The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 days. The World Games are governed by the International World Games Association, under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee.
Flag football is a variant of gridiron football where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier ("deflagging") to end a down. In flag football, contact is limited between players. The sport has a strong amateur following with several national and international competitions each year sponsored by various associations but is most popularly played in America where it was invented. The international governing body for the sport is the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) with the International Woman's Flag Football Association (IWFFA) governing the women's game.
The IFAF World Championship of American Football is an international gridiron competition held every four years and contested by teams representing member nations. The competition is run by the International Federation of American Football (IFAF), the international governing body for the sport. Seventy-one nations have a national American football team. The most recent tournament, in 2015, featured seven teams.
Legion Field is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States in Birmingham, Alabama, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but occasionally used for other large outdoor events. Opened in 1927, it is named in honor of the American Legion, a U.S. organization of military veterans.
The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) is the international governing body of American football associations. The IFAF oversees the organisation and promotion of all international competitions across both contact and non contact versions of the game, including the IFAF World Championship of American Football, which is held every four years. The IFAF became a provisionary member of SportAccord in 2003, and became a full SportAccord member in 2005. In 2023, IFAF was officially recognised as an Olympic IF by the IOC. In 2023, IFAF made a historic new streak, with Flag Football being selected as one of the five new Sports for the LA 28 Olympic Summer Games. The organization's head office is located in Paris, France.
The United States National American Football Team often referred to as Team USA represents the United States in international men's American football competitions. It is currently controlled by USA Football and is recognized by the International Federation of American Football (IFAF). The team is currently ranked no.1 in the world in tackle Football by the IFAF.
The IFAF Women's World Championship is the international championship for women in American football. The first event was held in 2010, in Stockholm, Sweden, with six countries competing. The United States took home the gold while not letting any team they played score. The second event was held in 2013, with Vantaa, Finland, hosting the games. The United States swept the competitors again, winning the gold medal. Third event was played in 2017 with Canada as the host nation. The U.S. took the gold medal for the third time, again beating the host nation Canada in the final.
American football was featured in the Summer Olympic Games demonstration programme in 1904 and 1932. College football was played at the 1904 Olympics, which was played at Francis Field, but was, in reality, college teams playing each other as part of their regular seasons. The sport was eventually played officially as a demonstration sport only once, in 1932. Though American football has not been played in the Olympics since then, various American football players have participated in the Olympics. The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) oversees the IFAF World Championship, which is an international tournament, which itself is held every four years.
The Canada Men's National Football Team represent Canada in Senior Men's international gridiron football competitions. It is governed and managed by Football Canada and is recognized by the International Federation of American Football (IFAF). Football Canada is the governing body for amateur Canadian football, however, IFAF-sponsored games are played using American football rules. They competed for their first and only IFAF World Championship in 2011.
The 2022 World Games, commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event held from July 7 to 17, 2022, in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. They were the 11th World Games, a multi-sport event featuring disciplines of Olympic sports and other competitions that are not currently contested at the Olympic Games; the Games featured 3,457 athletes competing in 223 medal events over 34 total sports.
IFAF Flag Football World Championship is the international championship in flag football, organized by International Federation of American Football. The men's and women's competitions are usually held in the same venue. The tournament starts with pool play to fill in the seeding and follows an elimination-style of play after that. At the end of the tournament the top teams are rewarded with Bronze (3rd), Silver (2nd) or Gold (1st). The IFAF Flag Football World Championship is held every two years in different countries.
Sports in Birmingham, Alabama, include several minor league professional teams and college sports. The City of Birmingham and the Birmingham metro area have no major professional sport franchises. The Birmingham area is home to the Birmingham Barons, the AA minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, which plays at Regions Field in the Southside adjacent to Railroad Park. The University of Alabama at Birmingham and Samford University in Homewood have popular collegiate sports teams, including college basketball and football. The Hoover Metropolitan Stadium is home to the Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament, which drew more than 108,000 spectators in 2006 and continues to draw large crowds today. The city also hosts a USL team: the Birmingham Legion FC. The Birmingham area also hosts the Alabama Youth Sports Alliance basketball league and Tragic City Rollers women's roller derby team.
The lacrosse competition at the 2022 World Games took place in July 2022, in Birmingham in United States, at the University of Alabama Birmingham. Originally scheduled to take place in July 2021, the Games were rescheduled for July 2022 as a result of the 2020 Summer Olympics postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The women's tournament was played as an official event and the men's tournament as an invitational event. This was the first time that men's and women's field lacrosse were played in a six-a-side format in a multi-sport competition. This was also an absolute debut of a men's tournament in a World Games programme, as in 2017 women played the traditional lacrosse discipline for the first time in the history of the World Games. The games in 2022 were played in the sixes format, with teams of six players per side, reduced field size, and shorter games as compared to the parent field lacrosse format, which was conducive to daily tournament play. The game was played in eight-minute quarters and emphasized speed and efficiency.
The wheelchair rugby competition at the 2022 World Games took place in July 2022, in Birmingham, Alabama in United States. Originally scheduled to take place in July 2021, the Games were rescheduled for July 2022 as a result of the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wheelchair rugby competition made its debut as invitational sport of The World Games programme and also was the first paralympic sport at the World Games program. As happening at the Paralympics, wheelchair rugby is a mixed team sport for male and female quadriplegic athletes.
The wushu (taolu) competition at the 2022 World Games took place in July 2022, in Birmingham, Alabama, at the Bill Battle Coliseum. Originally scheduled to take place in July 2021, the Games were rescheduled for July 2022 as a result of the 2020 Summer Olympics postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2028 Summer Olympics will introduce the sport of flag football for the first time. Two events, one for men and one for women, will be held. Flag football, a non-contact variant of American football in which players remove flags attached to the ball carrier instead of tackling them, was previously contested at the 2022 World Games and will be featured at the 2025 World Games.
The United States women's national flag football team represents the United States in women's international flag football matches. The sport is governed by USA Football. In 2023, the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) ranked the United States women's team 1st worldwide.
The Mexico women's national flag football team represents Mexico in women's international flag football matches. The sport is governed by the Mexican American Football Federation. In 2023, the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) ranked the Mexico women's team 2nd worldwide.
The United States men's national flag football team often referred to as Team USA represents the United States in men's international flag football competitions. The team is governed by USA Football. As of 2023, the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) ranks the United States men's team 1st worldwide.
