China women and Australia men clinch gold at IFAF Asia-Oceania Flag Football Championships

The 2025 IFAF Asia-Oceania Flag Football Continental Championships marked a defining moment in the sport’s rapid growth across the region, with the rise of new global contenders, teams making international debuts, emergence of new stars of the game and three days of highly entertaining and competitive action

The Fenghua Sports Centre in Ningbo, China hosted 27 teams representing 15 nations from across Asia and Oceania - a 35% increase in entries compared to the 2023 edition held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Each of the seven debutant teams (American Samoa men and women, China men, Hong Kong, China men and women, Jordan men and women) recorded their first victories in IFAF competition, a testament to the sport’s accelerating development across the region.

In the women’s competition, China built on the momentum of their eye-catching debut at The World Games in Chengdu to make history in their first appearance at an IFAF international tournament. The hosts defeated Australia 36-29 in a thrilling gold medal game to cap an unforgettable home debut in Ningbo. As winners of the Asia and Oceania tournaments respectively, both China and Australia secured qualification for the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships in Düsseldorf, where they will be joined by Japan, who beat American Samoa 42-12 in the bronze medal game to claim the region’s final qualification place.

In the men’s competition, Australia was crowned champions of the 2025 IFAF Asia-Oceania Flag Football Championships with a 23-19 victory over Japan. The only unbeaten team of the tournament, Australia first secured the Oceania title, while Japan was crowned champions of Asia after advancing to the Asia-Oceania final with a dramatic 40-39 win over hosts China. As regional champions, Australia and Japan both qualified for the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships in Düsseldorf, where they will be joined by debutants American Samoa, who defeated hosts China 41-34 in the bronze medal game.

The Chinese men had earlier narrowly lost to Japan, the continent’s top-ranked nation, in a thrilling final game of the Asia division that came down to the final play. On the opposite field, a similarly tight contest was taking place between the two countries' women’s teams, with China securing top spot in Asia, edging the contest 25-22 in what is fast becoming one of the sport’s great international rivalries.

A four–country trial youth competition run alongside the Continental Championships saw China’s Under-17 boys defeat South Korea to secure the gold medal - a result that further points to the emergence of China as a new global force in the sport. The game is already played by more than half a million people in the country, and the national federation expects to reach one million new participants every year between now and 2030.

IFAF President, Pierre Trochet, said: “Ningbo has treated us to a true feast of flag football to close this IFAF Continental Series in superb style. With thanks to the efforts of all the athletes, officials and our outstanding partners at the CRFA and Ningbo Local Organising Committee, I am leaving China with my heart full and my head spinning at the possibilities for our sport throughout this Asia-Oceania region.

“The jump in participation and performance levels over two years since the first edition of this Championships puts flag football on an incredible trajectory - and what we have seen today from the junior teams, in particular the winner China, makes me believe this region can become a new powerhouse of the sport. Australia and Japan’s men’s and women’s teams, along with American Samoa’s men’s team and China’s women’s team will now have the chance to test themselves on the global stage in Düsseldorf and the rest of the world is on notice!”

Wang Yun, CRFA President, said: “The Chinese flag football team's success at the Asia-Oceania Finals is worthy of celebration! This is the result of over six months of systematic design, coordinated advancement, and united efforts by all of us in Chinese flag football. While the results are certainly commendable, we look forward to even more in the future!”

Wei Jiangen, Director of the Local Organising Committee and Deputy Secretary and District Head, Fengua District, Ningbo, said: “As the host city of this event, Fenghua has ensured the great success of the tournament with top-tier standards and meticulous services, presenting an extraordinary flag football feast to all. We have showcased Fenghua's vitality and cultural richness to the world, and take great pride in the fact that the event has become a significant bond for urban development. Through hosting this tournament, we will continue to deepen the "school + club + competition" ecosystem, with the aim of establishing the flag football event as a distinctive sports brand of Fenghua. We hope to enable more people to experience the strategic and collaborative charm of this "green chessboard sport" allowing athletic energy to nourish the city's growth.”

With continental qualification now complete, the full lineup of nations is confirmed for the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships in Düsseldorf, Germany - a landmark, new-look edition of the tournament to be delivered in partnership with the NFL. The event will bring together the world’s best talent as the next major milestone on the road to Los Angeles 2028, where flag football will make its historic Olympic debut.

Australia Men's quarterback and MVP, Jared Stegman, said: “We had great preparation, everyone believed, all the players supported each other and just a great game today. We had some adversity, the first time we've had some serious adversity together, and we were able to stick together and just keep playing the whole way through. Everyone's excited to get to work and build off this win.”

China Women’s quarterback Haolin Feng, said: “We are so excited, we are the champion. It was not easy. Japan and Australia are so strong. We go to the World Championships next year and we are looking forward to being the final champions.”

Australia head coach, Drew Aumavae, said: “It’s the players, that’s the secret. It just took a lot of going back to the fundamentals and they bought into that. It’s basically a foundation and we’ll just build on that.”

Vailele Peko Jr, American Samoa Men, bronze medalist and Worlds qualifier, said: “It means the world, man. We came out here for one goal and we made it happen. The key was staying together. There are trials and tribulations in every football game but it’s about staying together, holding yourself accountable and doing your job. Our MVP today was probably Tai (Tiedemann,) our Quarterback. He slang the ball today, probably had 500 yards throwing! The next few months will be about getting ready, going back to the drawing board and practicing. We know what to look for now. We had a good test against Australia and we were able to make great adjustments so now it’s about keeping it going.”

Amelie Prosser-Shaw, Australia Women, said: “We worked really well as a team to be able to achieve the goal today. Ultimately our aim was to come away with as many wins as we could but also learn a lot. We’re a very new and young team and we’re really starting to come together as a whole, support each other and trust each other on both sides of the ball.

“We’ve just come off the back of a two and a half weeks training camp and endless months of training here times a week and although we come from across the country, individually we’ve all put in 100%. Our coaches always say that it’s the 1% you do off the ball that no one sees that makes you the better athlete for not only yourself but also your team. To be able to take that into what we know is going to be an exciting World Cup next year against all the other countries is going to be a super positive way for us to transition into that and a really exciting opportunity for us to showcase what we have done and what we will continue to do. We’ve achieved our goal and we only have the sky as our limit right now.”

Cody Donlan, Australia Men, said: “(Worlds) was the No 1 goal going into it. We still think we have a lot to prove based on being ranked 16th in the world before this event. Long term, our objective is a gold medal at the Olympic Games. That's the one goal, that's what we’re driving for. Long way to go, we know but that's the goal.”