The Nfl Flag Is Coming To Nairobi This July

Five nations. Ten national teams. Five youth squads. Three days of competition. And for the first time ever, Kenya is the host. This is the biggest American Football moment Nairobi has ever seen — and KFAF helped make it happen.

        Download the official NFL press release (PDF) for the full statement.

 THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT 

Nairobi is about to host the NFL Flag Championship. For the first time, Kenya has been chosen as the venue for the NFL Flag Africa Continental Championship  a three-day tournament running 9 to 10 July, bringing together men’s and women’s national teams plus U13 youth squads from five African nations: Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa.

This is the third edition of this continental event, following successful tournaments in Nigeria in 2024 and Egypt in 2025. Now it is Kenya’s turn  and the federation could not be prouder to have played a part in bringing it home.

The Five Competing Nations:

 WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING 

Senior Teams, Youth Teams, and a Talent Hunt.

This tournament is structured for maximum impact, on and off the field. At the senior level, five men’s and five women’s national teams will go head-to-head  the first time this competition has featured a dedicated women’s national team category. Running alongside the senior competition is a U13 co-ed youth tournament, with each of the five nations fielding a 10-player squad of the continent’s next generation.

And then there is July 11 — the date every serious young player in Kenya should circle. An elite talent identification workout will close out the week, giving a invited athletes from across the continent the chance to perform directly in front of NFL representatives. This sits inside the league’s wider NFL Africa program, which feeds into pathways like the International Player Pathway and NFL Academy  the very same pipeline that has already produced Kenya’s first NFL signing Joshua Waweru with The Philadephia Eagles.

WHY THIS MATTERS FOR KENYA

KFAF Helped Build This.

This event has been developed in consultation with IFAF, the sport’s international federation, which has authorised the participation of national representative teams. Locally, it is supported by KFAF  the federation that has spent recent months running coaching clinics from Western Kenya to the Coast, training NFL-certified coaches, securing KUSA endorsement for university adoption, and watching a Kenyan athlete reach the NFL. Hosting this tournament is the natural next chapter of that work.

Nairobi as host venue means Kenyan officials get to operate on home soil, Kenyan players compete in front of a home crowd, and Kenyan youth players get to share a field with athletes their age from across the continent. It also means the eyes of the NFL, IFAF, and four other federations will be on Kenya for three full days — watching everything KFAF has built.

THE VOICES BEHIND IT

“It's been inspiring to watch flag football take off across the continent. This event brings together the very best players alongside the next generation of talent from five countries, showcasing the pathways that exist for athletes to compete at the grassroots level all the way to representing their countries in international competitions.”

— Brian Flinn, NFL Senior Vice President, Global Flag Football

“IFAF and the NFL have been working collaboratively to accelerate flag football development across Africa, both at grassroots and high-performance levels. This event is another fantastic example of our partnership in action, providing the national teams of IFAF member federations in the continent with a valuable competitive opportunity in preparation for next year's crucial IFAF African Continental Championships.”

— Pierre Trochet, President, IFAF

 THE BIGGER PICTURE 

This Is an Olympic Pathway.

Flag football is one of the fastest-growing sports on the planet , played by more than 20 million people in over 100 countries, with explosive growth in youth and girls’ participation. It makes its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Games. Every player who steps onto a Nairobi pitch this July is playing inside a pathway that leads, realistically, all the way to that Olympic stage.

The NFL Africa program behind this tournament is led by NFL legend Osi Umenyiora and built on three pillars: fan events, talent identification, and NFL Flag development. The continent’s connection to the league already runs deep more than 145 players of African descent currently sit on NFL rosters. Kenya hosting this championship places the country squarely inside that growing story.

Event Details:

Five Nations. One Nairobi Stage. History in the Making. 🏈

Mark your calendars. 9–11 July. Nairobi. The continent is coming to us.