The United States celebrated its declaration of independence from Great Britain on this day, the Fourth of July, back in 1776. Back then, nobody had painted a gridiron on grass and played either tackle or flag football.

That happened almost a century later, but not until 231 years after the Founding Fathers declared that the 13 Colonies were no longer subject and subordinate to the monarch of Britain, King George III, did Team USA officially enter international competition on the world stage.

Since then, the Americans have enjoyed a wealth of success, though they haven’t always brought home the gold medal.

That first tackle football outing came in 2007 at the third IFAF World Championships of American football in Japan. The hosts were two-time defending champions, having won the inaugural crown in Palermo, Italy, in1999, and retained their title in Hessen, Germany, four years later.

USA beat Korea 77-0 and Germany 33-7 and in the championship game was taken to overtime by a defiant Japanese team. The gold medal game remained tied at 20-20 until Craig Coffin nailed a 22-yard field goal for the win. The Americans have not lost since, claiming world titles in Austria in 2011 and on home soil in Canton, Ohio in 2015, beating Canada and Japan respectively in the final.

The United States also boasts a flawless record in the IFAF Women’s Tackle World Championships, beating Canada to the gold medal 2010 and 2013. The Canadians got closer in 2017 in a 41-16 loss and Great Britain challenged in 2022, but USA won 42-14.

In flag football, the United States have won the past five men’s IFAF Flag Football World Championships and the past three titles in the women’s tournament, but it wasn’t always that way. In 2008 USA’s men lost the bronze medal game 45-0 to France as Canada triumphed over Denmark in the final. Two years later the Americans claimed their first flag football world title, but then in 2012 suffered a 47-40 championship game loss to Austria.

For three years in a row, the US women were always the bridesmaids but never the brides. In 2010 they lost in the gold medal game to Canada, missed out agonizingly to Mexico by a single point two years later, then were unable to get past Canada again in 2014. They failed to medal on home soil in 2016 before beginning their winning run.

The one missing piece of silverware– or more accurately gold-ware – for USA’s women is the top prize at The World Games. Having posted a 3-0 group stages record and dispatched Brazil and Austria in the knockout rounds, USA were brushed aside in a 39-6 loss to Mexico in the gold medal game. Could the 2025 edition of The World Games in China provide a rematch and a shot at revenge in Chengdu?

The US men triumphed at The World Games played in 2022 in Birmingham, Alabama, with a 46-36 win over Italy having gone 3-0 in pool play and then seen off Austria in the semifinals.

Youth tackle football brought together some of the world’s best high school aged players in Canton, Ohio, in 2009 for the inaugural IFAF Junior World Championships. The Pro Football Hall of Fame stadium crowds witnessed USA dominate, led by future New York Giants first round NFL Draft selection running back David Wilson. USA scored 133 unanswered total points in breezing past France and Mexico, before beating Canada 41-3 in the final.

Three years later in Austin, Texas, Canada had their revenge with a 23-17 Gold Medal Game before the Americans regained the title in Kuwait in 2014. Since then, USA has failed to knock Canada off their perch, losing 24-6 in Harbin, China, in 2016 and then losing to host Mexico in 2018 and having to settle for the bronze medal.

At the IFAF U20 World Junior Championships in Canada in 2024, the United States failed to medal for the first time in an international IFAF tackle competition. Japan sent shockwaves through the American football community when they triumphed 41-20 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. Then in the bronze medal game, Austria became the first European team to defeat a North American nation in a 32-25 win over USA.

At the U19 male youth level, a Team USA vs The World challenge ran for three consecutive years from 2010. The Americans claimed bragging rights at the inaugural clash played in Fort Lauderdale with a 17-0 win, but were pushed all the way in Austin, Texas, in a closer 21-14 contest. At the third time of asking, the World Team triumphed 35-29.

Regardless of the result, have a happy Fourth of July.