1999 IFAF World Championship

1999 IFAF World Championship
Tournament details
Host nation	Italy
Dates	24 June – 4 July
No. of nations	6
Final positions
Champions	Japan
Runner-up	Mexico
Third-place	Sweden
	2003 →

The 1999 IFAF World Championship was the inaugural IFAF World Championship, an international American football championship run by the International Federation of American Football (IFAF). It was played in Palermo, Italy from 24 June to 4 July 1999.^[1] The tournament was contested by six nations and was won by Japan.^[1]

Participants

Rosters

Quarterbacks

-- Jarkko Nieminen

-- Petri Pekkanen

Running Backs

-- Mika Ahl

-- Jani Puustinen

-- Karim Segheir

-- Tero Talonen

Wide Receivers

-- Nikko Olsson

-- Mikko Pimminainen

-- Jarkko Pippola

-- Timo Seppänen

Tight ends

-- Tommi Padatsu

-- Jukka Ryynänen

Offensive Linemen

-- Stefan Andersson

-- Patrik Karbin

-- Ilkka Katainen

-- Jari Lyhty

-- Tomi Pirhonen

-- Marko Puustinen

-- Mikko Sorvali

-- Mikko Vento

Defensive Linemen

-- Seppo Evwaraye DT

-- Jose Hakala DE

-- Timo Jokela DT

-- Ville Kurvinen DE

-- Pertti Lautala DT

-- Pasi Lautala DT

-- Marko Luoma DE

Linebackers

-- Henri Forsberg

-- Matti Lottonen

-- Kari Lyhty

-- Petri Pellinen

-- Juhani Salo

-- Jarkko Ylätalo

Defensive Backs

-- Markus Forsberg S

-- Matias Forslund S

-- Mika Laurila S

-- Sebastian Lind CB

-- Simo Mahkonen CB

-- Jani Pihlman CB

-- Jari Savela CB

-- Jukka Tahvanainen CB

-- Jouni Virta S

Special Teams

-- Tapio Hentunen P

Quarterbacks

-- Federico Castellani

-- Marcello Lio

-- Elvis Taroni

Running Backs

-- Alessandro Angeloni

-- Massimiliano Fagotti FB

-- Alessandro Greco

-- Cristian Longhi FB

-- Carlo Mezzadri FB

-- Giosue Rizzuto

Wide Receivers

-- Christian Costanzo

-- Fabio Capodaglio

-- Gianluca Mannatrizio

-- Matteo Soresini

Tight ends

-- Massimo Vicinelli

Offensive Linemen

-- Corrado Camerino G

-- Emanuele Costanzo C

-- Alessandro Dallai G

-- Massimo Gertosio T

-- Davide Giuliano T

-- Placido Massella G

-- Stefano Neva C

-- Mauro Salvemini T

-- Armaldo Sbriccoli C

-- Mauro Trombetti T

Defensive Linemen

-- Luca Bellora DE

-- Corrado Camerino DT

-- Francesco Fabbri DT

-- Fabio Franzini

-- Fulvio Rusconi DT

Linebackers

-- Alessandro Aldrovandi OLB

-- Giuseppe Anello MLB

-- Claudio Biavati MLB

-- Massimiliano Bonomo OLB

-- Marco Boscolo OLB

-- Ottavio Carnelli OLB

-- Diego Gennaro OLB

-- Ezio Marone MLB

-- Paolo Orofino

-- Stefano Paolucci

-- Antonio Pauletto OLB

Defensive Backs

-- Stefano De Giorgi CB

-- Davide Donnini CB

-- Renato Gargiulo SS

-- Paolo Guerini CB

-- Enrico Leonardi CB

-- Matteo Mantovani CB

-- Filippo Piermaria CB

-- Marco Polizzi CB

-- Jouni Virta S

-- Andrea Ventura

Special Teams

-- Vito Lafata P/K

Quarterbacks

3 Enrique Villanueva

13 Diego Rodríguez

19 Antonio Toro

Running Backs

34 Oliver Feria

1 Eduardo Núñez

33 Mauricio Loustaunau

21 Jerónimo Huerta

Wide Receivers

88 Héctor Cuervo

80 Sergio Aguilar

5 Mauricio Líbano

12 Víctor Narváez

Tight Ends

82 Félix Joanem

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

99 Erick Sámano

DT

6 Jesús Alfredo Muñoz

DE

Linebackers

Defensive Backs

27 Edgar Loyo

CB

10 Jesús Medina

CB

Special Teams

37 Alejandro Barona

20 Roberto Mendoza

Quarterbacks

-- Hakan Eriksson

-- Martin Hejdesten

-- Martin Wiman

Running Backs

-- Kaj Dyrvold

-- Lars Gustafsson

-- Eric Hakansson

-- Rachid Karlsson

-- Niklas Karlsson

Wide Receivers

-- Joel Andersson

-- Henrik Eriksson

