Euro Flag Paris 2025 opens Thursday at the Parc Interdépartemental des Sports in Choisy ‑ Paris Val‑de‑Marne. Until Saturday, 43 teams representing 25 nations will compete for the title of European champion and a qualification for the 2026 World Championship. Ahead of this event, the penultimate continental championship of the year, the president of the International Federation of American Football (IFAF), Pierre Trochet, speaks to Francs Jeux in a two-part interview.
Between an unprecedented array of continental championships, the Chengdu World Games, and major announcements like the NFL's deal for the Los Angeles Olympics, 2025 is a big year for the IFAF.
Yes, it's been a great year! Previous years have shown significant progress, so we can feel a real momentum around our activities. This progress is constant; we feel that it supports a long-term vision for our federation. We had the World Games, the continental championships, we're already preparing for the world championship next year, we had very important announcements for 2028, etc. It's indeed been a fantastic year, and we know that the next few will continue this momentum.
How is this edition of the Euro Flag shaping up?
We're going to have a great time, it's a bit like ours main event This year. Europe has always been very present in terms of participation. With 43 teams involved, it's a big edition. With our local partners, we wanted to go beyond the sporting aspect by setting up an entire village of activities. Work is being carried out with the NFL and the French federation in many schools in the region to introduce the activity and encourage younger people to join the clubs.
We'll have Lionel Buton, Peter Anderson, and the beIN Sports team to provide the animation and some of the broadcasting. We'll have multi-platform distribution across all boxes, a partnership with Sport in France. Compared to Limerick (2023), this is a big leap forward for Euro Flag. The level of competition will be very high, and teams will be competing for a spot at the World Championships. We'll find everything that makes flag: it's fun, fast, creative, and spectacular.
Are tickets selling well?
This is already a record-breaking edition in terms of tickets. Several thousand people will be there until Saturday; it's going to be a great party. Just over 4000 people are registered on the ticket office. The big change is that we're selling tickets for the first time for the Euro Flag. It's definitely more interesting, and meaningful, to sell tickets rather than have open participation.
Having the Euro Flag in Paris could facilitate the future arrival of the NFL? This is the hope of many fans.
Of course. The two are not linked, but we work hand in hand with the NFL; we are very close. Moreover, League staff are present in Paris, recording content for later use, particularly on American channels. We are in the middle of international series, which pass through Dublin, London, Madrid. I hope that Paris will soon be on the map. I can tell you that it is a possibility. Right now, it is in the hands of the NFL and the French authorities. But any event around American football that brings fans together can only encourage the League to position a match in France in the future.
