American Football World Cup 2003

American Football World Cup 2003
qualification
Teams	7th
Finals
Period	July 10-12, 2003
venue	Germany ( Hanau , Wiesbaden )
Teams	4th
World Champion	Japan
Games	4th
spectator	7,900

The American Football World Cup 2003 was the 2nd edition of a world championship in the sport of American football . It was organized by the world association IFAF . The final round, for which four teams from three continental associations qualified, took place in Germany in the two Hessian cities of Hanau and Wiesbaden . The title went to Japan , which, as in the first edition of the tournament, beat Mexico in the final .

Award

The German association AFVD was the only candidate to submit a timely application to host the world championship and was thus awarded the contract by the world association IFAF.

qualification

mode

A total of four places in the final round were awarded. As hosts, Germany had already qualified for the finals. The three remaining places were played in three groups, each of which was assigned a continental association.

Europe

The first qualifying match took place on October 12, 2002 in Stockholm . France prevailed against hosts Sweden and reached the next round.

	Stockholm October 12, 2002 7:00 p.m.		Sweden	0: 23	France		Kristineberg's IP viewers: 873
				(0: 0, 0:10, 0:13, 0: 0) Match report

Originally, Denmark and the Czech Republic were registered for the qualification and should play off Finland's first opponent in the first qualifying round. Neither of the two teams took part in the qualification in the end, so that Finland entered the play-off for the World Cup without a fight. In front of their home crowd, in the Velodrome in Helsinki, the Finns awarded two field goal attempts. On the French side, the NFL Europe players , Patrice Kancel ( Berlin Thunder ), Marc-Angelo Soumah ( Frankfurt Galaxy ) and Cédric Cotar ( Barcelona Dragons ), scored points. The team from France was again without counterpoints and qualified for a world championship for the first time.

	Helsinki October 26, 2002 1 p.m.		Finland	0:16	France		Helsingin Velodromi
				(0: 0, 0: 7, 0: 6, 0: 3) Match report

Asia

In Asia, Japan and South Korea competed for the qualification. In a one-sided game, defending champions Japan secured participation in the finals in Germany. It was the first ever international match for South Korea.

	Osaka February 23, 2003 12:00 pm		Japan	88: 0	South Korea		Nagai Stadium spectators: 14,000
				(21: 0, 27: 0, 26: 0, 14: 0) Match report

Panamerica

Canada was initially the only association that had registered in time to qualify for Pan America. Since no entry fee was received, the entry was declared invalid and the entry period for Pan-American teams was extended. Ultimately, Mexico was the only participant to take part directly in the finals.

Finals

Semifinals

	Wiesbaden July 10, 2003 2:00 p.m.		Japan	23: 6	France		Stadium Berliner Straße spectators: 1,200
				(0: 0, 0: 0, 20: 0, 3: 6) Match report

	Wiesbaden July 10, 2003 6:00 p.m.		Germany	17:21	Mexico		Stadium Berliner Straße spectators: 1,600
				(0: 7, 3: 0, 0: 7, 14: 7) Match report

Finals

In the small final, the German national team clearly prevailed. The win was mainly due to a strong performance from the defense. With two touchdowns and a safety , the German defense scored 14 points, eight of which went to linebacker Markus Bleker. The defender from the ranks of the Franken Knights was also the best scorer of the game.

			3rd place match
	Hanau July 12, 2003 2 p.m.		Germany	36: 7	France		Herbert-Dröse-Stadion spectators: 2,500
				(9: 0, 6: 7, 14: 0, 7: 0) Match report

---

			final
	Hanau July 12, 2003 6:00 p.m.		Japan	34:14	Mexico		Herbert-Dröse-Stadion spectators: 2,600
				(0: 7, 17: 0, 7: 7, 10: 0) Match report

Web links

• World Cup 2003 on football-history.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ IFAF awards World Cup 2003 to Germany. In: afvd.de. AFVD , May 1, 2002, accessed January 17, 2018 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b c} WM 2003 qualification mode decided. In: afvd.de. AFVD, May 7, 2002, accessed January 17, 2018 . 
3. ^ Kickoff for the World Cup 2003. In: worldcup2003.info. German Football Partners GmbH, October 10, 2002, archived from the original on November 15, 2009 ; accessed on January 21, 2018 . 
4. ^ Garry Nilsson: Match report Sweden - France. In: worldcup2003.info. SAFF, October 15, 2002, archived from the original on June 14, 2007 ; accessed on January 21, 2018 (English). 
5. ^ France advances to WC 2003. In: worldcup2003.info. October 26, 2002, archived from the original on September 16, 2007 ; accessed on January 22, 2018 (English). 
6. ↑ Japan beats South Korea 88-0. In: worldcup2003.info. German Football Partners GmbH, February 24, 2003, archived from the original on July 16, 2007 ; accessed on January 22, 2018 . 
7. ^ Tournament announcement from Canada. In: worldcup2003.info. August 22, 2002, archived from the original on July 16, 2007 ; accessed on January 28, 2018 . 
8. ↑ The schedule for the world championship is set. In: worldcup2003.info. February 27, 2003, archived from the original on July 16, 2007 ; accessed on January 28, 2018 . 
9. ↑ World Cup bronze: Germany defeats France. In: afvd.de. AFVD, July 14, 2003, accessed January 21, 2019 .