CANTON, Ohio — High school football players from all over the world will come to the NFL’s birthplace in the summer of 2009 for an international tournament.
The eight-team, two-week tournament will be played at Fawcett Stadium next to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The International Federation of American Football, created in 1998 to develop the sport, plans to hold the tournament every four years. The federation represents more than 40 countries on five continents.
USA Football, the sport’s national governing body on the youth and amateur levels, will put together the United States’ team.
The nation’s 50 state high school athletic associations and the District of Columbia will each be allowed to nominate up to 10 players. The roster will be selected in spring 2009.
“It would be unrealistic of us to think we will be able to attract all the top players,” said Scott Hallenback, executive director for USA Football. “But we think the allure of playing in a one-of-a-kind event such as this will attract a very good number of talented players.”
The other seven teams will be chosen from around the world by February for the tournament, called the International Federation of American Football Junior World Championships.
The Associated Press
