Nigeria’s male and female flag football players are basking in the euphoria of their historic double, after clinching both the men’s and women’s titles at the maiden African Flag Football Championships in Cairo, Egypt, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The tournament was held from Friday, June 20 to Saturday, June 21.
The Nigerian men edged a thrilling final game, winning 13-12 to claim gold over host, Egypt in front of a loud and high-spirited home crowd inside the Club One Stadium in Maadi, Cairo, where distinguished guests included Egypt’s Minister of Youths and Sports, Dr Ashraf Sobhi.
In the women’s tournament, Nigeria put out a confident performance to take victory over Morocco 26-12 in the final, with two decisive second-half touchdowns by quarterback Anuoluwapo Bello.
The wins also ensured that Nigeria secured direct passage to the IFAF Flag Football World Championships in 2026.
“This is a great achievement for us and I’m proud of every woman out here,” Nigeria women’s gold medallist Bello said.
“I feel excited for the girls here. There is an opportunity to go to the World Championships and show everyone what we can do.”
“It’s amazing, it’s surreal, it’s history, it’s unbelievable,” Nigeria men’s quarter-back Hayes Obinna-Uzoh said.
“We’ve made history.”
In total, 11 teams from eight nations, spanning the African continent, participated in Africa Flag – the first of IFAF’s continental championships series for 2025.
The inaugural IFAF African Flag Football Championships marked a major milestone in the sport’s journey to the first Olympic Games appearance in Los Angeles in 2028.
All the participating teams also got their first official rankings after the tournament.
