 | |
| Abbreviation | IFAF |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1998; 28 years ago (1998) |
| Type | Sports federation |
| Legal status | Governing body ofAmerican football |
| Headquarters | Lausanne,Switzerland (until 2025Paris,France)[1] |
Region served | Worldwide |
| Membership | 78 members (August 2025)[2] |
President |  Pierre Trochet |
Vice president |  Jim Mullin |
General secretary |  Eric Mayes |
Key people | Managing director Andy Fuller |
Main organ | Congress |
| Affiliations | ARISF |
| Website | americanfootball.sport |
TheInternational Federation of American Football (IFAF) is the internationalgoverning body ofAmerican football associations. The IFAF oversees the organization and promotion of all international competitions across both contact and non contact versions of the game,[3] including theIFAF World Championship, which is held every four years. The IFAF became a provisionary member ofSportAccord in 2003, and became a full SportAccord member in 2005. In 2023, IFAF was officially recognized as an Olympic IF (International Federation) by the IOC. In 2023, IFAF marked a historic new streak, withflag football being selected as one of the five new sports for the LA 2028 Olympic Summer Games. The organization's head office relocated toLausanne, Switzerland in 2026.[4]
The IFAF recognizes in their respective areas the following branches[5][6] and has 78 as of August 2025:[7]
Americas (18)
Argentina
Brazil Canada
Chile
Colombia
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Guatemala
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Trinidad and Tobago United States
Uruguay
VenezuelaAsia (13)
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kuwait
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
South Korea
Thailand
VietnamEurope (30)
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland France
Georgia
Germany Great Britain
Hungary
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Russia
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
UkraineOceania (6)
Source:[8]
American football competitions
Men
Junior
Women
Flag football competitions
Men / Women
Pierre Trochet (France) was elected President of IFAF in December 2021.[13] He was re-elected unopposed for his second and final term in December 2024.[14]
Source:[13]
Following the cancellation of the2015 IFAF World Championship 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 event's cancellation before being reinstalled in the position. One group in New York had elected Roope Noronen as interim president in September 2014, followed by Richard MacLean in 2015. Another group, based in Paris, recognized Wiking as president.
In September 2016, the Paris IFAF suspended six nations—the United States, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Finland, and Denmark—for not submitting player information for anti-doping. A group of European federations wished for a reunification of the sport during a December 2016 meeting in Rome.[15] In May 2017, after a split that created rival groupings of the International Federation of American Football, the IFAF party in Paris stripped its recognition ofUSA Football,[16] citing disputes over anti-doping enforcement. IFAF Paris instead recognized the United States Federation of American Football as the USA's governing body,[17] and the USFAF organized a team to participate in the2017 World Games, in which it won a bronze medal. The grouping of the IFAF based in New York continued to recognize USA Football[18] and organized the 2017 Women's World Championships, which the USA won.[19]
In March 2018, theCourt of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) determined that the IFAF in New York was the proper governing entity and voided all decisions of the other IFAF entity, including their decision to strip USA Football of its recognition.[20] USA Football is currently the internationally recognized governing body for American football in the United States.[21]
16 Boulevard Saint Germain CS 70514 – 75237 Paris CEDEX 05 France
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