GB women retain European flag football title

Great Britain's women's team held their nerve to become back-to-back champions of the European Flag Football Championships after a dramatic overtime win over Austria.

It was also a successful weekend for the GB men's team in Paris as they finished fourth to claim their best result since earning bronze in 2017.

GB beat hosts France 27-21 in Saturday's semi-finals to set up the chance to regain the title they won for the first time in Ireland two years ago.

Austria beat 2023 runners-up Spain 42-25 in the other semi and are ranked fourth in the world - one place above GB.

They are four-time European champions and took the early initiative in the final, charging into a 21-6 lead, before Emily Kemp's second touchdown cut the score to 21-13 at half-time.

Kate Bruinvels then claimed a touchdown before a Marta Mathews interception gave GB the chance to take the lead for the first time, with quarterback Jessica Allen finding Grace Conway in the end zone.

Austria levelled it up at 27-27 and although GB had the chance to claim a last-gasp win, they struck first in overtime as a superb Mathews catch set up Allen's fourth touchdown pass to Kemp.

Crucially, Conway added an extra point with the conversion as although Austria hit back, they went for a two-point conversion but the pass was patted down in the end zone by Mathews, sparking jubilant scenes among the GB players and staff.

"That was such a crazy game," said Allen. "We had a slow start, but our offence managed to pull it back and our defence got some really great stops. We've worked so hard for this, I'm very proud of the team."

Kemp, who finished the final with three touchdown receptions and one touchdown pass, was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, while Spain beat France 41-40 to secure bronze.

In the men's event, GB were already assured of improving on their sixth-placed finish in Ireland before losing in the semi-finals and the bronze-medal game on Saturday.

GB are 14th in the men's rankings and were beaten by Italy (28-22) then France (34-20), who are both top-six teams.

Italy went on to beat 2023 runners-up Austria 27-19 in the final to win the competition for the first time.

The semi-finalists in each event have all qualified for next year's World Championships in Germany, while ranking points were also on offer as teams prepare for flag football to make its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.

"This the most exciting time in the history of flag football and, with the sport exploding around the world, I can only imagine what LA28 is going to be," said Pierre Trochet, president of the International Federation of American Football.