Football Canada is proud to announce that 28 Canadians are among the 44 players named to the IFAF (International Federation of American Football) World Team which will face Team USA — composed of top prospects from the class of 2012, in the third annual International Bowl (formerly the USA vs. the World) on Wednesday, February 1[SUP]st[/SUP] in Austin, Texas.

The International Bowl is part of Football Canada’s programs of excellence which provides opportunities for Canadian football players to develop and showcase their abilities nationally as well as internationally. Former Team World participants include top CFL prospect Ben Heenan (University of Saskatchewan), Tyler Crapigna (McMaster University) who kicked the 2011 Vanier Cup winning field goal in double overtime and quarterback Jérémi Doyon-Roch (Université de Sherbrooke) who was named 2011 RSEQ Rookie of the Year.

The current 44-man IFAF roster features players from nine IFAF member federations — American Samoa, Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Japan, Mexico, Spain and Sweden.

The World Team is lead by head coach, Greg Marshall (The University of Western Ontario) who is joined by fellow Canadian and World Team Defensive Coordinator, Warren Craney (Head Coach at York University).

Tevaun Smith is one of five Canadians returning to Team World in 2012. Smith was named Team World MVP last year after returning a kick-off 79 yards for a touchdown and has recently committed to the University of Iowa.

Also returning are offensive linemen Winston Miles (The University of Western Ontario) and Matthias Goosen (Simon Fraser University), defensive back Marcus Grandison (York University) and quarterback Jahlani Gilbert-Knorren (University of Saskatchewan).

Among the first time Canadians named to Team World are Will Finch, Connor Ralph and Charles Vaillancourt. Finch is a highly recruited quarterback from Burlington, ON, who played for Team Ontario West at the 2011 Football Canada Cup as well as both the Burlington Stampeders and Nelson High School Lords.

Connor Ralph is a former Raymond (High School) Comet who notched 44 tackles, 3 sacks and 1 interception in his first year at linebacker with the University of Alberta Golden Bears.

Charles Vaillancourt is a 6’4’’, 330 pound offensive lineman who played this past season at Champlain College (CEGEP-AAA) where as a freshman he was named to a league all-star. Vaillancourt also participated in both the 2009 (U17) and 2010 (U18) Football Canada Cup as a member of Team Québec.

Team World also includes Canada West Rookie of the Year, University of Saskatchewan offensive lineman Jordan Arkko as well as CJFL Rookie of the Year, Windsor AKO Fratmen receiver Beau Lumley.

Team World gathers in the Texas state capital on Thursday, January 26[SUP]th[/SUP] to begin the task of bringing together players from around the globe to face Team USA. An additional 6 players will be added to Team World from the IFAF Development Team, lead by Coordinator, Tim Enger (Football Alberta) as well as defensive line coach, Barclay Spady (Bev Facey H.S.) and quarterback coach, Michael Faulds (York University).

Coaching Staff: Greg Marshall (Canada), Head Coach; Warren Craney (Canada), Defensive Coordinator; Shinzo Yamada (Japan), Special Teams Coordinator; Masato Itai (Japan), Quarterbacks; Max Von Garnier (Germany), Running Backs; Jakob Dieplinger (Austria), Wide Receivers; Paul Manera (Australia), Offensive Line; Sause Ta’ase (American Samoa), Linebackers; Tuomas Heikkinen (Finland), Defensive Backs; John Leijten (Australia), Defensive Line; Giorgio Longhi (Italy), Defensive Assistant; Niclas Carlson (Sweden), Strength & Conditioning; Rick Sowieta (Football Canada), Chef de Mission