Brazil’s national American football federation, Confederação Brasileira de Futebol Americano (CBFA) announced on this Wednesday, April 29th, the list of 45 players called to defend Brasil Onças for the IFAF World Championship, which will be held from 8 to 18 July in Canton, Ohio, USA.
The group was set after three days of training in Irati Town, Paraná, on the weekend April 18-20 and with the inclusion of players who play abroad.
The top surprise is the quarterback Rhudson Fonseca, of the American semi-pro team the New Jersey Savage. Fonseca was the first Brazilian to play QB in NCAA, with Lincoln University. Kicker Cairo Santos of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs can’t be called to join the team, because professional league players cannot play for national teams.
To set the 45 names, the technical committee of Brasil Onças, led by head coach Danilo Müller, had to choose from the 65 initially called for the last training camp.
Nine different states provided players for national team, and the Rio de Janeiro leads with 13, followed by Paraná with seven, and Paraíba with six. Santa Catarina and São Paulo has five representatives, while Mato Grosso has four. The Federal District has two and Espírito Santo and Rio Grande do Sul, one each.
The head coach Dan Muller explains the selection of the athletes.
“Over the past four years analyzing more than 200 players, we have seen the growth of Brazilian football and the evolution of athletes. It is always very difficult to make that call, because of the high level and dedication of all the players. Now we will focus on the World Championship and try to surprise teams, giving our best and looking forward at the World Cup. The 45 invited athletes will represent Brazil very well.”
During the training period, Müller took time to observe more athletes and fit them in the group. It is not yet clear whether there will be a new training camp before the competition.
“This training period was very helpful. We were able to do some meetings, train hard and progress on and off the field, thanks to the excellent facilities provided by Unicentro and the Irati town hall. At that time, we become a much stronger team, more intelligent and more united,” says Müller.
A spot in the 2015 IFAF World Championships was guaranteed through a qualifying match against Panama in Panama City on January 31st this year, when Brazil beat the home team by 26-14.
Brasil Onças Roster
| Quarterbacks | ||
 |
 |
 |
| Running backs | |||
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Wide receivers | ||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Tight ends | ||||
 |
 |
|||
| Offensive lines | ||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Defense
| Defensive lines | |||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Linebackers | ||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Cornerbacks | |||
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Safeties | |||
 |
 |
 |
 |
Special team
| Kicker/Punter |
 |