Italy’s schedule set for 2026 youth flag football Europeans

Italy’s group-stage fixtures

In the U15 Mixed competition, Italy is in Group D with Ukraine, Poland and Serbia. The team is scheduled to play Poland at 10:15 on Thursday, September 24, Serbia at 14:00 and Ukraine at 17:45.

Italy’s U17 women are in Group A with Czechia, Spain, France and Israel. Their group games are against Israel and Spain on September 24, at 09:00 and 12:45 respectively, followed by France and Czechia on September 25 at the same times.

The U17 men are in Group C with Czechia and Team Euro Youth (TEY). Italy is due to face TEY at 12:45 on September 24 and Czechia at 16:30.

Thirty-four teams across three categories

FIDAF reports that the field comprises 13 U15 Mixed teams, nine U17 women’s teams and 12 U17 men’s teams. Additional teams from Ukraine and Czechia completed the participating lineup, prompting a revision of the original schedule to balance recovery time between games.

The second phase is scheduled to begin on Friday, September 25, and continue on Saturday, September 26, with matchups based on group-stage placements.

Russian teams to compete as Team Euro Youth

The schedule reflects IFAF’s policy update on youth Russian athletes, approved by its Board on August 17 in Düsseldorf, FIDAF says. The Russian American Football Federation accepted exceptional measures intended to facilitate visa issuance by Italian authorities.

At the Italian championships, Russian teams will compete as TEY – Team Euro Youth. IFAF’s flag will be used instead of the Russian federation’s flag; the Russian national anthem will not be played, and the names “Russia” and “RUS” will not be used. IFAF described the measures as exceptional and specific to the event in Italy.

Medal finals scheduled for Saturday

The three medal finals are set for the afternoon of September 26 at Hilderaldo Luiz Bellini Stadium in Comacchio. The U15 Mixed final is scheduled for 15:30, the U17 men’s final for 16:45 and the U17 women’s final for 18:00.

Italy’s U17 women arrive as the reigning European champions. FIDAF also reports that Italy has reached the podium at each of the last four editions of the youth Europeans. At the previous year’s tournament in Innsbruck, the U17 women defeated Germany 53–15 in the title game.