Canada books Olympic flag football spots as sport prepares for Los Angeles debut

One of the world’s fastest-growing sports is heading to the Olympic Games and Canada will arrive in Los Angeles as one of the nations to watch.

Both the Mexican men's and women's teams acquitted themselves well by advancing to the third-place game with an Olympic berth at stake. The women won in nail-biting fashion, and the men lost in a heartbreaker.

The United States successfully defended the men's title at the flag football world championships on Sunday but lost the women's title to Canada, while Mexico's women and Canada's men earned qualification spots for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

The qualifiers from this weekend's IFAF championships join host USA in both the men's and women's field with further qualifying still to come.

US men and Canada women win flag football world titles as spots earned for the Los Angeles Olympics  Toronto Star

The United States successfully defends the men’s title at the flag football world championships but loses the women’s title to Canada

The women, who had already qualified with a 20-6 semifinal win over top-ranked Mexico on Saturday, capped a perfect tournament with a 27-20 win over the Americans in the final.

Canada’s men have clinched a berth in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games after defeating Mexico 34-26 in the bronze-medal game at the flag football world championships in Germany on Sunday.

The Great Britain women's team miss out on their first chance to qualify for flag football's Olympic debut but will have another opportunity on Sunday.

Mexico is sending its first blind women's football team to compete in an international tournament. Players cannot wait.