Great Britain women and Italy men win gold at record-breaking IFAF European Flag Football Championships

Great Britain’s women’s flag football team have been crowned back-to-back European champions, while Italy’s men secured a first continental title as a record-breaking edition of the International Federation of American Football’s (IFAF’s) European Flag Football Championships concluded on Saturday at the Choisy Interdepartmental Sports Park on the edge of Paris.

In total, 43 men’s and women’s teams, representing 25 European nations, took to the field during a three-day tournament notable for its high competitive standard, with several nations securing first international wins and ranking points, and a series of nail-biting finishes in the medal games.

In the women’s competition, Great Britain retained their title from Limerick in 2023 with a dramatic 34-33 overtime victory against Austria. Austria appeared poised to seal gold having led until late in the game, before Great Britain tied the score at 27-27 to force overtime, then struck for the decisive winning play. In the bronze medal match, Spain edged out hosts France 41-40 in a shoot-out where every possession produced a touchdown until the final drive.

Team Great Britain’s Jess Allen said: “I’m pretty speechless and very proud of the team. That was such a crazy game. We’ve worked so hard for this, we deserve this. We had a slow start, but our offense managed to pull it back and our defense got some really great stops.”

Team Austria’s Katrin Mansbart said: “It was very close. We beat Great Britain at The World Games, so we knew what to expect. We were very confident, and I think we played a really great game. It was really tight. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.”

In the men’s tournament, Italy was crowned the champion at IFAF Euro Flag 2025, beating Austria 27-19 to win gold, having previously been the continent’s runners up four times since 2005. Austria had to settle for silver just as they had two years ago, losing to Germany in the 2023 final and in Finland last summer when they were defeated by the United States at the IFAF Flag Football World Championships. Hosts France won the bronze medal in a close 34-20 win over Great Britain.

Team Italy’s Vinnie Papale said: “It’s unbelievable. I’m just so happy and grateful to be here and be a part of this team and to wear Italy across my chest - it’s an absolute honour. To go home with a medal makes it that much better. Our offence and our defence came through when we needed them on big plays. We firmly believe we are the best offence, not only in Europe but in the world. I guess we will see next year in Germany and put it to the test but we are super excited. We know we have an offence that can score a lot of points.”

Team Austria’s Sebastian Wolf said: “I think we’re on a really good track. If you look back on the last three years we’ve been in the final every time, unfortunately we lost every time but hopefully luck will turn our way. I think in the future we are going in a great direction, we have a lot of young players coming in that are really great and have competed at the highest level - the future is bright.”

Team France’s Lucie Vinot said: “It was a tough game but now we are looking forward to the World Championships next year. We are so grateful for the support that we had from the French people.”

Team France’s Vincent Lemoine said: “It's wonderful, we are really happy to finish with a medal. Defense was the key today. The connection was clicking the communication was clicking everything was set so I feel like we saw the plays in slow motion and that's really what makes everything work.”

Team Great Britain’s Oliver Dyer, said: “It's difficult when you play two games in a day and lose twice and obviously that's really disappointing but overall, I think we can hold our heads high with how we've done this year. It's a new regime, a lot of new players a lot of new faces although we wanted more. This is GB's best finish on the men's side ever and it says we're going in the right direction.”

Wide Receivers Emily Kemp from Great Britain and Papale from Italy were named MVPs in a tournament that also saw 12 teams clinch spots for the new-look 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships in Düsseldorf, joining host country Germany.

Off the field, the 2025 Euro Flag event also broke new ground for flag football in Europe, with more than 6 000 people attending and packed stands for the finals games. The tournament was organised as a joint venture between IFAF and French sports event company Playground. It featured a number of innovations designed to showcase the unique culture of flag football, including a popular fan village and public after-party in partnership with club promoter Back to Basics that brought athletes, fans and the local community together to the sound of Afrobeats and French hip-hop.

More than 200 volunteers from 13 countries played a key role in delivering the event, of whom 20% had previously volunteered at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, bringing a legacy of enthusiasm to a sport on its way to a debut Olympic Games appearance in Los Angeles 2028.

IFAF President Pierre Trochet said: As a Frenchman, it’s been a proud few days to see flag football so enthusiastically embraced by the French public - especially today with this magnificent home crowd celebrating a French medal and so many families and young people discovering the sport and its culture in the fan village. As IFAF President, the most exciting part is to see how the level of competition keeps growing - and spreading across a wider range of nations. We’ve seen countries like Slovenia and Portugal arrive on the scene at this tournament and make an immediate impact. This the most exciting time in the history of flag football and, with the sport exploding around the world, I can only imagine what LA28 is going to be!”

The IFAF Continental Championships now move to Asia-Oceania, with the final qualifier taking place in Ningbo, China, from October 23-27.