IFAF World Championship
| Most recent season or competition: 2015 IFAF World Championship |
|
| Sport | American football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| No. of teams | 12 (from 2015) |
| Most recent champion(s) |  United States (3rd title) |
| Most titles | United States (3 titles) |
| Official website | ifafworldchampionship.org |
The IFAF World Championship of American Football (also known as the IFAF World Cup) is an international American football competition held every four years[1] 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. Of the 54 countries that currently field a national American football team, only 12 teams qualify for the championship. The championship has been contested four times since the inaugural 1999 tournament. The size of the tournament has expanded to the current 12 teams from an initial field of 4 at the 1999 tournament.
The defending champions are the United States, who won the 2015 championship after winning the 2011 edition and the 2007 edition which was their first appearance. Japan won the 1999 and 2003 championships.
The championship was held in Italy in 1999, in Germany in 2003, in Kawasaki, Japan in 2007, and in Austria in 2011. The 2015 IFAF World Championship was originally going to be held in Stockholm, Sweden, however local organizers had to cancel the event due to lack of sponsorship.[2] The 2015 tournament was played in Canton, Ohio, United States.[3]
Contents
Tournament format
At the 2011 championship, the championship tournament consisted of eight teams divided into two groups of four (there were six teams in 1999 and 2007, four in 2003, and seven in 2015). The opening round featured a round-robin tournament within the groups, with each team playing each other once. However, as opposed to a tournament bracket after the games were completed, the teams with the best record from each group met in the gold medal game, with the second-place teams in each group playing for the bronze medal, the third-place teams playing in the 5th-place game, and the fourth-place teams playing in the 7th-place game, thus guaranteeing each team four games.
Automatic berths included the host nation and the defending champions. Both finalists from the European Federation of American Football tournament received berths. Two teams from the Pan American Federation of American Football received berths, as did one member each from the Asian Federation of American Football and from the Oceania Federation of American Football.
For the 2019 championship, the tournament will expand to 12 teams.[4] Teams will be divided into four groups, each consisting of three teams. Teams will play the other two teams in their group once each, for a total of two group-stage games. Teams will then advance to the second round, and from there to the placement and medal games.[5]
Because American football is far more dominant in the United States than anywhere else in the world, the United States did not field a team in the tournament for its first two editions. The United States has fielded a squad for the last three iterations, but with extremely restrictive criteria that make most American football players ineligible for the team. Despite the restrictions, the United States has easily won all three world championships in which they have competed. Similarly, Canada (where Canadian football, a related sport, has widespread popularity) did not participate until the 2011 competition, when the Canadian team finished second to the United States.
Results
Summaries
| Year | Host | Final | Third-place match | Number of teams | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Score | Runner-up | 3rd place | Score | 4th place | ||||||
| 1999 |  Italy |
 Japan[6] |
6–0 (OT) |  Mexico |
 Sweden[6] |
38–13 |  Italy |
6 | |||
| 2003 |  Germany |
Japan[7] |
