Austria, Sweden and Finland battle for U19 Euros Crown

The continent’s top ranked junior national teams will compete at the IFAF U19 European Championships with Austria, Finland and Sweden all eyeing the coveted crown. All games will be shown live on IFAF.TV.

Reigning champion Austria claimed the highest-ever placing by a European nation at the 2024 IFAF U20 Junior World Championships last summer in Edmonton, Canada, by beating the United States in the bronze medal game. Having earned a bye to the knockout stages, Austria now joins the competition after that historic tournament in a round robin against Sweden and Finland who topped their respective U19 Euros groups last year.

To determine fourth though seventh placings, Czechia, Denmark, Germany and Italy will meet in April to set up final placement games in September.

Austria will travel to the ISS Stadion in Vantaa (kickoff 2pm) to face hosts Finland on Sunday, April 20. Then on Saturday, May 10, Sweden will take on Finland at the Bergshamra IP, Stockholm (kickoff 12.30pm). The final action will see Austria back on home soil on the weekend of September 20/21 with Sweden the opponent.

Austria has dominated the competition since 2011, winning six straight titles. Finland won the first three championships (1992, 1994, 1996) while four-time silver medalist Sweden seeks a first tournament win.

Date                              Match up                      Venue                      City                Kickoff
Sunday, April 20          Finland vs Austria          ISS Stadion              Vantaa              2pm
Saturday, May 10         Sweden vs Finland         Bergshamra IP        Stockholm      12.30pm
September 20/21         Austria vs Sweden          TBA                           TBA                  TBA

(All kickoff times are local)

“We saw in Canada that Austria can compete with the world’s best nations in this age group, and they will be in no mood to relinquish their hold on this competition,” said IFAF Director of Competitions Fabio Tortosa. “Finland and Sweden showed in the group games that they can beat anyone on the continent, so this will be a fantastic showcase of junior tackle football.”

Sweden secured top spot in Group B of the 2024/25 IFAF U19 European Championships and a place in the knockout stages with a dramatic 23-22 win over Germany, who almost staged an improbable comeback from being 20-6 down going into the fourth quarter. Victory on the road in Paderborn, added to a defeat of Denmark earned the 2-0 Swedes the right to compete for the gold medal.

Finland’s path came through France who they edged 14-17 in the Lille suburb of Villeneuve d’Ascq to qualify from Group A after both nations had beaten Italy.

Fourth through seventh place playoffs:

Date                            Match up                    Venue                                       City              Kickoff
Saturday, April 19       Germany vs Italy          Dietrich Lang Sportzentrum   Neu-Ulm       2pm
Sunday, April 20         Denmark vs Czechia    Vejle Atletik Stadion                 Vejle              4pm
September 20/21        Winners of Game 1 vs winners of Game 2                      TBA
September 20/21        Runner-up of Game 1 vs runner-up of Game 2             TBA

(All kickoff times are local)

IFAF U19 European Championships Group Stages Recap

Group A
Finland 2-0
France 1-1
Italy 0-2

Italy 21 France 32
Finland 36 Italy 16
France 14 Finland 17

Group B
Sweden                2-0
Germany             1-1
Denmark            0-2

Sweden 38 Denmark 7
Denmark 6 Germany 48
Germany 22 Sweden 23

Austria’s IFAF U20 World Junior Championships results

Austria 41 Canada (2) 13
Canada 27 Austria 20
Bronze Medal Game: Austria 32 USA 25