Nigeria’s men’s and women’s flag football teams remain in contention for the 2028 Olympic Games despite pulling out of the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships in Düsseldorf because of visa delays.
The tournament is the first major step towards the sport’s Olympic debut, with 16 men’s and 16 women’s teams competing for world titles and four direct qualification spots for LA28.
The withdrawal was confirmed on Monday in a joint statement issued by the International Federation of American Football, the National Sports Commission and the Nigerian Federation of American Football.
“Over the past 10 days, IFAF, together with its event partners and the relevant authorities, has made significant efforts behind the scenes to explore every possible avenue to enable the teams to travel to Germany. Regrettably, all parties were informed this morning (Monday) that the visas would not be issued in time for the Championships,” the statement read.
“Our thoughts are first and foremost with the athletes and team staff, who have worked hard to earn their place at these Championships as the inaugural IFAF African Flag Football Champions. They were looking forward to proudly representing Nigeria and making their debut appearance on the world stage.”
Nigeria qualified for the championships after both teams won their respective titles at the inaugural African Flag Football Championship in Cairo last year.
The Nigerian men edged hosts Egypt 13-12 in the final, while the women defeated Morocco 26-12.
“Due to the timing of the withdrawal, it is not possible to replace the Nigerian men’s and women’s teams with the respective reserve teams from the 2025 IFAF African Flag Football Championships. In accordance with the competition regulations, teams scheduled to play Nigeria in the group stage will be awarded an automatic victory.”
Despite missing the world championships, Nigeria can still qualify for LA28 through the 2027 IFAF Continental Championships.
A top-two finish by either team at the continental event will earn a place in the Olympic Qualifier Series, the final qualification stage for the Games.
Six Olympic quota places are available in each gender. The United States, as host nation, gets one place in each tournament, while two places will be decided at the 2026 World Championships and the remaining three through the Olympic Qualifier Series in May and June 2028.
