The event will take place at the United States Performance Center (USPC) in Charlotte, N.C. and at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, bringing together the best men’s and women’s flag football teams from North and South America.
The Continental Championships will serve as a qualifying pathway for the first time, with the reinforced global competitions structure reflecting flag football’s momentum as one of the world’s fastest-growing sports. Last June, flag football debuted at The World Games 2022 in Birmingham, Alabama, marking the sport’s first time featured on a multi-sport, global stage. Earlier this year, the National Football League (NFL) conducted its Pro Bowl Games in a flag football format for the first time, showcasing the short format, inclusive and non-contact discipline to a global audience of millions.
The 2023 Americas Continental Championship will feature the most successful flag programs of the past two years. The U.S. Men’s and Women’s Flag National Teams are reigning World Champions from the 2021 IFAF World Championships at the Kraft Family Sports Complex in Jerusalem, Israel. While the U.S. Men’s Team and Mexico Women’s Team are The World Games 2022 Gold Medalists. They will be joined in Charlotte, N.C. by other elite national teams from across North and South America.
“We are delighted to announce USA Football as host of the 2023 Americas Continental Championship, one of the pinnacle events in an expanding international calendar that speaks to the growing competitiveness of flag football around the world,” said IFAF President PIERRE TROCHET. “Nowhere is that more true than in the Americas. This event promises to be an amazing showcase of the depth of talent right across the region, from north to south, building on flag football’s ever-expanding popularity and propelling the game to even greater heights.”
“Flag football captured the spotlight this past summer at The World Games,” said USA Football CEO and Executive Director SCOTT HALLENBECK. “We are excited to have dozens of elite athletes converge on the United States for the second consecutive summer. Flag football’s draw as a popular global sport has helped mold world-class teams in North and South America. USA Football is proud to partner with the USPC to host the 2023 Americas Continental Flag Football Championship and to continue raising the bar for flag football by constructing the U.S. National Teams and elevating the game’s standard.”
“With the reigning World Games champions participating, the Americas Continental Championship will be one of the most competitive flag football events on the 2023 calendar,” said IFAF Americas Director JAVIER L'EPISCOPO. “Flag football’s accessibility and inclusiveness contribute to it being one of the world’s fastest growing sports, but it helps to have elite athletes and ambassadors. We’re grateful to all of our teams and their governing bodies for supporting and growing the game. The Americas Continental Championship is another opportunity for them to shine and represent the sport we love.”
The addition of the Americas Continental Championship to the global calendar comes at a time of sustained global growth for the discipline, which is one of nine new sports currently under consideration for inclusion in the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028. With an estimated 20 million players in more than 100 countries, USA Football is working with IFAF and its member federations worldwide to further accelerate the sport’s rapid development.
