Nigeria’s men’s and women’s flag football teams will still have a chance of competing in the qualifying event for the 2028 Olympic Games despite withdrawing from this year’s International Federation of American Football Flag Football World Championships in Düsseldorf over visa issues.

The tournament marks the start of the journey to the inaugural Olympic flag football competition, with 16 men’s and 16 women’s teams set to battle for the world titles and four direct quota spots for the LA28 Olympic Games.

However, Nigeria’s withdrawal was announced on Monday in a joint statement from the International Federation of American Football, the National Sports Commission and the Nigerian Federation of American Football.

“Over the past 10 days, IFAF, together with its event partners and the relevant authorities, has made significant efforts behind the scenes to explore every possible avenue to enable the teams to travel to Germany. Regrettably, all parties were informed this morning (Monday) that the visas would not be issued in time for the Championships,” the statement read.

“Our thoughts are first and foremost with the athletes and team staff, who have worked hard to earn their place at these Championships as the inaugural IFAF African Flag Football Champions. They were looking forward to proudly representing Nigeria and making their debut appearance on the world stage.”

Both teams sealed qualification for the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships last year after winning the first African Flag Football Championship in Cairo, Egypt.

In the men’s final, Nigeria secured a narrow 13-12 win against hosts Egypt, while the women’s final ended with Nigeria defeating Morocco 26-12.

“Due to the timing of the withdrawal, it is not possible to replace the Nigerian men’s and women’s teams with the respective reserve teams from the 2025 IFAF African Flag Football Championships. In accordance with the competition regulations, teams scheduled to play Nigeria in the group stage will be awarded an automatic victory.”

According to the statement, Nigeria’s pathway to the LA28 Olympic Games remains open despite the withdrawal from the World Championships.

The Nigerian men’s and women’s teams will have the opportunity to compete at the 2027 IFAF Continental Championships, where a top-two finish would secure qualification for the Olympic Qualifier Series, the final stage of qualification for the LA28 Olympic Games.

A total of six quota places per gender are available for the flag football tournament at LA28. One quota in each tournament goes to host nation USA, two will be awarded at the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships, while the remaining three will be decided at the Olympic Qualifier Series, which will take place in May and June 2028. (PUNCH)

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