The National Sports Federation of American Football in Chile is to host an historic Women's Flag Football Development Tournament, the first such event recognized by the Chilean Olympic Committee and the International Federation of American Football (IFAF).

The event will take place on four dates – starting on May 31 – with seven clubs participating: Blindados, Ferroviarios, Patriotas, Bulldog, Volcanos, Alianza X, and Húsares.

"This will prepare the future national teams of Chile through real play, clinics, scrimmages and training, all under the standards of high performance,” said Mónica Saldías, president of the Chilean federation. “This process is key considering that flag football will be an sport played at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

"Today marks a before and after for women's flag football in Chile. It fills me with pride to see that we are building a solid, inclusive path with international projection for our athletes.”

Chile also welcomed coach Topacio Daniela Conde, a silver medal winner with the Mexican women's flag football team at the 2024 IFAF Flag Football World Championships in Finland, and champion at The World Games in 2022 when Mexico defeated the United States 39-6.

To inspire Chile’s women’s flag football athletes, coach Topacio shared her inspirational story of effort, struggle, motivation and achievements, which have led her to become a fundamental part of the international success of Mexican flag football. All members of the Chile Federated Women's Development program had an opportunity to listen to her message of inspiration and growth.

“She explained what it means to be a high-performance athlete, what it means to train seriously, and what it takes to rise to the top level of sport,” added Mónica Saldías. “Our aim was for these new Chilean players to understand that this is highly competitive, and that we’re in an Olympic cycle—even if the country doesn’t qualify, it’s about forming elite athletes.

“That’s why we invited coach Topacio to share what it’s like to train elite athletes, in this case, the Mexican national team. The goal was for these girls to see global, female role models who could inspire them so that one day, they too might achieve the kinds of results that the Mexican, U.S., or Canadian federations are reaching, for example by qualifying for the World Games.”

Photo: IFAF