One more nation will qualify for the inaugural 2009 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Junior World Championship this weekend and one will move a step closer to joining the eight-team, four-continent field that will assemble in Canton, Ohio, this summer.
Two qualifying junior national team games will take place on Saturday, January 24. The Australian capital of Canberra will host an Australia-New Zealand match-up while Panama will host the Bahamas in Panama City.
Six countries - Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Sweden and the United States - have already earned berths to Canton for the June 27-July 5 tournament. All games will be played at Pro Football Hall of Fame Field in Fawcett Stadium, home to the NFL's annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game. USA Football's Junior National Team will represent the U.S., which is America's first national team in the sport composed of high school-aged players. Team USA's head coach is CHUCK KYLE of Cleveland St. Ignatius High School.
The Australia-New Zealand winner will represent Oceania and be the seventh nation to join the international field in Ohio.
Mexico will face the Panama-Bahamas winner in Mexico City on Feb. 14 for the eighth and final perch at the 2009 IFAF Junior World Championship.
"It is testament to the growth of the game of American football internationally that we have such a diverse group of countries from across the world who are determined to compete at the highest level of our sport," said IFAF President TOMMY WIKING. "Only a few years ago it would have been almost unthinkable that these countries would be meeting in qualifiers of such magnitude."
New Zealand at Australia, Saturday, January 24, Canberra: The New Zealand ‘Ironblacks' triumphed, 14-8, over the Australian Junior Outback team the last time the two rival nations met on the junior level in 2003.
The 45-man New Zealand squad was selected from a total of 248 players who were invited to attend a series of training camps held to test and assess the country's junior football talent. A preliminary squad of 80 was invited to two separate trial weekends in October, held in New Zealand's capital of Wellington and in its largest city, Auckland, which saw the talented kiwis compete for final selection.
More than 90 of the best young gridiron players in Australia were invited to attend a camp at the country's peak training facility, the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. A group of 45 of were then selected to begin a pregame training camp on Tuesday, Jan. 20, under direction of Head Coach JOHN LUDVIGSON to prepare for Team New Zealand.
Bahamas at Panama, Saturday, January 24, Panama City: The Bahamas will make history by playing the nation's first-ever junior national team game when a 45-man roster travels to Panama City. Youth players have only been playing organized games under the Bahamas American Football Federation (BAFF) for two seasons and in the fall of 2008, eight community-based high school tackle football teams were established and totaled 320 players. Panama's last venture into international competition resulted in a 14-6 win over France in the 2007 NFL Global Junior Championship in South Florida.
Visit the official 2009 IFAF Junior World Championship website at http://www.jwcfootball.com/
About IFAF
The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) unites more than 50 countries on five continents through a burgeoning international sport. With national football federations in existence for more than 70 years, IFAF was created in 1998 to organize and further develop the game through international cooperation and global competition. Having conducted Senior World Championships (players aged 20 and older) since 1999 in Europe and Asia, Summer 2009 in Canton, Ohio, represents the first IFAF Junior World Championship (19 years and younger). The IFAF office is located near Paris, France. For more, visit www.ifaf.info.
About USA Football
USA Football, the sport's national governing body on youth and amateur levels, hosts more than 100 football training events annually offering education for coaches and game officials, skill development for players and resources for youth football league commissioners. The independent non-profit manages U.S. national teams within the sport for international competitions and has provided more than $1.5 million in equipment grants and volunteer background check subsidies for youth football leagues since 2006. USA Football was started by the NFL and NFLPA in 2002 through the NFL Youth Football Fund and is chaired by former U.S. Congressman and professional quarterback Jack Kemp.
