Qualification for IFAF Flag Football World Championships announced
The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) has announced a new qualification format for the 12th biannual IFAF Flag Football World Championships, which will see the world’s top 16 men’s and women’s national teams compete in 2026.
Building on the record-breaking 2024 IFAF Flag Football World Championships in Finland, the enhanced qualification pathway will increase competitiveness, ensuring that teams battling for the title have demonstrated their international excellence through a rigorous qualification process.
In 2026, the host nation of the IFAF Flag Football World Championships will qualify automatically, along with each of the gold medalists from the 2025 IFAF Continental Flag Football Championships. In the case of Asia and Oceania where there is a joint Championships, the gold medalists will secure a berth alongside the highest-ranked nation from the other continent. The remaining ten berths will be allocated via a weighting system that rewards continents for their teams’ past success while ensuring balanced global representation.*
For both the men’s and women’s competitions, each continent’s representation will be capped at a maximum of six nations per continent (not including the host nation).
IFAF President, Pierre Trochet:
“This revised qualification process underscores IFAF’s dedication to creating structured, competitive pathways for flag football internationally. As the sport continues to flourish and we build towards its historic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, this strengthened qualification system guarantees that the world’s elite teams earn their spots at the prestigious 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships.”
“By adopting this system, IFAF creates universal qualifying places, while rewarding the competitiveness of the respective continents,” said IFAF Director of Competitions Fabio Tortosa. “Ultimately, this updated qualification format enables nations to earn their continent more berths by demonstrating their global competitiveness.”
Based on the qualification criteria, qualification for the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships will be as follows:
