United States men's national flag football team

Last updated

United States
United States national flag football team.jpg
Head coachJorge Cascudo
League IFAF Americas
Colors  Red  White  Blue
IFAF World Championship 6 (2010, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2024)
Website Official website
United States men's national flag football team
Medal record
World Championship
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2010 OttawaTeam
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2014 GrossetoTeam
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2016 MiamiTeam
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2018 Panama CityTeam
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2021 Jerusalem Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2024 Lahti Team
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2012 GothenburgTeam
World Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Birmingham Team
Americas Continental Championship
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2023 CharlotteTeam

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 2024, the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) ranks the United States men's team 1st worldwide. [1]

Contents

Team USA has won the IFAF Flag Football World Championship six times, most recently in 2024. In 2022, Team USA won a gold medal at the World Games. In 2023, Team USA won the first continental title at the IFAF Americas Continental Flag Football Championship.

Competitive record

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  

IFAF World Championship

IFAF Flag Football World Championship
YearResultPosPldWDLPFPA
Flag of Austria.svg 2002Did not participate
Flag of France.svg 2004
Flag of South Korea.svg 2006
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg 2008Fourth place4th
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg 2010Champions1st
Flag of Sweden.svg 2012Runners-up2nd
Flag of Italy.svg 2014Champions1st
Flag of the United States.svg 2016Champions1st
Flag of Panama.svg 2018Champions1st
Flag of Israel.svg 2021 Champions1st7700392125
Flag of Finland.svg 2024 Champions1st7700370111
Total6 titles8/11

World Games

World Games
YearResultPosPldWDLPFPA
Flag of the United States.svg 2022 Champions1st660020589
Total1 title1/1660020589

IFAF Americas Championship

IFAF Americas Flag Football Championship
YearResultPosPldWDLPFPA
Flag of the United States.svg 2023 [2] Champions1st
Total1 title1/1

IFAF World Championship

2008

Although the IFAF Flag Football Championship was established in 2002, Team USA made its debut in the 2008 tournament. The United States finished in fourth place after losing the bronze medal game to France with a score of 45–0.

2010

In the 2010 tournament, which took place in Canada, Team USA defeated Germany 33–0 in the quarterfinals, Canada 48–25 in the semifinals, and Denmark 35–19 in the finals, earning their first gold in the tournament. [3]

2012

At the 2012 championship, Team USA reached the final but was narrowly defeated by Austria with a final score of 47–40, earning the silver medal.

2014

Team USA reclaimed the gold medal at the 2014 tournament by defeating Mexico 40–14 in the championship game. [4]

2016

The 2016 tournament saw another victory for Team USA, as they narrowly defeated Denmark 33–32 in the gold medal game. This marked their second consecutive and third overall championship win, repeating their success against Denmark from the 2010 final. [5]

2018

Team USA claimed its third consecutive and fourth overall title at the 2018 World Championship. They went undefeated in pool play, defeating Israel in the quarterfinals and Denmark in the semifinals after a much closer encounter in pool play. In the final, Team USA won against Austria with the score of 19–13. Led by quarterback Eric Holliday, the team made history as the first to achieve three consecutive championships in IFAF history across either the men's or women's divisions. [6]

2021

The 2021 tournament was originally expected to take place in Demark in 2020, but as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was rescheduled to be held in Israel in 2021. The United States men's team won the final round, defeating Mexico 44–41 in the final game. Until the last ten minutes, Mexico had been winning with a score of 41–30. The Americans entered the lead with a little over a minute to go. [7]

2024

In the 2024 tournament, Team USA won their fifth consecutive championship title. They went undefeated throughout the tournament, winning every game by at least 25 points. Quarterback Darrell Doucette led the team with an outstanding performance in the final, throwing six touchdown passes to four different receivers in a 53–21 victory over Austria. [8]

World Games

2022

Roster member Dezmin Lewis, with the Buffalo Bills in 2015 Dezmin Lewis.jpg
Roster member Dezmin Lewis, with the Buffalo Bills in 2015

Flag football made a debut in the multi-disciplinary sports event World Games for 2022 edition that was held in Birmingham, Alabama. [9] The tournament was hosted at Birmingham's Legion Field and was held from July 10 to 14.

Team USA scored 3–0 in pool play, [10] and defeated Germany in the quarterfinals, Austria in the semifinals, and Italy by 46–36 in the final game. [11]

Summer Olympics

Flag Football at the 2028 Summer Olympics

In October 2023, flag football was officially approved as a sport for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles by IOC, in collaboration with NFL and IFAF. [12] This marks the first time flag football will be included in the Olympic Games. Additionally, it represents the first time any form of American football will appear in the Olympics since it was featured as a demonstration sport in 1904 and 1932. As the host country, Team USA will automatically qualify for the tournament.

NFL executive Peter O'Reilly stated that the league would collaborate with the players' union to allow current and former players to participate in the 2028 Summer Olympics. [13]

References

  1. "World Rankings". International Federation of American Football. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  2. "USA MEN OUTLAST MEXICO TO CLAIM IFAF AMERICAS CHAMPIONSHIP". International Federation of American Football. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  3. "CANADA AND USA ARE TRIUMPHANT AT 2010 IFAF FLAG FOOTBALL WORLDS". Football Canada. 2010-08-19. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  4. Spiewak, Stephen. "Overview of the IFAF Flag Football World Championships". blogs.usafootball.com. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  5. footballcanada (2016-09-12). "Final day recap – 2016 IFAF Flag Football World Championships". Football Canada. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  6. Burnett, Travis. "U.S. Men's and Women's Flag Football National Teams sweep gold at IFAF World Championships". blogs.usafootball.com. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  7. Letourneau, Jacob. "U.S. Women's and Men's Flag National Teams win gold at 2021 IFAF Flag World Championships in Israel". blogs.usafootball.com. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  8. Vargas, Ramon Antonio (2024-08-30). "Doucette helms US to fifth straight flag football world title as sport readies for Olympic debut". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  9. "NFL partners with The World Games to add flag football in 2022". NFL.com. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  10. "USA Football". usafootball.com. Archived from the original on June 27, 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  11. "Team U.S.A. men's flag football team wins first-ever World Games gold medal". American Football International. 2022-07-15. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  12. "IOC Makes Flag Football An Olympic Sport For 2028 Summer Games". www.seahawks.com. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  13. "Tyreek Hill, other NFL players could play flag football in 2028 Olympics". NFL.com. Retrieved 2023-10-19.