With a little more than a month remaining before the start of the inaugural International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Junior World Championship, the official game schedule and kickoff times have been announced.
The inaugural tournament features teams from eight nations spanning four continents - Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Sweden and the United States - and will be played in Fawcett Stadium adjacent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, from June 27 to July 5.
No. 1-seeded Canada kicks off the historic event against New Zealand at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 27, followed by a clash between fourth-seeded Japan and reigning European junior champion Germany at 1 p.m. Third-seed Mexico takes on Sweden at 4 p.m. before all eight teams are introduced at an official opening ceremony at 7 p m. The United States' first Junior National Team kicks off against France at 8 p.m. to conclude the action-packed opening day (all times ET, local).
USA Football's Junior National Team is led by head coach Chuck Kyle of Cleveland St. Ignatius, who has led his Wildcats to 10 large-school Ohio state titles and two USA TODAY "national championships." Team USA will practice at Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio, from June 14-25. All sessions will be free and open to the public with details announced soon.
On Wednesday, July 1, the two losing teams from the Japan-Germany and Canada-New Zealand games will meet at 10 a.m., followed at 1 p.m. by the teams that lost in the Mexico-Sweden and USA-France games.
The winning teams from the first round of games advance to a semi-final bracket with the two winning teams from the Japan-Germany games and Canada-New Zealand meeting at 4 p.m. and the two winning teams from the Mexico-Sweden and USA-France games play at 7 p.m.
The losing teams from Wednesday's two early games will meet on Saturday, July 4 at 1 p.m. to contest seventh place overall and the teams winning Wednesday early games will play for fifth place at 4 p.m. The losers of Wednesday's semi-final games will compete for the Bronze Medal on July 4 at 7 p.m.
The Championship Game for the inaugural 2009 IFAF Junior World Championship kicks off at Fawcett Stadium at 1 p.m. on Sunday, July 5, between the two Wednesday semi-final winners.
Tickets for football's first junior world championship are now available online or by calling 1-800-574-5874. All-day general admission tickets are $10; reserved tickets to all 12 tournament games are $50. All-inclusive travel packages to Canton with tournament game tickets are also available online or by calling 1-888-310-4255 (Continental U.S. and Canada).
2009 IFAF Junior World Championship Game Schedule
All Games will be played at Fawcett Stadium, adjacent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Saturday, June 27
10am Game 1 Canada vs. New Zealand
1pm Game 2 Japan vs. Germany
4pm Game 3 Mexico vs. Sweden
7pm Opening Ceremony
8pm Game 4 United States vs. France
Wednesday, July 1
10am Game 5 Losing team Game 2 vs. Losing team Game 1
1pm Game 6 Losing team Game 3 vs. Losing team Game 4
4pm Game 7 Winning team Game 1 vs. Winning team Game 2
7pm Game 8 Winning team Game 4 vs. Winning team Game 3
Saturday, July 4
1pm 7th place playoff Losing team Game 6 vs. Losing team Game 5
4pm 5th place playoff Winning team Game 5 vs. Winning team Game 6
7pm Bronze Medal Game Losing team Game 8 vs. Losing team Game 7
Sunday, July 5
1pm Gold Medal game Winning team Game 7 vs. Winning team Game 8
* Home teams to be determined; all times local (ET)
2009 IFAF Junior World Championship official seeding:
1. Canada
2. United States
3. Mexico
4. Japan
5. Germany
6. Sweden
7. France
8. New Zealand