US men and Canada women win flag football world titles as spots earned for the Los Angeles Olympics
DÜSSELDORF, Germany (AP) — The United States successfully defended the men’s title at the flag football world championships on Sunday but lost the women’s title to…
On August 16, 2026, in Düsseldorf, Germany, the United States men's flag football team successfully defended their title in the world championships against Italy, securing a 46-26 victory and their sixth consecutive championship. Meanwhile, Canada's women's team emerged victorious over the United States, 27-20, to claim their first title since 2014 and their third overall. The United States women's team, however, narrowly missed out on their fourth consecutive title, losing to Canada by a score of 20-27.
The International Federation of American Football organized the championship tournament in Düsseldorf, which also served as a qualification event for the 2028 Olympic Games to be held in Los Angeles. In addition to the top two men's and top two women's teams securing spots, the U.S. teams qualified as hosts. The remaining teams, Italy's men and Canada's women, earned Olympic qualification spots through their final-round victories against the U.S. teams.
Following their respective victories, U.S. men's quarterback Nico Casares expressed his team's motto of "Gold is the only standard," emphasizing their commitment to achieving excellence. Canadian quarterback Sara Parker, on the other hand, described her feelings as "so happy" and called the day "the best day ever" after hugging her mother.
Written by urgent.news from Associated Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
