The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) is the international

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...

of gridiron associations. The IFAF oversees the

IFAF World Championship of American Football The IFAF World Championship of American Football (also known as the IFAF World Cup) is an international gridiron competition held every four years and contested by teams representing member nations. The competition is run by the International F ...

, which is held every four years. The IFAF became a provisionary member of

SportAccord Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) is the umbrella organisation for all (Olympic and non-Olympic) international sports federations as well as organisers of multi-sports games and sport-related international association ...

in 2003, and became a full SportAccord member in 2005. The organisation's head office is located in the French commune of

La Courneuve La Courneuve () is a commune in Seine-Saint-Denis, France. It is located from the center of Paris. History Inhabited since pre-Roman times, the area is thought to have been a small village up through the Middle Ages. With its proximity to Par ...

, in the

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

Structure and organization

The IFAF recognizes in their respective areas the following branches and have 120 members as of May 2022: *

IFAF Africa IFAF Africa is the governing body of American football in Africa. It is a member of the International Federation of American Football The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) is the international governing body of gridiron a ...

: 17 * IFAF Americas : 23 *

IFAF Asia IFAF Asia is the governing body of American football in Asia. It is a member of the International Federation of American Football. IFAF Asia replaced the Asian Federation of American Football (AFAF) in 2012. The oldest of IFAF Asia federations is t ...

: 30 *

IFAF Europe IFAF Europe is the governing body of American football in Europe. It is a member of the International Federation of American Football. IFAF Europe replaced the European Federation of American Football (EFAF) which had began in 1976 as the Americ ...

: 42 ( European Championship of American football) *

IFAF Oceania IFAF Oceania is the governing body of American football in Oceania. It is a member of the International Federation of American Football. IFAF Oceania replaced the Oceania Federation of American Football (OFAF) in 2012. Members * * * * * * * * ...

: 8

Members

Top competitions

World

* Senior Men's World Championship ( Men), every four years. * Senior Women's World Championship (

Women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

), every four years. * Under-19 World Championship ( Men), every four years. * Senior Men's Flag Football World Championship ( Men), every two years. * Senior Women's Flag Football World Championship (

), every two years * Senior Beach Football World Championship (Women, Men and Mixed), every two years. *

World University American Football Championship The World University American Football Championship is an international college American football competition sponsored by the International University Sports Federation (FISU) and sanctioned by the International Federation of American Football (IF ...

(Men), every two years. * International Bowl (men), every year. *

The World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 ...

, flag and tackle, various years, next event in 2022. *Youth international cup (Men, Women), every year. *

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

(Men), various years.

America

*Central America Bowl, (Men). Winner qualifies for the Senior World championship. Every four years. *Under-18 and Under-19 North American Championships, various years. *Under-15 and Under-17 North American Flag football Championships. (Men and Woman), first edition held in 2023 *South American Flag football Championships. (Men and Woman). Every two years.

Europe

* European Championship, every four years. * European U-19 Championship, every two years. *European Woman's tackle football championship, every four years. *European Men's flag football championship, every two years. *European Woman's flag football championship, every two years. *Under-15 and Under-17 European Flag football championships (Men and Women), every two years.

Asia

*Asian Flag football Championship (Men), every two years. *Asian beach Flag football championships. (Men), every two years.

Oceania

*Oceania Bowl, winner represents Oceania in the World Championship, every four years. *Junior Oceania Bowl, winner represents Oceania in the U-19 World Championship, every two years.

Governance controversy and schism

Following the cancellation of the

2015 IFAF World Championship The 2015 IFAF World Championship was the fifth instance of the IFAF World Championship, an international American football tournament. The United States hosted the tournament. Seven teams had confirmed their participation for the tournament in Ca ...

in Sweden for financial reasons, the event was moved to the United States. In February 2015 Tommy Wiking resigned as president of IFAF due to the cancellation of the event. During the 2015 meeting, Tommy Wiking was illegitimately put as president, and caused a schism. One group, in New York, elected Roope Norenen as interim president in September 2014, and Richard MacLean in 2015. The other group, based in Paris, recognized Tommy Wiking as president. In September 2016, "IFAF in Paris" suspended six nations for not submitting players information for anti-doping, The suspended nations were the United States, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Finland, and Denmark. A group of European federations wished for a reunification of the sport during a December 2016 meeting in Rome. In May 2017, after a split that created rival groupings of the International Federation of American Football, the IFAF grouping based in Paris stripped its recognition of USA Football, citing disputes over anti-doping enforcement. IFAF (Paris) instead recognized the United States Federation of American Football as the USA's governing body, and the USFAF organized a team to participate in the 2017 World Games, in which it won a bronze medal. The grouping of the IFAF based in New York continued to recognize USA Football and organized the 2017 Women's World Championships, which the USA won. In March 2018, the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its ...

(CAS) determined that the IFAF (NY) was the proper governing entity and voided all decisions of the other IFAF entity, including their decision to strip USA Football of its recognition. USA Football is currently the internationally recognized governing body for American football in the United States.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Sports organizations established in 1998 American football governing bodies IOC-recognised international federations 1998 establishments in France