The battle for the IFAF U20 World Junior Crown began back in 2009

| 2024 IFAF World U20 Championship | 03/14/2024

In 1920, ten football teams gathered in Canton, Ohio to create the American Professional Football Association (APFA), now known as the National Football League (NFL). On October 3 of that year, some 200 miles away but still within the state of Ohio, the Dayton Triangles hosted what is recognized as the first-ever game in NFL history as they defeated the Columbus Panhandles 14-0.

So, it was fitting that almost 89 years later, Fawcett Stadium at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton – since renamed to honor the late New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson – played host to the inaugural IFAF Junior World Championship. Eight nations descended on Canton, welcomed by Walsh University where all participants were housed and practiced during a true celebration of youth football.

Canada arrived as the number one seed by virtue of having won the most recent NFL Global Junior Championship; a similar annual event played in the Super Bowl host city between 1997 and 2007, which had proved that the concept of international U19 competition was viable.

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Michael Preston (@PRMikePreston) is currently working with IFAF in a PR capacity. He recently covered Super Bowl LVII as a member of the NFL PR team as he has done for 20+ years. He has held communications positions with NFL Europe, the North