Delegates from nations going for continental glory at Euro Flag 2025 met in Paris this week at an onsite technical meeting to help them prepare for the tournament that will be played in the French capital from September 25-27.

Representatives of the 43 teams that will compete for gold toured the locker rooms, accommodation, playing fields and general facilities at the Interdepartmental Sports Park in Choisy-le-Roi, Val-de-Marne. The gathering also provided an opportunity to review a prospective game schedule, uniforms, anti-doping procedures, and transportation.

“I think it’s a big step for IFAF and also for the tournament that we went there beforehand to see the venue,” said Torsten Grom, Head of National Flag Football Teams Germany. “It was really good. You can see all the good things and all the challenges we might face that we have to work though.”

Germany’s women’s head coach Jona Winkel added: “This was a necessary step to see which areas potentially need some improvement and which areas we’re really happy with. We felt that logistically it was a huge step towards a more professional way of conducting the European Championships.”

While the schedule is not yet available for public consumption, Winkel echoed the sentiment of all delegates in appreciating the opportunity to preview their potential program of games.

“IFAF is practicing good and early communication, which helps a lot with our planning for the tournament,” he said. “We feel like it’s a huge improvement to have a schedule early and to be asked for our feedback. We already got the groups a few weeks ago and now to have a schedule to discuss a few months before the tournament is a big step forward.”

Logistically, hosting the European championships in a suburb of a major city such as Paris creates different daily travel requirements from hotel to venue compared with the 2023 tournament when participants were housed and played on the University of Limerick campus. Group games will be played on turf fields before a switch to a grass surface for the medal games.

“The good thing is that there are more than enough fields to play multiple games at once and for the players it’s a good situation that all the fields are really close together,” added Grom.

The reigning European champion men’s team and 2023 bronze medal-winning women will arrived in Paris by train in September, with a pair of accompanying support vehicles. Their preparation is designed to make the journey as smooth as possible in their quest for continued success on the flag football field.

“On both sides of the ball, it is going to be a transition time for Germany,” explains Winkel. “On the men’s side we have turnaround among the coaches and with some of the players. With the women we have a very young team and will have the next generation under center as our 15-year tenured quarterback Stephanie Thiele is retiring.

“Still, as Team Germany we always want to end up in the top three for sure and we’ll see how far we can get.”

Photo: Ian Humes