Nigeria’s men’s and women’s flag football teams still have a chance to compete for spots in the 2028 Olympic Games. This comes despite their withdrawal from this year’s International Federation of American Football Flag Football World Championships in Düsseldorf due to visa problems.
The tournament is the first step towards the Olympic flag football competition. Sixteen men’s and sixteen women’s teams will compete for world titles and four direct spots for the LA28 Olympic Games.
Nigeria’s withdrawal was announced on Monday through a joint statement from the International Federation of American Football, the National Sports Commission, and the Nigerian Federation of American Football.
“Over the past 10 days, IFAF, together with its event partners and the relevant authorities, has made significant efforts behind the scenes to explore every possible avenue to enable the teams to travel to Germany. Regrettably, all parties were informed this morning (Monday) that the visas would not be issued in time for the Championships,” the statement said.
“Our thoughts are first and foremost with the athletes and team staff, who have worked hard to earn their place at these Championships as the inaugural IFAF African Flag Football Champions. They were looking forward to proudly representing Nigeria and making their debut appearance on the world stage.”
Both teams qualified for the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships last year. They achieved this by winning the first African Flag Football Championship held in Cairo, Egypt.
In the men’s final, Nigeria won a close match 13-12 against the hosts, Egypt. In the women’s final, Nigeria beat Morocco 26-12.
“Due to the timing of the withdrawal, it is not possible to replace the Nigerian men’s and women’s teams with the respective reserve teams from the 2025 IFAF African Flag Football Championships. In accordance with the competition regulations, teams scheduled to play Nigeria in the group stage will be awarded an automatic victory.”
The statement also mentioned that Nigeria’s path to the LA28 Olympic Games is still open despite the World Championships withdrawal.
The Nigerian men’s and women’s teams will have another chance to compete at the 2027 IFAF Continental Championships. A top-two finish there would secure qualification for the Olympic Qualifier Series, the final stage for the LA28 Olympic Games.
There are six quota places available for each gender in the flag football tournament at LA28. One spot in each tournament goes to the host nation, USA. Two places will be decided at the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships, while the last three will be determined at the Olympic Qualifier Series in May and June 2028.
Drop your comment
No comments yet — be the first to drop the gist 👇