1999 IFAF World Championship

1999 IFAF World Championship

Tournament details
Host nation	Italy
Dates	June 24 – July 4
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–4 July 1999. The tournament was contested by six nations and was won by Japan.

Participants

•  Mexico
•  Japan
•  Sweden
•  Australia
•  Finland
•  Italy

Rosters

Finland 1999 IFAF World Championship roster
Quarterbacks -- Jarkko Nieminen -- Petri Pekkanen Running Backs -- Mika Ahl -- Jani Puustinen -- Karim Segheir -- Tero Talonen Wide Receivers -- Nikko Olssonn -- Mikko Pimminainen -- Jarkko Pippola -- Timo Seppanen Tight ends -- Tommi Padatsu -- Jukka Ryynanen		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 -- Luoma Marko DE		Linebackers -- Henri Forsberg -- Matti Lottonen -- Kari Lyhty -- Petri Pellinen -- Juhani Salo -- Jarkko Ylatalo 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

Italy 1999 IFAF World Championship roster
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

Sweden 1999 IFAF World Championship roster
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

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

• Date: June 24

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

• Date: June 27

	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

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

• Date: June 25

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

• Date: June 28

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

• Date: July 1

Fifth place match

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

Third place match

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

• Date: July 3

Final

	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	106	-92

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