Members of the men’s and women’s national teams of Australia and New Zealand will meet in a unique Flag Football Showcase which is the highlight of the Official Post Game Party at the NFL Kickoff Festival in Melbourne this week.
The Wilson Flag Football field at the Kia Arena will host a series of events integrating flag football into the excitement of the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers playing the first-ever regular season NFL game in Australia.
Youth and celebrity clinics, school visits, a Creator Cup, and cross-code skills challenges will take place alongside the Australia versus New Zealand international game. This is the first NFL international game to take place following last month’s announcement of a new agreement between IFAF, the NFL and the IOC to work together to promote flag football in the Olympics.
Australia’s women’s team features six players who last month finished 12th at the IFAF Flag Football World Championships: Kyana Gordon Belo, Abbie Leyshon, Emma Vandervelde, Zoe Cass, Elizabeth Lomu-Stewart and Olivia White.
The Oceania rivals last met at the 2025 IFAF Asia-Oceania Continental Championships with each beating the other in the group stages as New Zealand won 13-12 and then Australia were victorious 20-19 on the way to winning the gold medal.
Australia’s men’s team features six players who also finished 12th at the IFAF Flag Football World Championships in Düsseldorf: Marcel Pascual, Wyatt Gardner, Cain Barnes, Cody Dolan, James Young and Jacob Atley.
Australia beat New Zealand twice at the 2025 IFAF Asia-Oceania Continental Championships by scores of 40-25 and 57-25 on the way to winning both the Oceania and combined Asia-Oceania titles.
New Zealand burst onto the international scene in 2023 with a stunning run to the final of the IFAF Asia-Oceania continental championships where they narrowly lost to Thailand.
Photo: AP Content Services for IFAF