-- Benny Granqvist

-- Mattias Hejdesten

-- Yohan Ohlsson

-- Johan Perlstrom

Tight ends

-- Ola Olsson

-- Mikael Tagel

Offensive Linemen

-- Carl-Johan Blomwall

-- Magnus Dahlin

-- Ted Hagberg

-- Michael Jonsson

-- Tomas Lohr

-- Sighsten Lundqvist

-- Bjorn Marcusson

-- Marten Persson

Defensive Linemen

-- Andreas Blomquist

-- Jorgen Lejon

-- Dann Petersson

-- Richard Rosenholtz

-- Peter Rundberg

-- Ola Schon

-- Kristian Stenshamn

-- Jonas Svan

-- Anders Tibling

Linebackers

-- Martin Janzon

-- Giacomo La Cerva

-- Kristian Lonnesjo

-- Marcus Miramahdi

-- Stefan Skoldeback

-- Brian Vilborg

Defensive Backs

-- Mikael Berg

-- Andreas Ekholm

-- Mats Eriksson

-- Magnus Kullenberg

-- Lars Leksell

-- Peter Raicevic

-- Eric Saeden

-- Richard Trincas

Special Teams

-- Ola Kimrin K

Group stage

Group A

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA
Mexico	2	2	0	143	0
Italy	2	1	1	28	61
Finland	2	0	2	7	117

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Italy	7	7	7	7	28
Finland	0	7	0	0	7

Date: June 24

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Mexico	24	35	8	22	89
Finland	0	0	0	0	0

Date: June 27

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Mexico	21	7	12	14	54
Italy	0	0	0	0	0

Date: June 30

Group B

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA
Japan	2	2	0	78	14
Sweden	2	1	1	36	30
Australia	2	0	2	6	76

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Sweden	7	3	6	6	22
Australia	0	6	0	0	6

Date: June 25

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Japan	7	7	7	3	24
Sweden	0	0	14	0	14

Date: June 28

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Japan	14	16	14	10	54
Australia	0	0	0	0	0

Date: July 1

Fifth place match

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Australia	0	0	0	10	10
Finland	0	7	0	0	7

Third place match

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Sweden	10	13	3	12	38
Italy	0	6	7	0	13

Date: July 3

Final

Quarter	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Japan	0	0	0	0	6	6
Mexico	0	0	0	0	0	0

Date: July 4

Both teams entered the gold medal game undefeated in group play. The Mexico defense had not allowed any points, shutting out their two previous opponents, and the Mexican offense was impressive in beating Finland 89-0 (the most points ever in an IFAF Tournament game) and Italy 54-0. The Championship Game was a defensive struggle, with both teams committing turnovers (5 by Mexico, 2 by Japan), and for the first time in the tournament, Mexico did not score a point in any quarter. Japan held a slight advantage in total yards gained (233 to Mexico's 198). In overtime, Japan scored first on 5 yard pass from Sunaga to Abe. The extra point kick was wide, and Japan led 6-0. As they had all game, the Japanese defense kept Mexico out of the endzone, sealing the victory for Japan.

Winner

1999 IFAF World Cup Winners
JAPAN First Title

Statistics

Pos	Team	Games	Win	Lose	Points for	Points against	Difference
1	Japan	3	3	0	84	14	+70
2	Mexico	3	2	1	143	6	+137
3	Sweden	3	2	1	74	43	+31
4	Italy	3	1	2	41	99	-58
5	Australia	3	1	2	16	83	-67
6	Finland	3	0	3	14	127	-113

References

^ ^a ^b Kelly, Roger (24 November 2018). "First ever IFAF World Cup of American Football featured in NFL Films". American Football International. Retrieved 18 June 2023.

38°09′10″N 13°20′33″E / 38.15278°N 13.34250°E / 38.15278; 13.34250

[afi-1] Kelly, Roger (24 November 2018). "First ever IFAF World Cup of American Football featured in NFL Films". American Football International. Retrieved 18 June 2023.

[1]