Austria opens its defense of the IFAF European Championships crown this Saturday, kicking off an action-packed month of men’s tackle action as the 2024/25 tournament gets underway across the continent.
October features all twelve Level 1 nations competing in four groups during three consecutive weekends, with the winners of each group advancing to the final four in 2025. The semifinal and placement matchups will be determined by the highest seed facing the lowest seed in each of the three brackets.
2024/15 IFAF European Championships Groups
Group A: Austria (#1 seed), Serbia (8), Hungary (9) Group B: Finland (2), France (7), Czechia (10) Group C: Italy (3), Denmark (6), Switzerland (11) Group D: Sweden (4), Great Britain (5), Germany (12)
October 12: Hungary vs Austria, Kincsem Park, Budapest, kickoff 2pm CET
Head coach Max Sommer led Austria to a first-ever men’s tackle title in 2023, having been runners up in 2014 and 2018, and faces a Hungary team that beat Czechia into ninth place last year.
“After a break of almost a year, we are of course already full of anticipation to bring our national team together again,” says Sommer. “The team will have a different face. Young, motivated players are moving up in many important positions, who at the same time have big shoes to fill.”
In 2023, wide receiver and Austrian captain Philipp Haun claimed the MVP honors as he caught three touchdowns in a 28-0 victory over Finland to delight the 6,419 spectators at the NV Arena in St. Pölten.
“We are very happy to finally be back on the field as a team after the long-awaited European Championship title in 2023,” said Haun. “The goal is clear: defend the European championship title.”
Hungary head coach Ferenc Sződy, leads a team that beat Czechia last year to secure ninth place in the European rankings.
“There are positions where key players have since retired and others are injured, so we will start our cohesion with a fairly new 75-man squad,” said Sződy.
Watch live here.October 12: Switzerland vs Italy, Stadion Lachen, Thun, kickoff 6pm CET
Italy won the first-ever European championships in 1983, claimed gold again in 1987, and were the defending champions last year, but had to settle for the bronze medal with a 26-7 win over Sweden. They travel to face a Swiss team that finished 11th overall in 2023.
“As a new coaching staff, we’re excited to take on the challenge of continuing the legacy of success,” says Italy head coach Brian Michitti. “With many new faces, our focus remains on building a strong, winning culture that pushes each player to reach their full potential. Our players have a great attitude, but our upcoming opponents will test us, and it will be a true measure of how far we’ve come since January.”
Watch live on IFAF.TV.October 13: Czechia vs Finland, Městský Stadion, Ústí nad Labem, kickoff 1pm
Czechia host five-time European champions Finland, who dominated the tournament in the nineties, winning four straight titles.
Beaten finalists in 2023, Finland was held to only a four-point halftime advantage the last time these two nations met in Czechia in 2022 before running out 42-10 winners.
“Our group is challenging this year,” says Finland head coach Mikko Koikkalainen, who was part of his nation’s four successive titles from 1993 to 2000. “Czechia already gave us a tough, physical challenge two years ago.
“We are undergoing a bit of a generational shift. The team has changed quite a bit compared to last year’s finalist squad, and many players are making their national team debuts. The group has a great energy, and we believe we will also be a tough opponent for the other teams in our group.
“We are also excited to have quarterback Ambro Urjansson back with us. He had to miss last year’s medal games but will once again lead our offense as the starting quarterback.”
Under head coach Daniel Leško, Czechia are led by 18-year-old quarterback Amos Feranec who guided the ISMM Ostrava Steelers to the semifinals of the Czech playoffs this year and starts under center for his nation’s U19s team.
Watch live here.October 13: Sweden vs Great Britain, Sola Arena, Karlstad, kickoff 3pm
European champions in 2005, Sweden were beaten finalists in 2021 and last year lost out on the bronze medal to Italy. They face Great Britain team, who were gold medalists in 1989 and 1991 and finished fifth overall in 2023.
The game will be played on hybrid grass at Sola Arena in Karlstad, an arena opened in the fall of 2022 which has a capacity of 4,000 spectators and is home to Sweden’s Carlstad Crusaders.
“We are fielding a quality team, but more importantly, one with great potential for the future,” says Björn Mazetti, 26, who took over as Sweden’s new head coach in August after previously serving as the head coach for the youth national team. “We have a young national team roster, and although I have only been in the role of head coach for a relatively short time, we are working with a long-term perspective and are not in a hurry.
“I strongly believe we have a team capable of getting a win and achieving good results in the 2024/25 IFAF European Championships. We have goals we want to reach in the future, but we also want to win along the way, starting this Sunday.”
Great Britain coach Jason Scott said: “We’ve had two really good sessions ahead of the October games, the mood is excited but focused. We know we have two massive games against teams with vast international pedigree coming up. We’re excited about the opportunity to go out there and compete.
“It would be easy to be carried away with the successes and wins against France and Denmark last summer; but we’re not complacent and very much focused on the future. The job is not finished yet, we want to continue to represent British Football to the best of our abilities and get the Lions back to the summit of European Football.” Watch live on IFAF.TV.2024/25 IFAF European Championships Level 1 Group Stages Schedule
Group A: Austria, Serbia, Hungary October 12 Hungary vs Austria Budapest October 19 Serbia vs Hungary Zrenjanin October 27 Austria vs Serbia Salzburg
Group B: Finland, France, Czechia October 13 Czechia vs Finland Ústí nad Labem October 20 France vs Czechia Lille October 26 Finland vs France Vantaa
Group C: Italy, Denmark, Switzerland October 12 Switzerland vs Italy Thun October 19 Denmark vs Switzerland Kopenhagen October 26 Italy vs Denmark Milan
Group D: Sweden, Great Britain, Germany October 13 Sweden vs Great Britain Karlstad October 19 Great Britain vs Germany Coventry October 26 Germany vs Sweden Krefeld
Photo: AFBOE
