USA Flag Football teams gear up in Chula Vista before world championship

USA Football will bring its reigning men’s and women’s flag football national teams to the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center from July 23-26 for their final camp before the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championship in Düsseldorf, Germany, from August 13-16. The men are chasing a sixth consecutive world title, while the women are after a fourth straight championship, making the Chula Vista stop the last major tune-up before they defend their place at the top of the sport.

The setting fits the assignment. The Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center opened in 1995 on 155 acres in Chula Vista, San Diego County, and USA Football describes it as an official U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Site. The campus already hosts USA Archery, U.S. Rowing, USA Rugby and USA Track & Field, a mix that gives the flag teams the same high-performance environment used by other national programs. With the 2026 world championship serving as the last world title event before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the camp is part of a larger runway, not just a one-off training stop.

The rosters were set through a competitive spring and summer process. USA Football named initial 24-player men’s and women’s pools in March, then finalized 12-player rosters in late June. Darrell Doucette III heads the men’s side at quarterback. The women’s roster features quarterback Akemi Higa along with Laneah Bryan, NyKeeta Christopher, Kennedy Foster and Kendra Meredith, a group that reflects how much depth the sport has drawn as its Olympic profile rises.

The women also arrive with a clear competitive edge to sharpen. They were dethroned from the No. 1 spot in the IFAF rankings after losing the final of The World Games to Mexico, and the World Flag schedule puts the defending U.S. women back on the field against Australia in group play. In Düsseldorf, teams representing 19 nations from five continents will compete at the Düsseldorf Flag Football Complex, underscoring how little margin there is for error as USA Football works through its final tactical reps in Chula Vista.