Kenya hosts inaugural NFL Flag Africa Continental Championship

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's Shenzhou-23 astronauts have spent more than 80 days aboard the Tiangong Space Station, where they have advanced a broad slate of scientific experiments and operational training drills over the past week as the mission progresses steadily.

Last week, the three astronauts, namely Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan, and Lai Ka-ying, carried out multiple parallel space science experiments and tests, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The crew completed in-orbit electroencephalogram (EEG) tests and behavioral experiments for the microgravity intuitive physics project, examining how prolonged spaceflight affects astronauts' brain functional networks and their ability to form intuitive physical representations.

They also collected and processed blood samples for research programs including bone metabolism interactive regulation and space integrative omics, supporting studies on the changing patterns of the human skeletal, nervous and other physiological systems during long-duration spaceflight.

In addition, kinematic characteristic experiments were conducted to provide support for ergonomic design and evaluation.

In the field of psychological and behavioral research, the trio finished an emergency decision-making capability assessment and an in-orbit emotional state test, part of ongoing work to track changes in crew performance and mental status throughout long-term on-orbit missions.

Alongside scientific endeavors, the astronauts pushed ahead with scheduled in-orbit training and emergency drills to reinforce their operational skills and response readiness.

Footage from the orbital complex shows the crew honing their skills on the on-orbit teleoperation rendezvous and docking training system, practicing manual docking, teleoperated docking and manual evacuation maneuvers by operating translation and attitude control handles.

They also completed in-orbit medical rescue training to familiarize themselves with rescue procedures and force application characteristics in a microgravity environment.

Furthermore, the crew carried out the second full-system pressure emergency drill, further consolidating their emergency handling capabilities and improving space-ground coordination efficiency.

China launched the Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship on May 24. The mission includes a one-year in-orbit study designed to gather data for future long-duration human space missions.

China's Shenzhou-23 crew advance space science experiments, in-orbit training