The defending champions are the United States, who won the 2015 championship after winning both the 2007 and 2011 editions.

The 2015 IFAF World Championship was originally going to be held in Stockholm, Sweden, however local organizers had to cancel the event due to lack of sponsorship.

The opening round featured a round-robin tournament within the groups, with each team playing each other once.

Both finalists from the European Championship of American football tournament received berths.

The United States has fielded a squad for the last three iterations, but with extremely restrictive criteria that make most American football players ineligible for the team.