Canadian men's and women's flag football teams set to begin IFAF event
It's an important step for Canada's flag football Olympic aspirations.
The Canadian men's and women's teams will be competing in the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Continental championship in Panama City. The top-five finishers will qualify for the '26 IFAF world competition, where the top-three squads will automatically earn berths to the '28 Los Angeles Summer Games, where flag football will make its Olympic debut.
"Everyone keeps talking about the Olympics but we've got to finish in the top-five to continue," said Paul LaPolice, the veteran CFL coach who's coaching the Canadian men's flag team. "If you get to worlds you get an opportunity to go to the Olympics and so we're shooting for a top-five so we can assure a spot at worlds next year."
Canada will open the men's competition Friday with two games, facing Guatemala and Brazil in their pool A competition. Then on Saturday, the Canadians will finish the round robin against Colombia and the United States, the five-time world champions who Canada upset 25-21 en route to going 4-0 at the 2025 International Bowl in June.
"Some of the top teams in the world are here," LaPolice said. "But obviously you understand the U.S. is the five-time world champion."
The top-two teams in each division advance to medal round Sunday with the first-place finishers facing the second-place squads. The winners will meet for the gold medal with the two losers squaring off for the bronze medal.
The Canadian women's team enters this event off a third-place finish at the '25 World Games in China. Canada defeated Austria 38-20 to claim the bronze medal, its first international hardware as quarterback Sara Parker threw six TD passes while Lauriane Beauchamp and Lea Duval delivered critical stops defensively.
"I'm really excited to take part in my third international competition with the team," Parker said. "I'm confident, and we have a strong group.
"I can't wait to show the rest of the world what we're capable of."
Canada opens the women's tournament against Argentina on Friday before facing Guatemala and Mexico on Saturday. The semifinals and medal rounds are slated for Sunday.
Quarterback play will be key for the Canadian men, with former CFL passer Michael O'Connor handling those duties. Also playing for Canada is Antony Auclair, the former NFL tight end who earned a Super Bowl ring with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020.
LaPolice said both will figure in Canada's fortunes but so too will its defence as the Canadian players and coaches continue getting acclimated with one another.
"We're just a new team," LaPolice said. "We had a couple of practices and then we had an opportunity to play in the International Bowl, which gave us a good opportunity to play and went 4-0.
"We've just got to keep playing together and that's the hard part, trying to get enough opportunities for the team to get together."
And while LaPolice has an extensive CFL resume — having coached with five teams, including as head coach with Winnipeg and Ottawa — he's also still getting used to the flag game.
"For me it's just getting a comfort level of the game, situational football, the timing issue," LaPolice said. "All of the things I don't have a lot of experience with having played just four flag football games.
"I learn more each week but I think my biggest growth potential is just get more reps in games and continue to learn systems."
cbc.ca
