IFAF European Tackle Football Championships Enter New Cycle with Men’s Adult and U19 Tournaments in 2026/27; Women’s Euros Conclude With 2026 Gold Medal Game

International tackle football in Europe enters a new and exciting cycle in 2026/27 as national teams from across the continent prepare to compete at the men’s and U19s level for the right to call themselves IFAF European champions.

The IFAF U19 European Championships kick off in April, followed by the men’s IFAF European Championships in October with both tournaments running over a two-year duration. This year also sees the conclusion of the 2025/26 IFAF Women’s European Championships with final group games in May and the title game in August.

Austria is the reigning champion at both the men’s and U19 levels, while Spain’s women defend the title they won in 2024.

A record number of teams make their debut on the IFAF international stage in this round robin style tournament with Belgium, Norway and Poland entering at Level 1; Georgia, Spain and a Great Britain development squad competing at Level 2; and Belgium, Hungary, Israel, Poland and Spain joining the U19 tournament.

“It’s great to see that a long and illustrious history of European tackle football competition, which dates back more than forty years, continues to thrive,” said IFAF President Pierre Trochet.

“As IFAF continues its strategic efforts to rebuild the base of international tackle football, working from the regional and youth levels up, I particularly welcome the arrival of new nations in this year’s European U19s tournament as a positive signal for the future of the sport.”

IFAF Men’s European Championships 2026/27

Fifteen nations will participate in the men’s IFAF European Championships with 12 teams competing at Level 1 for the coveted crown Austria won last year when they triumphed in the IFAF Final Four tournament.

The action kicks off with an exciting string of games on three back-to-back weekends in October. Four groups of three nations will each play a round robin competition with one game at home and one on the road. The winners will advance to the semifinal stages in August 2027 to play for the right to contest the IFAF European Championship in October of next year.

Second-placed teams play will play semifinals (August 2027) for 5^th to 8^th in placement deciding games (October 2027), while third-placed teams play semifinals (August 2027) for 9^th to 12^th in placement deciding games (October 2027).

Three nations will continue their progress in tackle football at Level 2 of the IFAF European Championships. Georgia competes for the first time ever on the international stage and is joined by Spain, which last entered in 2018, and a Great Britain development squad. They will play a round robin in October 2026 and then the reverse fixtures in October 2027 to determine an overall winner.

IFAF U19 European Championships 2026/27

Austria bids to add to seven titles won in the past eight competitions among a field of 10 nations compared with seven in the last cycle.  Teams will play group games in April, May and September of 2026 with teams playing home and away games.

The group winners will advance to a round robin series of games in March, May and September of 2027 to decide the 2026/27 European champions, with other teams contesting placement games.

IFAF Women’s European Championships 2025/26

With the women’s tournament operating on a 2025/26 cycle, Finland (2-0), Germany (1-1) and Spain (1-1) and Great Britain (0-2) will all be fighting for a place in August’s gold medal decider when games resume in May.

Reigning champion Spain has beaten Great Britain and lost to Germany, while Finland has beaten both Germany and Great Britain.

Groups & Schedules:

IFAF Men’s European Championships Level 1

Group A: Austria (1 seed), Türkiye (8), Belgium (9)
Group B: Finland (2), Great Britain (7), Norway (10)
Group C: Italy (3), Hungary (6), Poland (11)
Group D: Czechia (4), Denmark (5), Switzerland (12)
* The serpentine method was used to determine groups based on 2024/25 finish and nations that did not enter in 2024/25 were drawn into random ranking spots.

IFAF Level 1 European Championships Schedule
(All dates and kickoff time to be confirmed / home team listed first)

2026

October 10/11
Group A: Belgium vs Austria
Group B: Norway vs Finland
Group C: Poland vs Italy
Group D: Switzerland vs. Czechia

October 17/18
Group A: Türkiye vs Belgium
Group B: Great Britain vs Norway
Group C: Hungary vs Poland
Group D: Denmark vs Switzerland

October 24/25
Group A: Austria vs Türkiye
Group B: Finland vs Great Britain
Group C: Italy vs Hungary
Group D: Czechia vs Denmark

2027

August 7/8
Semifinals in all groups

October 23/24
Finals / placement games in all groups

IFAF Men’s European Championships Level 2

Group: Georgia, Great Britain Development Team, Spain

IFAF Level 2 European Championships Schedule
(All dates and kickoff time to be confirmed / home team listed first)

2026

October 10/11
Georgia vs Great Britain Development Team

October 17/18
Great Britain Development Team vs Spain

October 24/25
Spain vs Georgia

2027

October 9/10
Great Britain Development Team vs Georgia

October 16/17
Spain vs Great Britain Development Team

October 23/24
Georgia vs Spain

IFAF U19 European Championships

Group A: Austria (1 seed), Czechia (6), Spain (7)
Group B: Sweden (2), Italy (5), Israel (8)
Group C: Finland (3), Germany (4), Hungary (9), Poland (10)
* The serpentine method was used to determine groups based on 2024/25 finish and nations that did not enter in 2024/25 were drawn into random ranking spots.

IFAF U19 European Championships Schedule
(All dates and kickoff time to be confirmed / home team listed first)

April 4/5/6
Group A: Spain vs Austria
Group B: Israel vs Sweden
Group C: Finland vs Poland / Germany vs Hungary

May 9/10
Group A: Czechia vs Spain
Group B: Italy vs Israel

September 19/20
Group A: Austria vs Czechia
Group B: Sweden vs Italy
Group C: Winner vs Winner / Loser vs Loser

2027

March 27/28/29
Group 1-3: C1 vs A1
Group 4-6: A2 vs C2
Group 7-10: SF1 / SF2

May 8/9
Group 1-3: B1 vs C1
Group 4-6: B2 vs A2

September 18/19
Group 1-3: A1 vs B1
Group 4-6: C2 vs B2
Group 7-10: 7^th-8^th Place / 9^th-10^th Place

IFAF Women’s European Championships

2026 Schedule
(All dates and kickoff time to be confirmed / home team listed first)

May 30/31: Great Britain vs Germany / Spain vs Finland

August 22/23: Gold Medal Game & Bronze Medal Game

2025 Results

May 25: Finland 21 Germany 7
August 24: Great Britain 3 Finland 6 (OT)
August 31: Germany 22 Spain 7
October 18: Spain 26 Great Britain 22

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