Once seen as a niche American sport, flag football is now surging in popularity across Africa, as top teams gathered in Nairobi for the first NFL Flag Africa Continental Championship from Thursday to Saturday, with eyes set on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
The appeal of flag football lies in its simplicity and low barrier to entry, helping schools, clubs, and communities across Africa adopt the fast, non-contact version of American football at a rapid pace.
"Next year there is going to be another continental event. IFAF and the NFL are going to run and that is going to give people more of the opportunity to be able to compete for the Olympics, but this right here is just competition, playing against each other, because you can't just come here once and play and say 'okay, get ready for the Olympics.' That is not going to do. We have to have more competitions and this is a step in the right direction," said Osi Umenyiora, head of NFL Africa.
Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, and South Africa participated in the three-day event, which provided valuable experience for many players competing at this level for the first time.
"Most of the ladies in team Kenya are actually playing this sport for the first time. Players are coming from Handball, coco, from rugby, so we have only trained for two months, only on weekends. It was tough training from morning to evening and having to learn everything. There are a lot of rules. We have a great coach and the federation was so great. So no matter how much we went through all that we still came and performed, so all of us are happy," said Terry Akinyi, Kenya Women's Flag Football player.
After winning the 2025 International Federation of American Football Africa Flag Championship, Nigeria's men's and women's teams will represent Africa next month in Germany, moving one step closer to a coveted spot at the Olympics.
"We were fortunate enough to win last year to represent Africa in Germany. We are not just going to represent Nigeria, we are going to represent Africa as a whole. To give us a chance to go to the Olympics to represent Africa at the Olympics and show the World how much flag football has grown in Africa. I feel like the world has no idea and our job is to go there and bring back the Gold too," said Edidiong Nedy Udombat, Nigeria Men's Flag Football captain.
Flag football's rise in Africa is gaining momentum and with the Olympics ahead, the continent's biggest achievement may still be yet to come.
Kenya hosts inaugural NFL Flag Africa Continental Championship
China strongly deplores and firmly opposes the statement made by Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi 10 years after the so-called "2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea", a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in Beijing on Sunday.
The statement blatantly endorses the illegal "award", attacks China's lawful claims and mischaracterizes Japan as a "legitimate stakeholder who uses the South China Sea", said the spokesperson.
Japan is not a party in the South China Sea and is in no position to pass judgment on China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea. During World War II, Japan committed innumerable crimes that caused untold suffering on China and its people, including the illegal occupation of islands and reefs in the South China Sea, said the spokesperson.
Now decades later, Japan, in the name of a "stakeholder", is again attempting to meddle in the South China Sea. This reminds people of Japan's history of aggression and expansion, and heightens their vigilance against Japan's neo-militarism agenda, said the spokesperson.
China's sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and relevant rights and interests in the South China Sea were established in the long course of history, and are solidly grounded in the law. China's activities in the South China Sea are fully legitimate, lawful and beyond reproach. China's rights in the South China Sea can by no means be denied by the makeshift "arbitral tribunal", said the spokesperson.
In rendering the "award", the "arbitral tribunal" exceeded its authority and abused its jurisdiction. The "award" is naturally illegal, null and void, and has no binding force. It has gravely undermined the sanctity and authority of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and dealt a serious blow to the international rule of law, said the spokesperson.
China neither accepts nor recognizes the "award", and opposes and will never accept any claim or action arising from it, the spokesperson added.
By turning a blind eye to the glaring flaws in the "award" while openly endorsing it, Japan has laid bare its double standards and hypocrisy, said the spokesperson.
What Japan really cares about is not the international rule of law, but meddling in and destabilizing the South China Sea. For some time, Japan has been stepping up collaboration with the Philippines and expanding its export of weapons and equipment to the country. Japan has also deployed military forces overseas on many occasions and launched offensive missiles. These actions go far beyond the scope of self-defense, break free from Japan's Constitution and norms in the international law, and challenge the post-war international order, said the spokesperson.
China urges Japan to stop smearing China, stop sowing disinformation in the South China Sea, and stop undermining peace and stability in the region, said the spokesperson, adding that China will continue firmly defending its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea.
Any attempts to challenge China's lawful rights and interests and undermine peace and stability in the South China Sea are doomed to fail, the spokesperson said.
China strongly deplores Japanese FM's statement on South China Sea: spokesperson
