IFAF: Asia and Oceania set to make flag football history in Malaysia

A total of 20 teams from 11 nations will make history when they converge on Kuala Lumpur from October 27-29 as Malaysia hosts the first-ever International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Asia Oceania Flag Football Championships.

The EV Arena Shah Alam in the state of Selangor will feature 11 men’s teams and nine women’s teams at the latest IFAF flag football tournament of 2023, after the champions of the Americas and Europe were crowned this summer.

India, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Thailand will represent Asia, alongside Australia and New Zealand from Oceania.

An unprecedented total of 65 teams from 37 nations have committed to the biggest ever international cycle of flag football competition this year to determine which teams will travel to Lahti, Finland, for the 2024 IFAF Flag Football World Championships.

“This year continues to be a fantastic celebration of flag football around the world as our sport’s community embraces international competition,” said IFAF President Pierre Trochet. “Our elite male and female athletes produced some thrilling performances in the United States and Ireland, and I am sure we will see more exciting action in what looks to be a wide-open tournament in Malaysia.”

The Asia Oceania tournament will be played across four fields at the EV Arena Shah Alam with a live stream of games on Field 1 available through IFAF.TV and all scores updated at the Game Centre on the IFAF website.

The opening game on the showpiece field sees Malaysia’s women take on New Zealand at 9.30am local time. Group games will be played on October 27 and 28 and the finals standings will determine the medal and placement games to take place on Sunday, October 29.

In the women’s competition, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Thailand make up Group A, while India, Malaysia, New Zealand and Philippines meet in Group B.

Australia, India, Japan, Kuwait, Philippines and Singapore have been drawn in Group A in the men’s tournament. Group B features Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Republic of Korea and Thailand.

In the two continental tournaments played earlier this year, the United States men’s and women’s teams triumphed on home soil in the Americas competition in July, while Germany’s men and Great Britain’s women won the European titles in Ireland in August.