34–14 | Mexico |
 Germany[7] |
36–7 |  France |
4 | |||
| 2007 |  Japan |
 United States[8] |
23–20 (2 OT) | Japan |
Germany[9] |
7–0 | Sweden |
6 | |||
| 2011 |  Austria |
United States[10] |
50–7 |  Canada |
Japan[11] |
17–14 | Mexico |
8 | |||
| 2015 | United States |
United States[12] |
59-12 | Japan |
Mexico[13] |
20–7 | France |
7 | |||
Results
| Team | 1999 (6) |
2003 (4) |
2007 (6) |
2011 (8) |
2015 (7) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia |
5th | – | – | 8th | 5th |
| Austria |
– | – | – | 7th | – |
 Brazil |
– | – | – | – | 7th |
 Canada |
– | – | – | 2nd | – |
 Finland |
6th | – | – | – | – |
 France |
– | 4th | 6th | 6th | 4th |
| Germany |
– | 3rd | 3rd | 5th | – |
| Italy |
4th | – | – | – | – |
| Japan |
1st | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd |
 Mexico |
2nd | 2nd | – | 4th | 3rd |
 South Korea |
– | – | 5th | – | 6th |
 Sweden |
3rd | – | 4th | – | – |
| United States |
– | – | 1st | 1st | 1st |
Rankings
| Pos. | Team | Champion | Runner-up | Third | Fourth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | United States |
3 (2007, 2011,2015) | – | – | – |
| 2nd | Japan |
2 (1999, 2003) | 2 (2007,2015) | 1 (2011) | - |
| 3rd | Mexico |
– | 2 (1999, 2003) | 1 (2015) | 1 (2011) |
| 4th | Canada |
– | 1 (2011) | – | – |
| 5th | Germany |
– | – | 2 (2003, 2007) | – |
| 6th | Sweden |
– | – | 1 (1999) | 1 (2007) |
| 7th | France |
– | – | – | 2 (2003, 2015) |
| 8th | Italy |
– | – | – | 1 (1999) |
IFAF World Championship Records
Rushing Yards
Tournament
- 447 - Lars Gustafsson, Sweden 1999[14]
Game
- 232 - Lars Gustafsson, Sweden vs Italy 3rd July 1999
Rushing Touchdowns
Tournament
- 5 - DeShawn Thomas, USA 2011
Game
- 3 - Mario Nerad, Australia vs Austria 15th July 2011
Passing Yards
Tournament
- 881 - Joachim Ullrich, Germany 2011
Game
- 281 - Kiernan Dorney, Australia vs Germany 12th July 2011
Touchdown Passes
Tournament
- 6 - Michael Faulds, Canada 2011
- 6 - Joachim Ullrich, Germany 2011
Game
- 4 Jared Stegman, Australia vs South Korea 9th July 2015
Interceptions Thrown
Tournament
- 7 - Jarkko Nieminen, Finland 1999
Game
- 3 - Kiernan Dorney, Austria vs Australia 15th July 2011
- 3 - Carlos Altimirano, Mexico vs Germany 10th July 2003
- 3 - Joachim Ullrich, Germany vs Mexico, 10th July 2003
- 3 - David Ward, Austria vs Japan 1st July 1999
Receiving Yards
Tournament
- 433 - Niklas Roemer, Germany 2011
Game
- 180 - Niklas Roemer, Germany vs France 16th July 2011
Receptions
Tournament
- 26 - Nate Kmic, USA 2011
Game
- 8 - Niklas Roemer, Germany vs Austria 12th July 2011
- 8 - Nate Kmic, USA vs Germany 12th July 2011
- 8 - Boti Bramer, Germany vs Mexico 10th July 2003
Touchdown Receptions
Tournament
- 4 - Niklas Roemer, Germany 2011
- 4 - Matteo Soresini, Italy 1999
Game
- 2 - by several players, most recent: Trent Steelman, USA vs France 15th July 2015
Longest Plays
Rushing
- 88 - N.Khandar France vs Austria 12th July 2015
Passing
- 89 - Ullrich to Roemer, Germany vs France 16th July 2011
Punt Return
- 85 - Marcel Duft, Germany vs Sweden 14th July 2007
Kickoff Return
- 102 - Anthony Dable, France vs Brazil 8th July 2015
Interception Return
- 95 - Marcus Weil, Germany vs USA 12th July 2007
Fumble Return
- 10 Terrence Jackson, USA vs Germany 7th July 2011
Field Goal
- 56 - Jose Maltos, Mexico vs Austria 10th July 2011
Blocked Punt Return Touchdown
- 26 Diezeas Calbert, USA vs. Australia 8th July 2011
Blocked Field Goal Return Touchdown
- 75 Johnny Dingle, USA vs Germany 10th July 2011
See also
References
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- ↑ http://stockholm2015.org/world-championship-moves/
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://ifaf.org/media/download/819
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International American football
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