Great Britain Women announce travelling squad for Spain match-up

The Great Britain Women’s American football programme have announced their travelling squad for April’s IFAF European Championship fixture against Spain.

The Lions travel to Calatayud, Zaragoza for the game on Saturday 13 April, with a win over the Spaniards potentially sending Great Britain top of the competition’s standings with one fixture remaining.

Coming off the back of a positive return to camp in 2024, Offensive Coordinator Paul Cooper commented on the depth of talent in the Great Britain ranks.

“On offense we have so many explosive playmakers,” Cooper said.

“The challenge for us as a coaching staff is figuring out how to keep them all involved, how to get the ball to everyone and take advantage of the athletes that we have. Our defense is a similar kind of headache, there are a load of playmakers, people who can be extremely disruptive to an offense.

“Spain are similar to us in the fact that they’ve got explosive playmakers on both sides of the ball. They have a lot of talent on that defense, so it’s been a lot of late nights watching film, trying to figure out how we can break it down. That’s a really exciting challenge, and that’s what you sign up for in international football. You want to play against the best players in the world, in this case the best players in Europe.

“We want to test ourselves and I think, looking at where we sit as a squad, we have a fantastic offensive line, we have fantastic ball-handling players across the board. So you really want to see how we match up with Spain and what we can do against that defense.”

With a new crop of up-and-coming talent joining the programme for 2024, Cooper has seen even greater promise in the team’s supportive environment.

He added: “One of the really outstanding elements of the culture, which really is player-led, is a desire to pass on what they’ve learned and to help develop the next generation. So although there’s competition and rivalry between those talented athletes, that support exists within the squad for developing new, younger players, and that’s great. I’m really proud to see our players giving each other tips and coaching points, that’s amazing to see.

“Away fixtures are always a tricky balance. It’s great to have everyone together, you get that team bonding but obviously you’re in an unfamiliar place and it’s home for the other team so it’s always a battle.”

Find the full traveling squad list for the fixture below:

Great Britain Women take on Spain Women at 17:00 (BST) on Saturday 13 April. Tune in via the live-stream available here.

Images courtesy of Geoff White gw-images.net