A total of 60 junior American football players from 16 countries spread across four continents have traveled to Austin, Texas, as members of the IFAF World Development Team to participate in a week of practices leading up to the 2012 International Bowl.

The aim of bringing together the group of World Development Team athletes aged 17 and 18 is to identify and develop candidates who are eligible for future IFAF World Team rosters.  Started last year, the IFAF World Development Team is comprised of the best players from around the world born in 1993 and 1994. 

Click the 'Other' tab to download the Development Team roster and player bios.

Six players from the World Development Team will be elevated to fill the final spots on the IFAF World Team roster that will take on the U.S. Under-19 National Team on Wednesday, February 1 in Austin, Texas, in the 2011 International Bowl. 

The 16 countries represented on the IFAF World Development Team roster are: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Serbia, Spain and Sweden.  For player bios visit www.IFAF.org.

In addition to practicing alongside the IFAF World Team players, the Development Team will participate in a scrimmage from 10am to 11.30am on Tuesday, January 31, at the Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex in Austin.

"We will have places to fill on the final World Team roster and having the next class of athletes who are among the world's finest prospects here in Austin to evaluate is ideal for us," said IFAF World Team head coach GREG MARSHALL. 

"Being immersed in a week of practices with other international players and being exposed to this environment and coaching means that those who play on the World Team in the future are comfortable in these surroundings.  It is the ideal way to create a pathway along which these young players can progress."

The IFAF World Development Team is an ongoing player development initiative for talented athletes under the supervision of Coordinator TIM ENGER, a Canadian whose coaching experiences have spanned all levels of the tackle game and as a head coach his teams have won eight league or Provincial Championships.  

Enger's 2011-12 IFAF Development Team coaching staff is comprised of coaches representing Canada, France, Great Britain, Japan, Mexico, Spain and Sweden.