A total of 32 men’s and 23 women’s national teams from six continents will battle for gold medal glory at the 2024 IFAF Flag Football World Championships at the Pajulahti Olympic Training Center in Lahti, Finland, from August 27-30.

In the men’s competition, the winners and runners up from eight groups will qualify for the knockout Round of 16 in the quest to be crowned world champions. The women’s tournament will see the top three nations from five groups advance, along with the best fourth-place finisher.

The 11th biennial event will be the largest and most significant in the sport’s history with the top seven finishers in the women’s competition also qualifying to compete along with hosts China at The World Games in Chengdu in 2025. Flag Football is poised to make its Olympic Games debut in Los Angeles in 2028.

There are some mouthwatering matchups in both competitions created by a serpentine draw system based on the 2023 IFAF Flag Football World Rankings.

“The spotlight will shine brighter than ever before on flag football and we are excited to see the sport’s elite athletes compete on the world stage in Finland,” said IFAF President Pierre Trochet.

“The competitiveness at last year’s continental championships shows that we will have a wide-open competition on a platform where new stars can emerge.”