Head Coach’s Final Report: 2026 Youth Flag Football European Championships
Finland’s youth national teams headed to last weekend’s Flag Football European Championships in Italy with medals in their sights. The increasingly competitive youth divisions proved challenging for the Finnish teams this year, bringing a two-year medal streak to an end. Youth national teams head coach Jarkko Suominen reviews his teams’ performances in Lido delle Nazioni.
U15 Mixed (2–4, 11th place)
U15 games
- Finland – Slovakia 12-35
- Finland – Austria 13-48
- Finland – Poland 37 -12
- Finland – Israel 24-40
- Finland – Serbia 30-16
- Finland – Great Britain 0-31
Finland’s U15 mixed team made its debut at the IFAF European Championships in 2023, achieving an impressive fourth-place finish. Competition has intensified since then, and the team travelled to Italy aiming to improve on last year’s 11th place. Suominen reflects on the youngest age group’s tournament:
“The standard of the U15 teams, particularly the leading nations, had improved enormously since last year. The top teams also relied increasingly on outstanding individual players, an approach that works better in the mixed division than in the separate girls’ and boys’ divisions. One particularly positive aspect was that Finland’s U15 girls, led by Iines Raitanen, were among the very best in the tournament. This also bodes very well for the future of our U17 girls’ team.
“With Leevi Kuoppala giving his all on defence and Olavi Raimoaho named the team’s best player, the U15 mixed team finished 11th with two wins and four losses. The squad will change significantly next year, as all but two of this year’s players will move up to the U17 age group.”
Austria won the U15 title.
U17 Girls (2–3, 7th place)
U17 girls games
- Finland – Great Britain 27-39
- Finland – Austria 18-24
- Finland – Germany 13-34
- Finland – France 12-6
- Finland – Israel 46-13
Finland’s U17 girls had won bronze at the previous two championships and travelled to Lido delle Nazioni hoping to improve on those results. However, the group stage did not go as planned, leaving the team to compete for places seven to nine. Suominen assesses the girls’ performances in Italy:
“We had a young U17 girls’ team, with significant changes to the squad that won bronze last year. It took a few games too long for the team to find its rhythm, particularly on offence. There were promising moments throughout the tournament, but it was only in the final games that things began to click and we started reaching the end zone as we had hoped.
“The girls won all their placement games and finished seventh. Several longstanding leaders and standout performers this year, including Iida Saalismaa, Oona Muhonen and Naema Högström, played their final youth tournament. More than half the players will still be eligible for U17 next year, however, so this year’s experience gives us a good foundation to build on.”
Great Britain won the U17 girls’ title.
U17 Boys (3–2, 4th place)
U17 boys games
- Finland – Poland 35-22
- Finland – Austria 48-33
- Finland – TEY 27-26
- Finland – Spain 38-45
- Finland – Italy 26-46
A touchdown in the final minute denied Finland’s U17 boys a medal at last year’s championships. This year, the team arrived with a strong squad and its sights firmly set on the podium. Despite an excellent start, a medal remained out of reach. Suominen comments on the boys’ performances:
“The U17 boys also underwent significant changes this year as players from last year’s squad aged out of youth competition. However, the new squad was full of players with several years of flag football experience, and they played fearless, versatile flag football. The narrow semifinal defeat against eventual European champions Spain was undoubtedly one of the best flag football games Finland has ever played.
“Both teams played well in the bronze medal game. Unfortunately, we made a few more mistakes than Italy, and Finland finished fourth for the second consecutive year. Lenni Jortikka, who had an excellent tournament, and Aaro Lepoaho, making his national team debut, were particularly effective at turning Joel Suominen’s passes into touchdowns. Xolani Vehviläinen and Kaapo Salmensaari anchored the defence.
“Missing out on a medal by such a narrow margin for the second time in a row will undoubtedly hurt for a long time. On the other hand, we finished ahead of many countries with very different resources and much larger player pools than we have here in the north. The boys should be proud of that.”
Spain won the U17 boys’ title.
Young Players Need More Games
Suominen, who completed his first season in charge of Finland’s youth national team programme, has already drawn up a plan to give young athletes more opportunities to practise and play outside national team activities.
“In many countries, young players return to their club teams after a national team tournament and continue playing flag football in their domestic leagues.
“To keep pace with countries where the opportunities to play are clearly better, we will work this winter to provide greater continuity and give young national team athletes opportunities to practise flag football even when they do not have a club team of their own.”
Header photo: Riccardo Foglio
