America’s First Women’s National Team in Football to Face the World’s Best in Stockholm this June
USA Football, the sport’s national governing body on youth and amateur levels, today announced its 2010 Women’s National Team roster, which will compete in the sport’s first women’s world championship this summer in Stockholm, Sweden. Forty-five (45) of the country’s top female tackle football players have been selected to play on America’s first women’s national team in the sport.
USA Football’s 2010 Women’s National Team will represent the United States among a six-nation field competing for the inaugural International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Women’s World Championship in Stockholm, from June 27-July 3. National teams competing for the historic tournament’s gold medal are: Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, Sweden and the United States, respectively.
USA Football’s team is assembled and managed in partnership with the Independent Women’s Football League (IWFL), which kicked off its 10th season this month and consists of more than 1,800 female athletes across 51 teams.
Team USA is led by JOHN KONECKI of Schereville, Ind., an accomplished coaching veteran within the IWFL and high school football. The head coach of the IWFL’s Chicago Force and the architect of its prolific offense, Konecki was named to the league’s 2009 Western Conference All-Star Team coaching staff. An alumnus of Eastern Illinois University and Chicago’s Brother Rice High School, Konecki also serves as the offensive coordinator of Crete-Monee High School in Crete, Ill., 35 miles south of Chicago.
"These women comprise a football team built on talent and character," said Konecki, whose roster is assembled from 20 IWFL teams, with the league’s Chicago Force and Dallas Diamonds having the most players on the squad (seven). The IWFL’s New York Sharks have the next-greatest representation with six players. "We’re proud to be part of a ‘first’ in football, but we’re more concerned right now about competing for a gold medal.
“There’s no greater honor for an American coach or athlete than to represent the United States,” Konecki added. “Every player and coach on this team embraces the challenge ahead of us. We know we’ll be facing the best in the world – we’ll be ready for Stockholm.”
USA Football's Women's National Team Roster
USA Football’s Women’s National Team was assembled from hundreds of premiere female athletes and selected by the team’s coaching staff which is steeped in women’s football experience.
USA Football’s 2010 Women’s National Team Coaching Staff:
COACH POSITION RESIDES EXPERIENCE
John Konecki Head Coach & Offensive Coordinator Schereville, Ind. Chicago Force (IWFL) & Crete-Monee (Ill.) H.S.
Jennifer Huston Wide Receivers Nampa, Idaho Sacramento Sirens (IWFL)
Mark McLaughlin Special Teams Coordinator & Def. Backs Madison, Wis. Wisconsin Warriors (IWFL)
Beth Nugent Defensive Line Glen Cove, N.Y. New York Sharks (IWFL)
Anthony Stone Defensive Coordinator & Linebackers Rockford, Ill. Chicago Force (IWFL)
Team USA will conduct training camp in Round Rock, Texas, in mid-June before departing for Stockholm on June 24. USA Football’s national teams are supported by corporate partners Riddell, Shock Doctor, Gatorade and the Andrews Institute.
Seeding for the six nations that will send their 45-player women’s national teams to Scandinavia was determined based on the number of female football participants in each country established by data recorded in the 2009 IFAF Benchmarking Study:
SEED COUNTRY
1. United States
2. Canada
3. Germany
4. Austria
5. Finland
6. Sweden
The six-country tournament field will compete at the Zinkensdamms IP Stadium in Stockholm in the following groups:
GROUP A GROUP B
United States Canada
Austria Germany
Finland Sweden
2010 IFAF Women’s World Championship schedule
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Teams arrive
Sunday, June 27, 2010
USA vs. Austria
Sweden vs. Canada
Monday, June 28
Rest day / Teams inactive on previous day have option to arrive
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Finland vs. Austria
Germany vs. Sweden
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Canada vs. Germany
USA vs. Finland
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Fifth Place game
Bronze Medal game
Gold Medal game
About IFAF
The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) unites more than 50 countries on five continents through a burgeoning international sport. With national football federations in existence for more than 75 years, IFAF was created in 1998 to organize and further develop the game through international cooperation and global competition. The IFAF office is located near Paris, France.
About USA Football
USA Football, the sport's national governing body on youth and amateur levels, manages U.S. national teams within the sport for international competitions and is America’s sole delegate to IFAF. USA Football hosts more than 80 football training events annually offering education for coaches and game officials, skill development for players and resources for youth football league commissioners. The independent non-profit is the official youth football development partner of the NFL, its 32 teams and the NFL Players Association. Endowed by the NFL and NFLPA in 2002 through the NFL Youth Football Fund, USA Football (usafootball.com) is chaired by former NFL team executive Carl Peterson.
