Flag Football World Championship at Düsseldorf, Germany

The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) has today announced that the City of Düsseldorf will host the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships on 13-16 August, marking a major milestone in the sport’s journey toward its Olympic debut at LA28.

The Championships will take place at Düsseldorf’s state-of-the-art, dedicated flag football complex, the first in Germany, opened earlier this year by the City of Düsseldorf and the NFL’s New England Patriots. The local organising committee’s project lead is the city’s events agency, D.SPORTS, which has proven experience delivering numerous major sporting events in Düsseldorf.

The venue will welcome the top 16 men’s and women’s national teams from around the world, in a new, highly competitive format. It follows an expanded qualification process featuring the four 2025 IFAF Flag Football Continental Championships, which kicked off with the first-ever Championships in Africa last month.

The event will see a new approach to event presentation, drawing on the city’s world-class major event experience and supported by the NFL’s renowned expertise in promotion, fan engagement and production. This innovative approach highlights the long-term partnership between IFAF and the NFL, with flag football the cornerstone of their shared strategy for international growth.