If you’re looking for a dark horse to be among the medal contention at the 2024 IFAF Flag Football World Championships, one consideration is France.

The European nation’s men’s and women’s teams sit on the cusp of the IFAF World Rankings in tenth and eleventh place respectively and gave the flag football community a taste of their capabilities at the European continental championships last summer.

France’s men finished in fifth place at the 2021 World Championship in Israel, losing only to eventual champion the United States in the group stages while beating Spain Chile and India. A tough quarterfinal clash paired France with Mexico, who would go on to claim the silver medal, then they beat European powerhouse Denmark and Austria to claim that fifth spot overall.

The placing qualified France for 2022 The World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, but an 0-3 group record and a quarterfinal defeat to Italy, who later pushed USA all the way in the final, left them winless.

Anthony Riquin led France in Ireland at the 2023 IFAF European Flag Football Championships, the Marseille Blue Stars quarterback completing an impressive comeback to line up under center. Early in his international career, Riquin turned down the opportunity to represent his country because he was considered a safety rather than a quarterback, but he eventually enjoyed great success in his preferred position. Having broken his leg at a tournament in Spain, Riquin became the national team’s offensive coordinator but then fought his way back to the QB position when Les Bleus headed to Limerick, Ireland, on the continental stage.

The French women, missing several key players through injury, were unfortunate to lose to Great Britain in their opening game at the Euros in 2023 and dug deep to fight their way to the bronze medal game where they lost out to Germany.

NFL and IFAF Global Flag Football Ambassador Elisa De Santis first represented her country at the under 15s junior level before progressing to the senior squad, where she became a key part of the French challenge.

“I think we can build something good with our team and I believe we have great potential, but you don’t know until you play against other nations,” she says. “This is the beginning of something new for us.”

At the last IFAF World Championships in Israel in 2021, France drew with Spain, beat Team Neutral and Finland, and their only Group A loss came against the formidable United States. A loss to Brazil in the quarterfinals denied France at shot at the medals and then they came up against a Panama side that had expected to advance further, losing again before beating Italy into seventh place.

Like the men, at The World Games France’s women could not register a win, but they faced the toughest of challenges against silver medalists USA, bronze medalists Panama, fourth place finisher Austria and eventual champions Mexico in the knockout stages.

“I have played other sports, but I think for me flag football is as great as basketball or volleyball or any other sport because you have to be fast and have great agility, but you have to think because there is a lot of strategy,” added de Santis. “I think that is more important than in many other sports. Flag football for me is enough and I do not need to play anything else.”