IFAF: Sweden to host 2015 senior men’s world championship (video)

SWEDEN TO HOST 2015 INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF AMERICAN FOOTBALL SENIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

New state of the art 30,000-capacity Stockholm Arena named as the venue for all games as a record 12 nations will compete for American Football world crown

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Sweden will host the 2015 International Federation of American Football Senior World Championship when the national teams of 12 countries from four continents converge on the capital city of Stockholm.

The awarding of the fifth IFAF world championship to Sweden was announced today when IFAF President TOMMY WIKING spoke at a press conference to launch the new Stockholmsarenan (Stockholm Arena) that is being developed by sport event company Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG).

The 30,000-seat arena will host all 24 games of the illustrious IFAF tournament in the summer of 2015, including 12 group games, 6 second round games, four placement games the Bronze Medal Game and the grand finale – the Gold Medal Game.

“IFAF is honored to be among the first sporting events announced as playing its 2015 World Championship at the wonderful new Stockholmsarenan,” said IFAF President Tommy Wiking.

“The showpiece tournament in the IFAF calendar will feature a record number of 12 countries and the best American football players in the world, so this new world-class state of the art facility is the perfect stage for the world to see the sport’s champion crowned.”

The fourth IFAF Senior World Championship was played in Vienna, Innsbruck and Graz in Austria in July as the United States retained the world title first won in 2007 with a Gold Medal Game victory over Canada in front of a crowd of 20,000 at the Ernst Happel Stadium. Two-time winner in 1999 and 2003 Japan claimed the bronze medal, beating Mexico, while Germany claimed fifth place ahead of France, Austria and Australia.

At the 2015 tournament the 12 teams will be split into four groups of three for a round robin stage leading to the second round and then placement and medal games that will take place during 10 playing days with rest days in between. IFAF anticipates 30,000 tickets will be sold per day to achieve a combined target attendance of 300,000.

The 62 IFAF member federations will be invited to participate in regional qualifying stages for the right to compete at the 2015 IFAF Senior World Championship.

The Stockholm Arena ([url]http://www.stockholmsarenan.se/uk/ ) will be a world-class open and inviting arena integrated as a natural part of the city. The first event is planned for spring 2013.

2011 IFAF Senior World Championship by the numbers:

97,656 – total attendance in Austria in 2011

3.04 million – viewers watched ORF (Austria) television coverage

2.9 million – viewers watched Eurosport 2 television coverage

419, 517 – viewers for online game webcasts

230,921 – American football fans visited the official website during the Gold Medal Game

33,925 – IFAF social media followers engaged through Facebook and Twitter

86,776 – views of YouTube videos of the medal games

28 – countries whose fans bought tickets for the event, traveling to Austria from nations including Australia, Japan, Mexico, USA, Canada, UK, Sweden, Norway, Brazil

175 – countries whose football fans watched the official webcast

Top 5 countries for live webcast views: Austria 148,526; Germany 65,432; Mexico 47,004; United States 35,061; Japan 21,216

About IFAF

The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) unites 62 countries on six continents through a burgeoning international sport. With national football federations in existence for more than 75 years, IFAF was created in 1998 to organize and further develop the game through international cooperation and global competition. The IFAF office is located near Paris, France.