• It is with great sadness we have to accept the fact that the Local Organizing Committee despite hard work the last three years have not succeeded in raising the sponsor structure to run an event this size, says acting President of IFAF, Roope Noronen, and continues;
• Stockholm would have been a great city to run the WC2015. It had the best possible arenas, great hotels and was supported by the local communities. It is unfortunately a matter of fact that the international economical climate is not at its best and IFAF have to save the tournament by moving it to another host country.

American Football has grown in Sweden the last few years and now have 38 teams in four different leagues and even more teams in the junior programs.

• It would have been a great step in our growth hosting the WC2015 in Stockholm, says acting President in the Swedish American Football Federation Minette Rogner and continues;
• We have during the past few month become aware of that the company in charge of organizing the tournament have had difficulties in reporting the progress of the preparations and this ended with IFAF taking this decision which we fully support.

The fact that Sweden will not host the tournament means that The Swedish National Team will not be qualified to play in the WC2015.

- We have to focus on the next European Championship instead, says Minette Rogner.

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In Austria, they know football. Saturday’s final game at the European Championship 2014 at Ernst Happel stadium in Vienna was nothing less than a spectacular success. And a formidable show of strength for football in Europe especially in Austria. A very competent organizer of the Championship tournament, a large and knowledgeable audience, not to mention a really good football team. The crowd was 27,000 in numbers, but they sure sounded like a lot more, and they gave the event a magical setting. It was a great show from start to finish with lots and lots of cheerleaders, performances and a very fun and exciting European Championship final between the two sporting antagonists Austria and Germany.

A tentative start from both teams, filled by the seriousness of the moment and the crowds roaring cheers. Then the Germans got going with the first touchdown of the evening, at the end of the first quarter. On Austria’s next possession which started within their own 20, they fumbled the ball and the Germans recovered and ran it into the end zone for a 14 – 0 lead.

The next quarter belonged to Austria and with a field goal and a touchdown, where they failed the extra point, the score going into halftime was 9 – 14. The third quarter ended scoreless but there were plenty of great plays on both offense and defense for both teams. At the beginning of the fourth quarter Austria charged into the lead with a touchdown by Margreiter and with a successful two point conversion by quarterback Gross, the score was 17-14 to Austria. This 2-point conversation was needed to make it a tie with a field goal attempt by Germany, which is exactly what happened with four minutes to play, through Hilgenfeldt. This was the final score as the game is tied and headed into overtime. Each team got one drive from the opponents 25 yard line, and the Germans were first out. After some struggle, including one of the two talked about yellow flags for unsportsmanlike conduct in the overtime, the Germans manage to get a touchdown and successful extra point attempt. Now it is Austrians turn to respond and after a great trick play where receiver Stefani in a reverse threw the ball to the quarterback Gross in the end zone and the crowd went wild. On the extra point attempt Austrian kicker Kappel kicked the ball into the goalpost but it had enough good direction and power to get in and make it a successful attempt to tie the game again and forced double overtime.

So new drives for both teams, but this time, Austria is first out. They only managed to put a field goal on the scoreboard, and now the Germans had a chance to claim victory with a touchdown. The Germans managed to get to the Austrian 3-yard line, and with 3rd and goal Austria successfully stopped the Germans short of the goal line. Great play. But the officials found a violation, again for unsportsmanlike conduct, whereupon the Austrians go crazy. So the Germans get automatic first down, and two plays later the quarterback Ehrenfried found Niklas Römer with a pass in the end zone for a touchdown. The game is over, 30-27, in favor of Germany and it is virtually dead silent in the just-so noisy arena. Germany are European champions after a great game on both sides of the ball.

Points per quarter

Earlier in the day, in the Bronze-Medal game France triumphed Finland in a 35 - 21 game, also in the Ernst Happel stadium. This means that Germany, Austria and France are qualified from Europe and together with host nation Sweden will represent the continent in the IFAF World Championship next summer in Stockholm.

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Not only is the sport’s popularity increasing, but so is the global talent.

Such talent will be displayed on a world-wide platform as the fifth installment of the IFAF World Championship kicks off in Stockholm, Sweden from July 4-18, 2015 as record number 12 countries will compete for gold!

With national football federations in existence for more than 70 years, the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) was created in 1998 to organize and further develop the game through international cooperation and global competition. Today, IFAF boosts 66 country federations from six continents.

With the goal of developing a global competition, IFAF organized the first-ever World Championship of American Football in 1999. Today the event has developed into the organization’s showpiece competition showcasing the talent of players across the globe every four years.  

Since the inaugural event in 1999 twelve countries have participated in the tournament including Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Sweden and the United States.

The first world championship took place in Palermo, Italy as six teams from four continents squared off to claim the first ever title. In the end, Japan defeated Mexico in a thrilling 6-0 overtime victory to earn the distinction of first World Champions. The tournament featured more than 330 players and coaches. 

Japan and Mexico would have a Gold-Medal game rematch at the 2003 IFAF World Championship in Frankfurt, Germany. This time around spectators saw more offensive fireworks, as Japan successfully defended its title beating Mexico 34-14 as running back Ikunori Hanna finished the game with 125 yards including a touchdown. The Japanese defensive played a significant role as they forced Mexico into five turnovers – three interceptions and two fumbles. Germany defeated France 36-7 to claim the Bronze Medal.

The third IFAF World Championship was held in Kawasaki, Japan in 2007 as the Japanese looked to earn a Three-Peat. But that year, the competition would see some newcomers as Korea, Sweden and United States joined returners France, Germany and Japan in the tournament.

Both Japan and the United States went 2-0 with dominating victories in the group stage, setting up a Gold-Medal game that was sure to be exciting and it did not disappoint. Team USA outlasted Japan 23-20 in double overtime. Running back Kyle Kasperbauer finished the game with 65 yards and two touchdowns while Japan’s quarterback Yuichi Tomizawa also had an impressive outing throwing for 140 yards and two touchdowns.  

During the nine games of the 2007 IFAF World Championship, more than 22,000 fans flocked to the host stadiums and almost one million people visited the official websites.

The 2011 IFAF World Championship expanded again, as the eight countries looked to earn the title of World Champs in the fourth installment held in Austria. The tournament featured another newcomer as Canada joined the festivities looking to knock off the reigning champs the United States. Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Japan and Mexico also competed in the tournament.

Canada and the United States both finished the group stage 3-0, the two teams squared off in front of a record crowd of 20,000 for the much anticipated Gold-Medal game. But the United States led by talented quarterback Cody Hawkins took control early going into half with a 30-7 lead and would cruise to a 50-7 victory to claim back-to-back gold medals. USA had a balanced attach as Hawkins finished the game throwing for 161 yard and two touchdowns while Henry Harris ran for 105 yards including a five-yard touchdown.

Mexico and Japan met once again, but this time in the Bronze Medal game. Japan continued their streak against the Mexicans winning to 17-14.

As the competition only gets better and bigger from year to year, the 2015 IFAF World Championship is sure to be a spectacular event. Not only will it have a historic twelve teams competing, but the top players and spectators from around the world will have the opportunity to play and observe the historic games in the new Tele2 Stadium in Stockholm, Sweden from July 4-18, 2015.

Will the Americans become the first team to win three consecutive IFAF World Championships or will a team knock off the United States? Only time will tell, but we hope to see you all there!

 Written By Lauren Hickey

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