After a busy training camp in London, Ontario and some time to adjust to life in Austria, Team Canada is ready to take on France this Saturday at 7 PM local (1 PM EST) in the city of Graz in its inaugural game at the 2011 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Senior World Championship.
This summer marks Football Canada’s first entry into the fourth IFAF Senior Men’s World Championship, running from July 8-16 in Austria. Team Canada plays an arduous three games in five days, beginning on Saturday, July 9 against France, followed by a July 11 showdown with host Austria. Canada will face Japan in it’s final round-robin game on July 13.
Team Canada is comprised of a 45-man roster from coast-to-coast, including 2 players from New Brunswick, 9 from Quebec, 24 from Ontario, 5 from Saskatchewan, 3 from Alberta and 2 from British Columbia. The roster features many former US College players, CIS All-Stars, and numerous players with professional experience including two former CFL standouts – Adriano Belli and Sherko Haji-Rasouli. Team Canada’s captains selected by the players in camp are QB Michael Faulds (offense), LB Steve Faoro (defense) and Michel-Pierre Pontbriand (special teams).
The 2011 National Team coaching staff is led by former University of Western Ontario Mustangs Head Coach Larry Haylor, Defensive Coordinator Blake Nill (University of Calgary) and Offensive Coordinator Greg Marshall (Western). The coaching staff is rounded out by Brian Towriss (University of Saskatchewan), Jeff Cummins (Acadia University), Steve Sumarah (Saint Mary’s University) and Pat Tracey (Queen’s University).
Football Canada has a previous track record of success at the International level, winning a pair of silver medals at both the 2009 Junior Men’s and 2010 Senior Women’s International Federation of American Football (IFAF) World Championships. Our Men’s and Women’s Senior Flag National Teams also have a successful track record winning multiple medals including a Women’s gold at the 2010 IFAF Flag World Championships as well as a Men’s gold and Women’s silver at the 2008 World Championships.
In France, Football became known in the early 1980’s and the Fédération Francaise de Football Américain (FFFA) was founded in 1983. Today, the FFFA has the second most members of any European country after Germany. France was the runner-up at the 2010 European Championship and has played in the two previous World Championships, making the semi-finals in 2003 and finishing in 6th place in 2007. This year’s French team is comprised of seven players who played in the NFL Europe and a number of Canadians with dual citizenship.
ABOUT THE IFAF SENIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
The IFAF Senior World Championship is held every four years having first been contested in 1999 and the eight nations from four continents will compete in Vienna, Innsbruck and Graz in the fourth edition. Japan boasts the world’s most impressive resume, having reached the final in each of the previous three tournaments, winning in both 1999 and 2003, before falling 23-20 in double overtime to the United States in 2007.
Japan won the first IFAF Senior World Championship played in Palermo in Italy with a 6-0 overtime victory over Mexico. Four years later in Frankfurt, Germany, Japan ran out 34-14 winners over Mexico. In 2007 on home soil in Kawasaki, Japan took the United States to double overtime before finally surrendering the world title they had held for eight years by a score of 23-20.
This year, each team will face its group opponent once and from the final standings the group winners will advance to the IFAF Senior World Championship Game to play for the Gold Medal on Saturday, July 16 in the Austrian capital Vienna. The two second-placed teams will contest the Bronze Medal in Vienna on Friday, July 15.
2011 IFAF Senior World Championship Schedule
| Date | Game 1 | Game 2 | City |
| Friday, July 8 | USA vs. Australia | Germany vs. Mexico | Innsbruck |
| Saturday, July 9 | Austria vs. Japan | France vs. Canada | Graz |
| Sunday, July 10 | Mexico vs. Australia | Germany vs. USA | Innsbruck |
| Monday, July 11 | Japan vs. France | Canada vs. Austria | Graz |
| Tuesday, July 12 | Australia vs. Germany | USA vs. Mexico | Innsbruck |
| Wednesday, July 13 | Austria vs. France | Canada vs. Japan | Graz |
| Friday, July 15 | Bronze Medal Game | Fifth Place Game | Vienna |
| Saturday, July 17 | Gold Medal Game | Seventh Place Game | Vienna |
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