Austria’s men and women keep threatening to win a gold medal in IFAF competition.
The men are of course three-time world champions but not since 2012 have they claimed the coveted crown. Austria lost the title game to the United States in 2018 and again in 2024, a year after they had taken the silver medal at the IFAF European Continental Championships. Second place was also achieved at the 2025 IFAF Euro Flag in a final loss to Italy.
Winning silver in Düsseldorf will be enough this summer to secure qualification for LA28, but the team ranked number two in the world is eager to return to the summit of international flag football.
The women missed out on bronze by a single point two years ago in Finland and their best finish was as silver medalists back in 2016. At Euro Flag 2025 they had to settle for second place after an agonizing overtime defeat to Great Britain having lost the bronze medal to Canada at The World Games.
In Opposition in Düsseldorf
Group B is the only one to feature four teams from different continents. Austria’s men take on Asia champion Japan, bronze medalists from the Americas Flag 2025, Canada and Africa’s first continental champion Nigeria.
Austria last played Japan at the 2018 world championships, winning 32-19 in the group stages. Their most recent meeting with Canada was in 2016 and produced a win on the way to finishing fourth at the 2016 games. Austria has never faced Nigeria in competition.
“Our group is very exciting,” said men’s team head coach Michael Salamon. “Japan is a regular at the world championships and is always difficult to play against with their own style. Canada seems underrated; they performed strongly at the continentals but lost to Switzerland at the 2024 world championships. Nigeria is new to the tournament, so we’ll have to see how that goes. In the broadcasts of their previous games, they look very athletic.
“Overall, these are great and very different challenges. As the top-seeded team in the group, our goal is, of course, to win it. We will work hard over the next few months to achieve that.”
The women face familiar foes in Group C. Memories of that narrow Euro Flag loss to Great Britain are still strong from last year when a bold decision to go for two points to win in overtime fell short and the gold slipped away in a 34-33 defeat. The rivals also met in the quarterfinals of The World Games last year when Austria won 40-28.
Austria last faced France in a loss at Euro Flag 2023 and fought back late in the game to beat China 47-45 in the group stages of The World Games.
“In my eyes, our group is very balanced, with any team capable of beating any other,” says head coach Robert Riedl. “The games showed that the teams are very evenly matched. Even our most recent game against France was very close. I am looking forward to the challenge, and planning for the coming year has already begun.”
Players to Watch
Men: Luis Effenberger, wide receiver / quarterback
Women: Magdalena Helm, wide receiver
IFAF World Championships Pedigree
Austria proudly holds the distinction of winning the first ever men’s tournament on home soil in 2002 and defending the title two years later in France with both victories coming over Germany. Austria was the last team to defeat the United States at an IFAF world championships, beating them 47-40 in Sweden in 2012 to lift the world crown for the third time.
Silver medals in 2018 and 2024 came after losses to USA with two fourth place finishes recorded in 2006 and 2016, making them the second-most successful nation in history.
Austria’s women lost a thriller 41-40 to Japan in the bronze medal game two years ago denying them a chance to repeat their bronze medal success from 2021 when Brazil was beaten 26-13. A best finish came in 2018 with a silver medal having lost 35-22 to Panama in the United States.
Austria has been in contention for a podium finish in six of the last seven IFAF world championships with bronze medals in 2010 and 2014 courtesy of wins over Mexico with fourth place achieved in 2012.
The Coaches
Austria men’s team head coach Michael Salamon is a former national team quarterback and has coached the men’s national team since 2020. He does not have a tackle football background except for one year as a player and watching games on all levels. He comes from the offensive side of the game but has also coached defense.
Women’s head coach Robert Reidl led Austria to four consecutive European titles from 2009 to 2015, second place at the IFAF World Championships in 2016 and third place at the 2010 and 2014 tournaments. He was also at the helm for the second-place finishes at the IFAF world championships in 2024 and Euro Flag 2025 and at The World Games last year.
In Preparation
Austria’s women have held tryouts and have monthly camps planned through until departure for Düsseldorf.
Under the guidance of men’s flag football head coach Michael Salamon and his staff, Austria’s elite flag and tackle national team players gathered in Schwechat just south of Vienna for a unique testing session. Players whose national teams have won two straight IFAF Men’s European Championships and multiple U19 crowns in tackle football worked out alongside some of Austria’s flag stars who reached the finals of the most recent IFAF world and continental championships.
The goal is to integrate the best football athletes in Austria into a unit that can compete for places in the squad for this year’s competition. A series of games were played by four mixed teams consisting of players from both disciplines. Among the athletes participating were Luis Effenberger, Valentin Ehrenfried, Maximilian Hillebrand, Martin Stur, and Benedikt Wolf, who have spearheaded Austria’s success on the flag football field. From tackle, Adrian Platzgummer, Bernhard Seikovits, Philipp Haun, Jan Mayerhofer, and Benjamin Straight were among those who took part.
