IFAF World Championship
| Sport | American football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Most recent champion(s) |  United States (2nd title) |
| Most titles |  Japan (2 titles) United States (2 titles) |
| Official website | ifaf.info |
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 8 teams qualify for the championship. The championship has been contested four times since the inaugural 1999 tournament.
The defending champions are the United States, who won the 2011 championship after winning the 2007 edition in 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.
Contents |
[edit] Tournament format
At the 2011 championship, the championship tournament consists of eight teams which are divided into two groups of four (there were six teams in 1999 and 2007 and four in 2003). 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 are completed, the teams with the best record from each group met in the gold medal game, the second place teams in each group for the bronze medal game, the third place teams play in the 5th place game, and the fourth place teams play in the 7th place game, guaranteeing that each team plays 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 of the Asian Federation of American Football and of the Oceania Federation of American Football.
For the 2015 championship in Sweden, the tournament will expand to 12 teams.[2] Teams will be divided into four groups, each with three teams. Teams will play the other two teams in their groups 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.[3]
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 world championship for its first two iterations. The United States has fielded a team for both the 2007 and 2011 iterations, but with extremely restrictive criteria that make most American football players ineligible for the team. Despite the restrictions, the United States has won both world championships in which they have fielded a team. Similarly, Canada (where Canadian football, a related sport, has widespread popularity) did not field a team until the 2011 competition, where the Canadian team finished second to the United States.
[edit] Results
[edit] Summaries
| Year | Host | Final | Third-place match | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Score | Runner-up | 3rd place | Score | 4th place | ||||
| 1999 Details |
 Italy |
 Japan[4] |
6–0 (OT) |  Mexico |
 Sweden[4] |
38–13 |  Italy |
||
| 2003 Details |
 Germany |
Japan[5] |
34–14 | Mexico |
 Germany[5] |
36–7 |  France |
||
| 2007 Details |
Japan |
 United States[6] |
23–20 (2 OT) | Japan |
Germany[7] |
7–0 | Sweden |
||
| 2011 Details |
 Austria |
United States[8] |
50–7 |  Canada |
Japan[9] |
17–14 | Mexico |
||
| 2015 Details |
 Sweden |
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[edit] Results
| Team | 1999 6 |
2003 4 |
2007 6 |
2011 8 |
2015 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia |
5th | – | – | 8th | |
| Austria |
– | – | – | 7th | |
 Canada |
– | – | – | 2nd | |
 Finland |
6th | – | – | – | |
 France |
– | 4th | 6th | 6th | |
| Germany |
– | 3rd | 3rd | 5th | |
| Italy |
4th | – | – | – | |
| Japan |
1st | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | |
 Mexico |
2nd | 2nd | – | 4th | |
 South Korea |
– | – | 5th | – | |
| Sweden |
3rd | – | 4th | – | Host |
| United States |
– | – | 1st | 1st |
[edit] Rankings
| Pos. | Team | Champion | Runner-up | Third | Fourth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Japan |
2 (1999, 2003) | 1 (2007) | 1 (2011) | – |
| 2nd | United States |
2 (2007, 2011) | – | – | – |
| 3rd | Mexico |
– | 2 (1999, 2003) | – | 1 (2011) |
| 4th | Canada |
– | 1 (2011) | – | – |
| 5th | Germany |
– | – | 2 (2003, 2007) | – |
| 6th | Sweden |
– | – | 1 (1999) | 1 (2007) |
| 7th | France |
– | – | – | 1 (2003) |
| 8th | Italy |
– | – | – | 1 (1999) |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "IFAF Senior World Championship". International Federation of American Football. http://www.ifaf.org/pages/competition/senior. Retrieved 21 October 2011. "The IFAF Senior World Championship is held every four years having first been contested in 1999."
- ^ "SWEDEN TO HOST 2015 INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF AMERICAN FOOTBALL SENIOR WORLD". International Federation of American Football. 12 October 2011. http://www.ifaf.org/articles/view/887/Lw==. Retrieved 21 October 2011. "Sweden will host the 2015 International Federation of American Football Senior World Championship when the national teams of 12 countries from four continents converge on the capital city of Stockholm."
- ^ "SWEDEN TO HOST 2015 INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF AMERICAN FOOTBALL SENIOR WORLD". International Federation of American Football. 12 October 2011. http://www.ifaf.org/articles/view/887/Lw==. Retrieved 21 October 2011. "At the 2015 tournament the 12 teams will be split into four groups of three for a round robin stage leading to the second round and then placement and medal games that will take place during 10 playing days with rest days in between."
- ^ a b "STATISTICS". Federazione Italiana American Football. Archived from the original on 3 June 2002. http://web.archive.org/web/20020602213209/http://www.afworldcup99.com/classifiche/statistics.htm. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
- ^ a b "SCHEDULE". German Football Partners. http://www.worldcup2003.info/text.php3?Inhalt=espielplan. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
- ^ "Japan(20)-USA(23)". Japan American Football Association. http://wc2007.info/777/game9_rpt_e.html. Retrieved 21 October 2011. "Kicker/punter Craig Coffin nailed a 23-yard game-winning field goal in the second series of overtime to help the tournament debutant U.S. team grab the first championship with the 23-20 victory over the host Japan in the 3rd IFAF World Championships at Todoroki Stadium on Sunday afternoon."
- ^ "Sweden(0)-Germany(7)". Japan American Football Association. http://wc2007.info/777/game8_rpt_e.html. Retrieved 21 October 2011. "Marcel Duft returned a punt for 85 yards for the game’s only touchdown with 2:26 remaining in the third quarter and Germany defeated Sweden 7-0 to win the bronze medal of the third IFAF World Championship on Saturday at Kawasaki Stadium."
- ^ "USA defends SWC title". American Football Bund Österreich. 16 July 2011. http://www.americanfootball2011.com/en/newsdetail/archive/2011/07/16/article/translate-to-english-usa-wieder-weltmeister/. Retrieved 21 October 2011. "USA won the gold medal at the IFAF World Championship against Canada with a score of 50:7 in front of 20.000 fans in Vienna, Austria."
- ^ "Japan earns bronze medal". American Football Bund Österreich. 15 July 2011. http://www.americanfootball2011.com/en/newsdetail/archive/2011/07/15/article/team-japan-erobert-bronze/. Retrieved 21 October 2011. "A blocked field goal in the final seconds of the game for the 3rd place at the IFAF World Championship saved the bronze medal for Team Japan."
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