Reigning champion Canada looks to defend the IFAF U20 World Junior Championship crown on home soil in Edmonton against nations from five continents during three action-packed game days from June 22-30.
Commonwealth Stadium and Clarke Stadium will host a total of 12 games as Australia, Austria, Brazil, Japan, Panama and the United States look to wrestle the gold medal from Canada at the sixth edition of this international tackle football tournament.
Tickets for single games, Canada Passes, and Tournament Passes are now on sale through TicketMaster and from the official website https://worldjrfootballchampionships.com.
Game Preview: Canada vs Brazil Game Preview: USA vs Panama Game Preview: Japan vs Australia Game Preview: Austria vs Canada 2Three-time winners Canada - the most successful nation at the international junior level – will take on a Brazilsquad competing in the U20 category for the first time this Saturday, June 22, at 5pm in Commonwealth Stadium. Canada won gold in 2018 in front of a crowd of more than 35,000 at Estadio Olímpico Universitario in Mexico City, adding to the title won under current head coach Warren Craney in 2016.
“The pressure is the expectation,” says Craney. “It’s a lot easier not going in as the top-ranked team and having to defend our title on home soil. It will be very difficult and every year the quality of football around the world gets better. There is no easy route to the final anymore.”
Two-time champions the United States – who won the inaugural competition in 2009 at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, and again in 2014 – look to bounce back having finished third in 2018. With former Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike Kelly at the helm, the Americans take on Panama to kick off the action at Commonwealth Stadium at 12pm on Saturday.
The adjoining Clarke Stadium will open the celebration of junior football at 11am on Saturday when six-time European champions Austria face Canada 2. The additional host nation team will compete due to constraints that impaced the participation of an additional representative from either Europe or the Americas.
Clarke Stadium will also witness two-time bronze medalist Japan take on the team that has travelled the furthest to Canada, the junior Outback squad from Australia, kick off 4pm.
The first round of games will determine the matchups for the U20 semifinals when another quadruple-header of games are played on Wednesday, June 26. The medal rounds will take place on Sunday, June 30.
2024 IFAF World Junior Championships Schedule
Saturday, June 22 Commonwealth Stadium 12pm USA vs. Panama (Game 2) 5pm Canada vs. Brazil (Game 4)Clarke Stadium 11am Canada 2 vs. Austria (Game 1) 4pm Japan vs. Australia (Game 3)
Wednesday, June 26
Commonwealth Stadium 12pm W2 vs. W3 5pm W1 vs. W4
Clarke Stadium 11am L1 vs. L4 4pm L2 vs. L3
Sunday, June 30
Commonwealth Stadium 12pm Bronze Medal Game 5pm Gold Medal GameClarke Stadium 11am Seventh & Eighth Place Game 4pm Fifth & Sixth Place Game
Past winners and host cities 2009: Canton, Ohio, USA: United States 41, Canada 3 2012: Austin, Texas, USA: Canada 23, United States 17 2014: Kuwait City, Kuwait: United States 40, Canada 17 2016: Harbin, China: Canada 24, United States 6 2018: Mexico City, Mexico: Canada 14, Mexico 7
