The Montreal Alouettes U9 Flag Football Team has won the Youth Flag Football World Championships, defeating Bama Elite U9 in the final by a score of 26-14.
The team was coached by veteran defensive back Najee Murray, who has played 50 career regular-season CFL games over six seasons with the Alouettes, helping them win a Grey Cup in 2023.
“I loved my experience with the young players, and I congratulate them on their tournament,” said Murray. “The level of play in flag football amazed me, and it will only get better in the coming years with the inclusion of this sport in the Olympic Games. Our teams had a lot of fun and worked tirelessly. They can hold their heads high.”
The U9 team beat Flight School (Canada) by a score of 12-0, the Toledo Dirty Birdz (USA) by a score of 13-12, and Seleccion Puebla (Mexico) by a score of 19-13 to qualify for a spot in the tournament final.
Montreal had two other squads reach the podium as the U16 and U11 teams both finished second in their age brackets.
“We are very happy with our first edition at the Wide World of Sports. We congratulate our seven teams, including our U9 team, who are now world champions of flag football. We are pleased to contribute to the growth of this sport,” said Alouettes team president and CEO Mark Weightman.
“I would like to thank the Montreal Mavericks organization for their involvement. Our young players had a lot of fun, and each one will come away a winner from this wonderful experience.”
This year’s Youth Flag Football World Championships were hosted at the Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., from Feb. 28 to March 2. More than 9,500 athletes participated in the event with the Alouettes Flag Football Academy (AFFA) fielding seven teams.
