NFL Global Junior Championship
Over the last several months NFL International has reviewed several options in transitioning the NFL Global Junior Championship to be under the auspices of USA Football.
Over the course of this review it has become clear that the International Federation of American Football intends to host the first ever Junior World Cup in 2009. For this reason, NFL International has elected to work closely with IFAF and USA Football to make this event the linchpin of elite junior player development for IFAF member federations.
As such, the NFL Global Junior Championship will not be held in 2008 in anticipation of collaborating to launch the inaugural IFAF Junior World Cup in 2009. The Junior World Cup will likely be a quadrennial event, and NFL International will liaise with USA Football to develop a tournament that will allow top junior national teams to compete internationally in the years the World Cup is not hosted.
While this is disappointing news, we are confident this is the best course for developing American football globally and rewarding elite junior players and coaches. Thank you for your longstanding commitment to junior player development.
CANADA CHAMPIONS AGAIN - 
Canada won the NFL Global Junior Championship title for a third successive year with a dominant 23-13 victory over a Team USA featuring student athletes from South Florida counties Broward and Miami-Dade.
Quarterback Bruno Prud’Homme (below) ran and threw for a touchdown as Canada responded to a first quarter Jason Frierson (Coral Gables High School) touchdown catch from a Derek Rifenbury (Monarch) pass by scoring 17 unanswered points. The second year signal caller scored on a 14-yard run to take a 10-7 lead after a 23-yard Dan Village field goal, then hit Ismael Bamba with a 30-yard pass in the third quarter.
Two more Village field goals from 34 and 37 yards put Canda in an unassailable 23-7 lead, which was only dented when Rifenbury found tight end Michael Hellman (Everglades) from 9 yards out.
Click here for full game recaps. Click here for the All-Tournament team.
“It was an outstanding victory for us,” said Canada head coach Glen Constantin. “It was really important for us that we contained them and we did that. Coming to South Florida where the great college prospects are we knew it would be tough so we are very happy to have won.”
Team USA head coach Mark Guandolo admitted: “We have no excuses. Canada was the better team today. We knew it was going to be a tough game. It’s a great experience to work with kids that we never usually get a chance to work with and I thought the team came together well and played their hearts out.”
Earlier in the day Mexico won the battle for third place with a 25-17 win over Japan having trailed 14-0 in the first quarter to a Satoshi Kawahara touchdown catch and a Shinnosuke Kamo interception return for a score. Running back Alexis Magallanes scored twice on the ground, Alfonso Espinosa went in from 9 yards, out and a safety and two field goals completed the comeback.
Panama took fifth place with its first victory in five attempts having also played in the competition in 2000. A 40-yard Cesar Tucker interception return for a touchdown negated Jeremy Rabot’s 91-yard scoring kickoff return, then Kenrick Belgrave saw off France with a run from a yard out.