to two double faults by Raducanu, she forged to a 2-0 lead. Raducanu won the next three games, and they were level at 4-4 when Raducanu scored the decisive break with a deft, sharply angled backhand return. She served it out, converting her second set point. Sakkari took control of the second set and was leading when Raducanu re-asserted herself. After holding serve, she broke Sakkari to get back on serve, converting her fourth opportunity with another sweet backhand return winner. After a brief visit from the trainers, Raducanu broke Sakkari. Two errant forehands were the culprit before Raducanu served it out. Emma Raducanu shakes hands with Maria Sakkari after winning the match. AFP Venus Williams' return to tennis came to an abrupt end in the last 16, with the veteran American losing to Poland's Magdalena Frech in straight sets. The 45-year-old seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, playing this week for the first time in 16 months, had become the oldest woman to win a WTA match in more than two decades with Tuesday's first round win over Peyton Stearns. But Venus found the going harder against fifth seed Frech third round clash, losing 6-2, 6-2 in 1hr 13min. Venus said she was nonetheless satisfied with her return to competitive tennis. 'I had so much fun,' Venus said. 'Not the result I wanted (but) I got to play a lot of matches, definitely a plus. I couldn't be happier... 'I ran out of gas today to have fell short. But I know I can play better and I know I will play better,' added Venus, who is due to play in next month's Cincinnati Open after being handed a wild card into the event. Frech will face third seed Elena Rybakina in quarter-finals. Frech seized the early initiative with a dominant first set performance, breaking Williams in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. The Pole duly held for a 4-2 lead and then broke again when Venus' serve unraveled in the seventh game. The American double-faulted twice in quick succession to hand Frech three break points, and she converted the first to go 5-2 up, before holding to close out the set. Venus was soon in trouble in the second set, blasting a routine smash well beyond the baseline to give Frech two break points in the first game. Frech pounced on that chance to grab the break for a 1-0 lead and then held for 2-0. Venus held for 2-1 but was unable to threaten on Frech's serve in the fourth game as the world number 24 took a 3-1 lead. Agencies
Broadcast Pro
3 days ago
- Broadcast Pro
Africa24 Group partners with Ivorian MMA Federation
This collaboration seeks to highlight local and regional talent through in-depth athlete features and dedicated coverage of all MMA competitions. Africa24 Group, the media conglomerate and broadcaster of four high-definition television channels, has signed a partnership with the Ivorian Mixed Martial Arts Federation (FIMMA) to promote and broadcast MMA content in Côte d'Ivoire and across Africa. The partnership aims to highlight emerging talent through exclusive athlete coverage, dedicated programming for MMA competitions, and the promotion of values deeply rooted in the sport, discipline, respect, self-improvement and inclusion. Through its extensive broadcast reach and influence, Africa24 is set to play a transformative role in showcasing African MMA on the global stage. As part of the agreement, Africa24 Sport, the only 24/7 African sports news and competition channel, will offer exclusive access to MMA events, with magazine-style programming, expert commentary and in-depth analysis by seasoned journalists. Viewers can already access exclusive footage via replay, further extending the reach of the sport to fans across the continent. Constant Nemale, Founder and President of Africa24 Group, said: 'This agreement with the Ivorian MMA Federation is a positive step forward for sports fans across Africa. Africa24 Group is committed to delivering high-quality content through a platform accessible to all. This new milestone should benefit all sports, national and continental federations, and Olympic committees across Africa. It's about building a shared platform that ensures maximum visibility, unparalleled exposure, and unprecedented reach for every sport on the continent.' Jackson Parfait TAPÉ, President of the Ivorian MMA Federation, added: 'Mixed Martial Arts in Côte d'Ivoire is evolving fast. The sport is growing steadily, backed by a strong organisational structure and promising momentum. I believe it has a bright future both in Côte d'Ivoire and across Africa.' Guillaume BEDA, Vice President of the Ivorian MMA Federation, stated: 'MMA needs greater visibility, not only in Côte d'Ivoire but also globally. This partnership between the Ivorian MMA Federation (FIMMA) and Africa24 Sport is precisely aimed at showcasing a sport that is taking root and expanding in our country.' The Ivorian MMA Federation has welcomed the collaboration, viewing it as a catalyst for growth and recognition. This initiative aligns with Africa24 Group's broader mission to support youth development and harness Africa's potential as a hub of emerging sports talent. By amplifying MMA's presence and professionalism, the group reaffirms its role as a pivotal force in the evolution of African sports media. With Africa24 at the helm of coverage, MMA fans across the continent can look forward to dynamic, in-depth, and accessible programming that showcases the best of African combat sports talent.
