2025 European Championship of American football

The two-year run of the IFAF European Men's Tackle Championship may be best known for the collapse of leading programs during and after the competition.

The return of Germany to the top tier of IFAF European competition was short-lived. With the 0-2 record at the European Final Four they hosted which reulted in a fourth-place finish, coupled with a last-place finish in the Gridiron Nations Championship, the American Football Association of Germany (AFVD) withdrew its men's national team from the IFAF European Championship cycle for 2026 and 2027, citing financial constraints and internal restructuring. The AFVD is focusing on domestic development, separating itself from IFAF.^[5]

The SWE3 Federation withdrew the Swedish men's national American football team from the IFAF 2026–2027 European Championship due to severe financial constraints shortly after the competition. A 100% cut in elite sport funding from the Swedish Sports Federation for 2026 forced this decision, resulting in a halt to the team's participation in international tournaments. ^[6]

2018 European champion France shut down its senior men’s tackle national team in early 2025 in the middle of the competition, after French American football lost its “high-level sport” recognition from the Federal Ministry. In a March 2025 interview, FFFA president Frédéric Paquet says the status was lost “officially since January 2, 2025,” and links that to both the closure of the Pôles and the disappearance of the national tackle teams due to lack of funding. The lack of an IFAF World Championship was also cited.^[7]

Also, Switzerland effectively withdrew its men’s tackle national team from the IFAF European Championship mid-tournament when the SAFV announced in December 2024 that it was suspending all tackle national teams “for the time being.” The stated reasons were a strategic shift toward flag football with LA 2028 in view, plus a review of results and cost structure.^[8] Switzerland is the only team of the four folded during the 2024-25 Championship to have restarted their program for the 2026-27 European cycle.

• International Federation of American Football