Team USA will be aiming to win its third IFAF U20 World Junior Championship title in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada when they open the 2024 tournament against Panama.
USA features athletes from all corners of the country, under the guidance of former Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike Kelly. The roster is highlighted by four-star Notre Dame commit DL Davion Dixon, uncommitted three-star athlete DB Bryce Williams and CHSAA 4A First Team All-State specialist K/P Rhett Armstrong. Ambidextrous quarterback Mikey Gow, who became a viral sensation in 2022, is an option under center alongside former 16U U.S. National Team member Aliam Appler, who is training to walk on at Florida Atlantic University.
The Americans claimed the inaugural IFAF crown in 2009, featuring tournament MVP and future New York Giants first round NFL Draft selection David Wilson and at running back, with a 41-3 win over Canada at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. USA triumphed again in 2014 in Kuwait, defeating Canada 40-17, and won the bronze medal in 2018.
Watch live. Team USA vs Team Panama, June 22, 20:00 CET (8 pm, 2 pm EDT)
Panama, whose only prior appearance at this junior level resulted in an eighth-place finish in 2012, return to the junior international stage where the Central American nation produced its first NFL player, Frank Davis, who went on to play for the Detroit Lions.
To prepare for the tournament, the Asociación de Football Americano de Panama hosted a unique fundraising game last month when an all-star team representing Panama and the Kiwanis Football League took on Drake University from Iowa. Proceeds from the game went towards the cost of the Panama team making the journey to Edmonton.