IFAF Africa Flag 2025 is underway, and history has been made in Cairo.
Abdelrahman Haggag of Egypt scored the first-ever touchdown in an African men’s continental tournament as the hosts edged Cameroon 32-31 in a thrilling opening game. Zeafari Meryam of Morocco's recorded the first women’s touchdown to inspire a 27-6 victory over Egypt.
Ali Rafik, president and founder of EFAF, The Egyptian Federation of American Football, welcomed players and coaches from 11 teams representing eight nations, dignitaries and supporters to the Club One Maadi Stadium in Cairo.
“It is a great honor and a proud moment to welcome you all to the very first African Flag Football Championship, hosted here in the heart of Africa, the vibrant and historic city of Cairo,” he said. “This event marks more than the start of a tournament. It’s the beginning of a new journey for our sport across the continent.
“Today, we gather. Not just to compete, but to unite through teamwork, sportsmanship, and a shared passion for the game.”
With the men’s teams each having played twice the first day’s group games action, Nigeria and Tunisia are the tournament’s only unbeaten teams and lead Group A and Group B respectively.
Nigeria opened with a 40-20 win over South Africa and then beat Cameroon 47-20. Tunisia scored 46 unanswered points against Uganda then defeated Morocco by a score of 26-14. The top two finishers in each group will advance to the semifinals.
Men’s Tournament Group A Results Egypt 32 Cameroon 31 Nigeria 40 South Africa 20 Nigeria 47 Cameroon 20 South Africa 25 Egypt 20 Nigeria vs Egypt, 6.45pm local time Cameroon vs South Africa, 6.45pm
Standings Nigeria 2-0 South Africa 1-1 Egypt 1-1 Cameroon 0-2
Men’s Tournament Group B Results Morocco 34 Senegal 20 Tunisia 46 Uganda 0 Tunisia 26 Morocco 14 Senegal 19 Uganda 18 Senegal vs Tunisia, 8pm Uganda vs Morocco, 8pm
Standings Tunisia 2-0 Morocco 1-1 Senegal 1-1 Uganda 0-2
Morocco made history in the women’s tournament with an opening game 27-6 victory over hosts Egypt but were then defeated 38-6 by Nigeria. The top placed team at the conclusion of the round robin competition will advance to the gold medal game, with the second and third placed teams entering a playoff for the right to advance to the final.
“It was amazing,” said Morocco center Sonia Mouimen of her nation’s opening win. “We were really hungry, and we just played our game and that showed in the score.
“It’s a really proud moment because it’s the first time for women to play flag football in Africa and we are really proud to represent our country, for all the Morocco players who are behind us and for every Moroccan woman who plays sports.”
When asked about potentially having to win a playoff game to reach the final, she added: “I’m not worried about it. I have confidence in my team. We are the lions of Morocco, so we are going to go up again and play our best game.”
Women’s Tournament Scores Morocco 27 Egypt 6 Nigeria 38 Morocco 6 Egypt vs Nigeria, 8pm
Standings Nigeria 1-0 Morocco 1-1 Egypt 0-1
Scores from IFAF Africa Flag 2025 will be updated at the IFAF Game Centre.
