IFAF is counting down to 2026 by highlighting some of the memorable moments in international American football from the past twelve months.
Great Britain’s women defended the IFAF Euro Flag they won in 2023 and Italy’s men were crowned first time winners at the Val-de-Marne Interdepartmental Sports Park in Choisy-le-Roi, Val-de-Marne. A record number of teams and nations competed in the southeast suburbs of Paris as France hosted the continent’s finest.
The Lionesses triumphed with a dramatic 34-33 overtime win to defeat Austria who looked to have sealed gold having led until late in the game when Great Britain recovered to tie the game at 27-27 and force the extra period.
Marta Mathews, who had almost scored the game winner on the final play of regulation, was stopped a yard short in overtime then Emily Kemp made an impressive overtime touchdown grab in the end zone despite close coverage and Grace Conway added the point after.
A quick touchdown pass to Magdalena Helm produced an immediate reply then Austria went for broke, attempting a two-point pass for the win, but Mathews batted the ball away for a stunning one-point victory.
“I’m pretty speechless and very proud of the team,” said quarterback Jess Allen, who made her international debut at The World Games in August where GB finished fifth, a place behind Austria. “That was such a crazy game. We’ve worked so hard for this, we deserve this. We had a slow start, but our offense managed to pull it back and our defense got some really great stops.”
Italy was crowned the men’s champion, beating Austria 27-19 to win gold having previously been the continent’s runners up four times dating back as far as 2005.
Austria had to settle for silver just as they had two years ago, losing to Germany in the 2023 final, and in Finland last summer when they were defeated by the United States at the IFAF world championships.
Vincent Papale caught three first half touchdowns from MVP quarterback Luke Zahradka for a 21-6 halftime lead. The son of former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Vince Papale, whose story inspired the move Invincible, scored either side of a scoring grab of Austria’s Simon Knoll before giving Italy a commanding lead at the break.
“It’s just unbelievable,” said Papale of the win. “I’m just so happy to be here and be part of this team and wear Italy across my chest. I think our offense and defense came through when we needed them. We firmly believe we’re the best offense not only in Europe but also in the world and we’ll put that to the test In Germany next year.”
