Nigeria’s women’s and men’s teams have been crowned the inaugural IFAF African Flag Football champions as the sport marked a major milestone on its journey to a first Olympic Games appearance in Los Angeles 2028.

The Nigerian men edged a thrilling final game, winning 13-12 to claim gold over hosts Egypt in front of a loud and high-spirited home crowd inside the Club One Stadium in Maadi, Cairo, where distinguished guests included Egypt’s Minister of Youth and Sport Dr Ashraf Sobhi.

In the women’s tournament, Nigeria put out a confident performance to take victory over Morocco 26-12 in the final, with two decisive second half touchowns thrown by quarterback Anuoluwapo Bello. Bronze medalists Tunisia (men) and Egypt (women) completed the historic podiums.

In total, 11 teams from eight nations, spanning the African continent, participated in Africa Flag – the first of IFAF’s continental championships series for 2025 and the starting point for what will be the biggest and most important competition cycle in flag football history, culminating in the Olympic Games LA28.

As African champions, Nigeria’s men and women qualify directly to the IFAF Flag Football World Championships in 2026. The event also saw 10 national teams earn their first official world rankings.

“This is a great achievement for us and I’m proud of every woman out here,” said Nigeria women’s gold medallist Anuoluwapo Bello. “I feel excited for the girls here. There is an opportunity to go to the World Championships and show everyone what we can do.”

“It’s amazing, it’s surreal, it’s history, it’s unbelievable,” said Nigeria men’s quarterback Hayes Obinna-Uzoh. “We’ve made history.”

Egypt men’s quarterback Mahmoud Aboushady said: “We went for it, but we came up just short. The crowd was awesome, and it was a big crowd who were all cheering and that was really touching.”

Morocco women’s center, silver medallist Sonia Mouimen added: “We usually don’t see crowds of this size making so much noise unless it is at soccer matches. I am very proud of my team.”

One of the world’s fastest-growing sports, flag football is developing quickly across Africa, with many of IFAF’s member federations in the continent recording more than 100% growth in participation last year.

The Africa Flag 2025 tournament was delivered in partnership with the NFL, who are working with IFAF to drive the development of flag football in Africa.

In an effort to ensure the event builds on the legacy for American football across the continent, the NFL is hosting a series of wraparound activities in Cairo. These include:
• a continental NFL Flag youth championships for U12’s boys and girls teams from across Africa;
• an NFL talent indentification session, with the potential for players to advance to the NFL Africa-Europe Academy and International Player Pathway (IPP) program;
• in partnership with IFAF and including the participation of NFL/ IFAF Global Flag football Abassador Elisa de Santis (FRA), a coaching education clinic for aspiring female coaches from Africa.

Two current NFL players, New York Giants’ Bobby Okereke (Nigeria) and Tanoh Kpassagnon (Ivory Coast/Uganda) have traveled to Cairo to join these activities and were present to witness the historic finals session alongside two-time Super Bowl winner and NFL Africa lead Osi Umeniyora.

“The first African Continental Championship was a tremendous success, and Egypt proved to be the perfect host as we continue our journey to grow flag football across Africa,” said Umenyiora. “It was inspiring to see nations from across the continent come together for the two-day event and showcase the incredible talent of their young athletes. The NFL is proud to partner with IFAF to help grow the game of flag football, especially as we look ahead to its debut at the LA28 Olympic Games.”

IFAF President Pierre Trochet said: “Every player and official who set foot on the field in Cairo this week can claim a piece of history. I’m enormously proud and grateful to our Egyptian federation, who have hosted this milestone event with great professionalism and warmth. But the history is less important than the future and what this tournament has demonstrated is the enormous talent and passion for the game that exists right across the African continent. We know this event is just the start and, together with our NFL partners, we are committed to ensuring it acts as a springboard to the long-term development of our game.”

The IFAF African Flag Football World Championships were hosted over two days (June 20-21) by the Egyptian Federation of American Football, whose President Ali Rafeek said: “No words can truly capture the emotion of this moment. It was a world-class competition filled with outstanding performances and, above all, incredible energy. We’ve been building toward this moment for a while with IFAF leadership and our fellow federations, and we’re proud to see that hard work come to life. Africa is officially on the flag football map, and we’re only getting started.”

The event in Cairo also witnessed the kick-off of IFAF’s new, comprehensive partnership with the International Testing Agency, whose staff were present to deliver anti-doping education activities for participating athletes and team officials.

The IFAF Flag Football Continental Championship series will continue in September with the EURO FLAG 2025 event in Paris, France.