Japan and China will go head-to-head for top spot in the Asia competition at the IFAF Asia-Oceania flag football continental championships at 10.30am local time on Sunday at the Fenghua Sports Center in Ningbo.
The winners will claim a place in the Gold Medal Game against Australia at 4.45pm and will be guaranteed Asia’s berth at the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships in Germany next year.
In what is fast becoming a rivalry game in IFAF competition, Japan will aim to repeat a 33-18 victory from the tournament’s opening game, while host China will look to again triumph as they did when the sides met at The World Games in August.
“We need to win in the final; that is why we are here,” said Japan defensive back Miyuna Yamamoto. “It doesn’t matter who we are playing.”
Japan topped Group A with a perfect 4-0 record then put 33 unanswered points past Malaysia in the semifinals. Second-placed China finished with a 3-1 mark before winning 47-6 against the 4-0 Group B winner the Philippines in the final four bracket.
Australia won the Oceania competition as Olivia Manfre caught a come from behind touchdown inside the final minute to beat New Zealand by a single point. The win secured Australia’s top spot in Group C and earned qualification for the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships as Oceania’s representative.
“We worked really well as a team to be able to achieve the goal today,” said wide receiver Amelie Prosser-Shaw. “Ultimately our aim was to come away with as many wins as we could but also learn a lot. We’re a very new and young team and we’re really starting to come together as a whole, support each other and trust each other on both sides of the ball.
“I think that’s the most important thing, especially looking forward now we’ve qualified for Germany next year and the big game tomorrow, is to hopefully take home the Asia-Oceania championship.”
The losing finalist from the Japan-China match up will face American Samoa for the final spot at the IFAF world championships in a third-place game at 3.30pm on Sunday. Playing in international competition for the first time, American Samoa posted a 2-2 group stages record, finishing one win ahead of New Zealand.
Sunday, October 26 9.15am: Asia tournament Third Place Game: Malaysia vs Philippines 10.30am: Asia tournament Final: Japan vs China 3.30pm: Asia-Oceania Bronze Medal Game: Loser of Japan/China vs America Samoa (Winner qualifies for 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships) 4.45pm: Asia-Oceania Gold Medal Game: Winner of Japan/China vs Australia
Results & Standings
Semifinals Japan 33 Malaysia 0 China 47 Philippines 6 Group A Standings Japan 4-0 China 3-1 Indonesia 2-2 Thailand 1-3 Hong Kong, China 0-4 Results China 48 Thailand 32 Japan 44 Hong Kong, China 6 Japan 41 Thailand 0 Indonesia 39 Hong Kong, China 12 Japan 33 China 18 Indonesia 33 Thailand 24 Japan 56 Indonesia 35 China 41 Hong Kong, China 0 Thailand 14 Hong Kong, China 6 China 40 Indonesia 20 Group B Standings Philippines 4-0 Malaysia 3-1 Korea 2-2 Jordan 1-3 India 0-4 Results Philippines 62 India 0 Malaysia 33 Jordan 0 Korea 34 India 20 Malaysia 32 Korea 7 Philippines 19 Malaysia 12 Korea 25 Jordan 12 Jordan 26 India 12 Philippines 35 Korea 6 Jordan 28 Philippines 0 Malaysia 34 India 12 Group C Standings Australia 3-1 American Samoa 2-2 New Zealand 1-3 Results Australia 20 New Zealand 19 Australia 27 American Samoa 6 American Samoa 22 New Zealand 13 Australia 38 American Samoa 12 American Samoa 21 New Zealand 12 New Zealand 13 Australia 12 Placement Games Indonesia 53 Jordan 0 Thailand 46 Korea 0 Photo: Ernesto Campuzano
