The biggest day of the year in Canadian football will be a little busier in 2025, but some of the action will take place across the Atlantic.
The Canadian senior men’s tackle football team announced on Friday night that they’ll be taking on Team Germany in the deciding game of the inaugural Gridiron Nations Championship on Sunday, November 16. The game will be played at Lohrheidestadion in Bochum–Wattenscheid, Germany, ahead of the kickoff of the 112th Grey Cup, which will take place in Winnipeg, Man. that same day.
“Germany is proud to host this landmark international game on home soil,” AFVD vice-president Andreas Kelgemann said in a statement.
“This competition elevates the profile of European football and gives our national team an opportunity to measure itself against world-class opposition. The 2025 GNC is a key platform for the future of international tackle football.”
The Gridiron Nations Championship features Canada, Italy, and Germany in a three-team competition format spanning from April to November 2025. The winner will be determined by overall record and point differential, with the November fixture in Germany serving as the potential title decider.
“A championship like this is essential for the growth of the sport,” Team Canada head coach Jesse Maddox said of the announcement.
“We’re excited to take on a top-tier program like Germany creating a new starting point and championship within a global competition. The Nations Championship is exactly what international football needs — regular, meaningful games between national teams. It provides an opportunity for us to go for gold in 2025.”
Team Canada returned to senior men’s competition for the first time in 14 years in April, playing their first game since capturing silver at the 2011 IFAF World Championship. They shut out Team Italy 56–0 in Cagliari, Sardinia, with a team consisting of former CFL and U Sports alumni, including quarterbacks Michael O’Connor and Chris Merchant.
Germany — known as “The Men in Black” — returned to international competition in 2023 after an extended absence due to disputes between their governing body and IFAF. Boasting the largest and most developed club system in Europe, the national team has claimed gold three times at the IFAF European Championship (2001, 2010, 2014). They are also two-time bronze medalists at the IFAF World Championships (2003, 2007). At the 2017 World Games, they became the first country to defeat the United States in a senior men’s competition.
Italy and Germany are slated to compete in the 2025 European Championship semi-finals on October 25. If they win their respective matchups against Austria and Finland, the resulting final clash will also be treated as their GNC round-robin tilt.
