GB women top group as they aim to book Olympic spot

The Great Britain women’s team have progressed as group winners at the flag football World Championships as they aim to secure an Olympic spot.

The event in Germany is the first where teams can qualify for Los Angeles 2028, when the non-contact version of American football will make its Olympics debut.

GB women, who are ranked third in the world and are the two-time defending European champions, beat France (33-14) and China (26-25) in their opening two group games on Thursday.

GB then claimed a 47-26 win over Austria on Friday to ensure they went through to the knockout stage as group winners.

If they beat Panama in the quarter-finals on Saturday (09:30 BST) they could face defending champions the USA in the semis later that day.

The top two teams – apart from Olympic hosts America – will qualify for LA28 this weekend, so GB would still get another chance to book their spot in the bronze-medal game.

The GB men’s team, ranked 12th in the world, finished bottom of the group after losing to Italy (21-12), France (43-32) and Panama (33-27).

They will now play in ranking matches to decide ninth to 16th place, beginning with a game against Switzerland.

The gold and bronze-medal games will be played on Sunday in Dusseldorf.