The 2025 IFAF European Youth Flag Football Championships presented by Raiffeisen Club Tirol are underway at the Sportanlage Wiesengasse in the Tyrolean capital.

Group games are played on Thursday and Friday, September 4 and 5, with the top two teams in each category advancing to their respective semifinals. The full schedule and scores are available at https://www.flagyouthec.at/ with live streams and replays of games on IFAF.TV.

In the Boys U17 tournament, four teams remain unbeaten. Defending champion Israel’s quest for a third successive title sees them top Group A ahead of Finland on points differential with both teams posting a 2-0 record.

“We started the day 2-0, so I can’t be upset,” said Israel coach Gideon Reiz. “We learned what we need to fix and what we need clean-up for the second day. We’re ready to start the day strong and I think we have a real shot to keep this thing going.”

In Thursday’s opening game Israel beat Switzerland 55-6 then scored 30 unanswered first half points in a 30-14 win over Germany. Finland also beat Switzerland by a score of 33-6 and were 31-21 winners over Austria. The host nation had opened with a win against Germany and hold a 1-1 record, while Germany and Switzerland still seek their first win.

In group B, Czechia and Spain lead the way at 3-0. Chechia beat France and Great Britain and shut out Ukraine 47-0, while Spain saw off the challenges of Italy and Great Britain before edging France 27-26. Italy still has eyes for the playoffs with a 2-1 record. Ukraine stands at 1-2 having beaten Great Britain 20-12.

Group A Israel 2-0 Finland 2-0 Austria 1-1 Germany 0-2 Switzerland 0-2

Group B Czechia 3-0 Spain 3-0 Italy 2-1 Ukraine 1-2 France 0-3 Great Britain 0-3

Results and Standings: https://www.flagyouthec.at/schedules-and-tables/u17-boys

Photo: Five Senses