The United States defends the women’s IFAF Americas Flag Football title in Panama this week with challenges for their crown coming from across the continent.
They will come from North, Central and South America and from the Caribbean as nine nations converge on the Estadio Virgilio Tejeira Andrión in Penonomé from September 12-14. The top five teams will qualify for the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships to be played in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Games will be streamed live at IFAF.TV. The schedule, results and standings are available at https://affpanama.org/calendario_ffcc/ and through the official tournament app Boolw.
The women’s competition comes less than four weeks after world number one and reigning world champion USA was beaten on the final play at The World Games as Mexico retained its title. These two great rivals are kept apart in the group stages, but Mexico will meet The World Games bronze medalists Canada, while USA contends with host Panama, the continent’s fourth-ranked team.
“We know them well, they know us well, and we have tremendous respect for each other,” said USA head coach Saaid Mortazavi of Mexico. “Our games are always intense and competitive. We’ve reviewed the film, addressed the important areas, and taken lessons from every moment. I know we’ll be ready to compete against the best in the Americas when we get to Panama.”
Mexico head coach Ernesto Alfaro Espinoza said: “It is a very high sports rivalry that has existed for a long time. With the recent finals that have been contested, it has already become a classic. We are in a very competitive group. Flag football is growing around the world, which makes any rival a serious concern. We know Canada has a great team and it will always be very challenging to play against that nation.”
Joining USA and Panama in Group A is the first-ever Caribbean nation to enter the IFAF Americas as Jamaica competes alongside Brazil and Colombia.
“As a newly formed team, our main goal is to play and represent Jamaica with pride,” says Jamaica head coach Keisha Hamilton-Stewart. “It's a tough group, and we know we have a lot of work to do.”
In Group B, Argentina enters a women’s team for the first time alongside Mexico, Canada, and Guatemala.
“We believe this represents another step forward in continuing to recognize and support female athletes in our country,” says Argentina head coach Juan Manuel Sesto. “It is an honor and a privilege to compete against two of the best national teams of this sport. It is a valuable opportunity to learn from the very best, and we look forward to those matches with great anticipation.”
Canada head Rachel Lessard, who won the 2010 IFAF Flag Football World Championships as a player said: “We are aiming for gold. We have a crew that started playing together less than three months ago and we performed well in China. But we know we can do better.”
Two days of group action begins at 8am Central Time on Friday, September 12, as hosts Panama take on Brazil and USA faces Colombia.
At 2.15pm on Saturday, USA meets host Panama, while the memory of a Mexico 25-13 win over Canada in the semifinals of The World Games sets the scene for their Americas clash. The top two teams in each group will advance to the semifinals of the knockout stages.
“We want to settle the score,” says Canada’s Lessard. “We gave them a good game, but we are confident we can do better. I can also add that I can’t wait to see Lea Duval, our rusher, play man on Diana Flores again.”
Women’s Group A USA Panama Brazil Jamaica Colombia
Women’s Group B Mexico Canada Guatemala Argentina
Photo: Ernesto Campuzano
