New Orleans To Host 2007 FFWC
The New Orleans Saints will host the 2007 NFL Flag Football World Championship (FFWC) from August 7-10. Teams comprised of 12 to 14-year-olds from ten nations and three continents will compete in the United States for the first time in the event’s eight-year history. First round games will be played at the New Orleans Saints practice facility in Metairie on August 9 and 10. The two teams that qualify for the championship game will meet at the Louisiana Superdome at 4pm CT on Friday, August 10, prior to the Saints’ NFL preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. The FFWC teams will also provide a NFL Flag football demonstration at halftime. Ticket holders for the Saints game will see the Championship game at the Superdome, and preliminary rounds at the Saints facility are open to the public.
“I am excited to welcome NFL Flag players from across the world to New Orleans on behalf of the Saints,” said Saints quarterback and former flag football player Drew Brees. “This is a wonderful opportunity for young people from as far away as Asia and Europe to join fellow athletes from North America in witnessing the revitalization of this great city while playing NFL Flag football. I am sure they will enjoy their stay in Louisiana.”
More than 800 teams are currently competing internationally for the right to represent their country at the FFWC. The ten finalists will come from Canada, China, Europe (3 teams), Japan, Korea, Mexico, Thailand and the United States.
The young athletes will get the opportunity to explore New Orleans during their stay in the city. They will volunteer with a Katrina service project, visit the Aubudon Zoo Swamp Exhibit, spend an afternoon at the Blue Bayou Water Park & Dixie Landings and watch the Saints and Bills in action.
In 2006 in Cologne, Germany, Thailand’s Chaopraya Wittayakom School from Bangkok topped Manitoba Canada’s Ecole River Heights Middle School team, 45-32, to retain the NFL Flag Football World Championship won in Beijing in 2005.
The United States will be represented by a team from the Michael Ann Russell Jewish Community Center (MAR JCC) from Miami, FL, which won the FFWC in Vancouver in 2004 and finished as runner-up a year later in Beijing. The latest crop of MAR JCC youngsters won the NFL Flag national championships at the Disney Wide World of Sports in November to qualify.
Thailand’s representatives in New Orleans will be decided on July 1, while Europe’s three champions will emerge when teams from eight countries meet in the European School Final at World Bowl XV in Frankfurt on June 23. Canada holds its finals from July 4-6 in Winnipeg, Japan will produce a national champion on July 7 in Kawasaki, China holds its qualifying tournament on June 23-24 and Mexico on June 22-24. Sungseo Middle School from Daegu has already qualified to represent Korea.
“The fact that Thailand is the reigning world champion shows how popular football is becoming on an international scale,” added Brees. “I wish the boys and girls from every nation taking part in the NFL Flag Football World Championship the best of luck.”
A dedicated tournament website www.NFL-Flag.com will feature team and event information, the history of the FFWC, player notes and quotes, results, recaps, statistics and photographs. The NFL will partner with Reebok, EA and Gatorade to promote this coed event, which motivates boys and girls to participate in a fun and safe sport.