USA FOOTBALL PRESENTS A WEEK OF EXCITING FOOTBALL EVENTS IN CHARLOTTE, JULY 5-9

INDIANAPOLIS – USA Football, the sport's governing body and a member of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, is hosting a week of exciting football events in Charlotte from July 5-9 at UNC Charlotte. Fans will have the chance to attend USA Football's Vendor Village, Tailgate Town, a Blitz held with the Carolina Panthers and watch the world’s best flag football teams compete. All events will take place on the campus of UNC Charlotte (1001 John Kirk Drive, Charlotte, NC 28262) and are open to the public free of charge. 

From July 5-7, the 2023 U.S. Men’s and Women’s Flag National Teams will compete in the 2023 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Americas Continental Flag Football Championship to crown the best team from North and South America. The event will serve as a qualifying pathway to the 2024 IFAF Flag Football World Championships, in Lahti, Finland.  

Many members of the Men’s and Women’s National Teams are veterans of the international game who represented the U.S. in The World Games (TWG) 2022 in Birmingham, Ala., an event featuring 3,600 participants from more than 100 countries. USA Football and IFAF hope flag football’s growing global footprint will lead to its inclusion in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. 

Additionally, the 2023 U.S. Boys’ and Girls’ 15U and 17U National Teams will compete in the second annual Junior Flag International Cup from July 5-7 against teams fielded from across the globe.   

Flag football’s rapidly expanding popularity fuels the boom in demand for opportunities to play domestically and internationally. According to an annual participation study from the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) in 2022, roughly 7.1 million people in the U.S. played flag football, including 2.5 million people who routinely engaged with the sport. 

USA Football and the Carolina Panthers keep the fun going on July 8 by teaming up to host the Charlotte Blitz on July 8 from 9:15 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. The event offers a day of free family and community activities. There will be a Fan Fest area complete with youth football clinics, inflatables, a photo booth, a DJ, food trucks and more.  

Simultaneously, several months of flag football tournaments held across the country culminate in The One Flag Championship from July 8-9. Spanning the youth and adult levels across roughly a dozen divisions, The One is a national flag football tournament hosted by USA Football. Participants drawn to The One from across the country will be scouted for invitations to the 2024 U.S. National Team Trials.  

Media interested in covering events should review USA Football’s media credentialing policy and complete a credential application. Questions from the media may be directed to media@usafootball.com.  

About USA Football: USA Football designs and delivers premier educational, developmental and competitive programs to advance and grow the sport. As the sport’s governing body, member of the U.S. Olympic Committee and organizer of the U.S. National Team for international competition, USA Football partners with leaders in medicine, child advocacy and athletics to support positive football experiences for youth, high school and other amateur players. 

About IFAF: The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) is the international governing body for the sport of American football and is responsible for all regulatory, competition, performance and development aspects of the game on a global level. IFAF is provisionally recognized by the International Olympic Committee and is a signatory to the WADA Code. IFAF has 72 member nations across 5 continents.