China will welcome a record number of teams and nations to IFAF Asia-Oceania Flag, the biennial flag football continental championships, which will be played at the Fenghua Sports Center in Ningbo from October 24-26.

A total of 28 teams from 16 nations feature in the men’s and women’s competitions with five countries – American Samoa, China, Hong Kong, Jordan and Mongolia – entering IFAF continental competition for the first time. Three nations will qualify for the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships to be played in Dusseldorf, Germany, next summer.

IFAF will crown separate Asia and Oceania champions in both the men’s and women’s competitions and they will join 13 nations already qualified for the world championships, along with a third-place finisher. Seven nations from Europe, five from the Americas and one from Africa have secured a berth with three remaining spots available. Games will be streamed live on IFAF.TV.

The overall Asia-Oceania gold medal in both the men’s and women’s tournaments will bring down the curtain in Ningbo when the Asia and Oceania winners meet to determine the continental champions.

In the women’s competition, reigning champions and the continent’s top world-ranked (3^rd) team Japan is joined by host China, Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong in Group A of the Asia tournament. China surprised Japan at The World Games in Chengdu in August, beating them 28-22 on the way to securing sixth place overall.

Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, India and Jordan will compete in Group B. The group placements were decided by the serpentine method using the IFAF Flag Football World Rankings with non-ranked teams drawn randomly into groups.

The top two teams in each group will advance to the semifinals after a round robin competition, while teams that do not qualify for the knockout stages will compete in placement games. The women’s champion will qualify for the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships.

American Samoa, Australia and New Zealand will play each other twice in a three-team Oceania round robin with the group winners crowned champions and qualifying for the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships. Australia were beaten finalists on their debut at the 2023 Asia-Oceania Flag tournament.

The second placed team in the Oceania group will face the runner up from the Asia gold medal game to decide the third place available in Dusseldorf.

The men’s competition will feature four groups of three teams in the Asia tournament. Among the highlights, the continent’s top world ranked (10^th) team Japan is joined by Philippines and Hong Kong in Group A while reigning champion Thailand faces Singapore and Jordan.

Each group includes nations making their debut in IFAF international competition: China, Hong Kong, Jordan and Mongolia. The group placements were decided by the serpentine method using the IFAF Flag Football World Rankings with non-ranked teams drawn randomly into groups.

The top two teams in each group will advance to the quarterfinals after a round robin competition and will play knockout rounds to determine the Asia champion which also earns qualification for the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships. Teams that do not qualify for the knockout stages will compete in a round robin tournament to determine the 9^th through 12^th placement places.

American Samoa, Australia and New Zealand will play each other twice in a three-team Oceania round robin with the group winners crowned champions and qualifying for the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships.

The second placed team in the Oceania group will face the runner up from the Asia gold medal game to decide the third place available in Dusseldorf.