Team Spain made history Sunday at the Kraft Family Stadium in Jerusalem, Israel beating Great Britain 28-14 to capture the gold medal for the very first time in the IFAF Women’s European Flag Football Championship.
Spain had qualified for the final after defeating the host team Israel in the quarterfinals 20-12 and then Denmark in the semis 19-18.
The Spaniards took a 9-8 halftime lead and scored three second half touchdowns to win going away.
After Spain forced a British safety to take a 2-0 lead Alicia Galiana scored on a pass from quarterback Mónica Rafecas to increase the lead to 9-0. Great Britain responded with a touchdown and two-point conversion to narrow the gap to 9-8.
Photo: Federación Española de Fútbol Americano
After the break, Viola Wiksten extended the Spanish lead to 15-8 with a touchdown reception but Britain answered to reduce the lead to 15-14.
That’s when Spain took control as Galiana scored her second touchdown of the game and then Alba Holgado added an insurance touchdown to give the Spanish a historic first ever gold medal in the tournament.
As with the men’s winners, Team Denmark, the Spanish squad was awarded a replica of the New England Patriots’ Super Bowl trophy to go along with their gold medals.