Nigeria's Olympic dreams remain alive after world champions pull out

Nigeria's men's and women's flag football teams will still have an opportunity to compete in the qualifying event for the 2028 Olympic Games, despite their withdrawal from the International Federation of American Football Flag Football World Championships in Düsseldorf due to visa issues.

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The tournament, which marks the beginning of the journey to the inaugural Olympic flag football competition, will feature 16 men's and 16 women's teams vying for world titles and four direct quota spots for the LA28 Olympic Games.

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A joint statement from the International Federation of American Football, the National Sports Commission, and the Nigerian Federation of American Football announced the withdrawal on Monday, citing unsuccessful efforts to secure visas for the teams.

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According to the statement, significant efforts were made behind the scenes over the past 10 days to explore every possible avenue to enable the teams to travel to Germany, but unfortunately, all parties were informed that the visas would not be issued in time for the Championships.

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The statement expressed regret and sympathy for the athletes and team staff, who had worked hard to earn their place at the Championships as the inaugural IFAF African Flag Football Champions and were looking forward to representing Nigeria on the world stage.

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Nigeria's teams had qualified for the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships by winning the first African Flag Football Championship in Cairo, Egypt, with the men's team securing a narrow 13-12 win against hosts Egypt and the women's team defeating Morocco 26-12.

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The withdrawal means that teams scheduled to play Nigeria in the group stage will be awarded an automatic victory, as it is not possible to replace the Nigerian teams with reserve teams from the 2025 IFAF African Flag Football Championships due to the timing of the withdrawal.

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Despite the withdrawal, Nigeria's pathway to the LA28 Olympic Games remains open, with the men's and women's teams having the opportunity to compete at the 2027 IFAF Continental Championships, where a top-two finish would secure qualification for the Olympic Qualifier Series.

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A total of six quota places per gender are available for the flag football tournament at LA28, with one quota going to host nation USA, two to be awarded at the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships, and the remaining three to be decided at the Olympic Qualifier Series in May and June 2028.