Spain, Israel and Germany all won gold medals at the 2024 IFAF European Junior Flag Football Championships at the Kovilovo Resort in the Serbian capital Belgrade.
Italy (silver and bronze), Great Britain (silver and bronze), Czechia (silver), and Finland (bronze), all took home medals from different age groups.
Spain won the U17 Girls European title with a narrow 26-24 win over Czechia and were the only girls’ team to win all their games, claiming eight victories. The two-point final margin of victory was much closer than the 41-24 win Spain had enjoyed in the final game of the group stages over Czechia.
In the semifinals, Spain had seen off Italy 25-12, while Czechia beat Finland 25-7. The Finns claimed the bronze medal with a 25-14 win over Italy.
Israel had topped their group in the Boys U17 competition and were pushed all the way in the semifinals by Austria, winning by a single point, 25-24. In the gold medal game between the tournament’s two unbeaten teams, Israel beat Italy 29-19 to take the Euro crown. The Italians had cruised past Great Britain 46-19 in the other final four game and GB recovered to claim bronze with a 25-13 success over Austria.
The mixed U15s tournament saw Germany record a high-scoring 50-33 semifinals win over Germany, while Great Britain joined them in the gold medal game by edging Italy 24-21.
Another points-fest saw Germany emerge 46-39 as European champions over GB, while Italy took bronze, beating Austria 27-13.