The Israeli men’s flag football team, August 2024. Credit: Courtesy American Football in Israel.
Israel’s men’s and women’s flag football teams are kicking off their quest for a spot at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, at this week’s International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Flag Football World Championships (FFWC) in Lahti, Finland.
This past weekend 21 teams from all over Europe arrived in Jerusalem to compete for the 2019 Flag Football European Championship. Denmark took the gold for the men while Spain won the women’s crown. On today’s Israel Uncensored with Josh Hasten, American Football in Israel (AFI) president Steve Leibowitz says that the biggest winner in the competition is the city of Jerusalem, hosting the largest ever delegation (over 400 players) for a specific sport in an internationally recognized tournament. While the Israeli men’s team finished fourth and the women finished sixth, Israel already has its sights on the 2020 world championship in Copenhagen.
On a very special edition of Israel Uncensored with Josh Hasten, Josh reports from this past Friday’s “Touchdown in Israel III” event at the Kraft Family Sports Campus in Jerusalem. 16 current players and alumni from the New England Patriots were in Israel as part of the third installment of a VIP trip to Israel organized by Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft. Over the years Kraft has brought dozens of other NFL players to Israel including many Hall of Fame Players – some of the best to ever play the game. Hear from Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman, and several other Patriots players along with representatives from the American Football in Israel (AFI) league on this week’s unforgettable show.