IFAF team profile: Mexico

Mexico is no stranger to the game of football. It will look to show the world that fact when it takes the field in the International Federation of American Football World Championships this week.

“I think this is a great opportunity,” Mexico head coach Raul Rivera Sanchez said. “We can’t wait to come to Canton and watch our team play.”

Mexico has a lot of practice at the game. Football has been played in the country since the early 1920s at the college level. Pro football has been played since 1928.

The love of the sport has continued to this day. The Mexican national organization, Federacion Mexicana de Futbol Americano A.C., overseas all of the youth, junior and college leagues in the country — a large group of people whom the Mexican team is hoping to represent well.

“This is a very important tournament for us,” Sanchez said. “Mexico really wants to win and perform well this year.”

Team Mexico also has players in the organization who were members of the NFL International Practice Squad Program. It was a program that allowed international players to have the opportunity to attend NFL camps in 2008.

Players that participated in the program were Eduardo Castadena (Arizona), Mauricio Lopez (Oakland), Ramiro Pruneda (San Francisco), Manuel Padilla (Denver) and Saloman Solano (Baltimore).

It’s a group and an organization that no doubt appreciates the history and heritage of the game. Something Team Mexico will be closer to than ever as they take the field at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium this week.

The special venue for the tournament is not lost on Team Mexico.

“It’s a great stadium,” Sanchez said. “It has everything you need to play the game. There are going to be a lot of fans from Mexico who are going to enjoy having the opportunity to visit Canton.”

Reach Cliff at 330-580-8494 or cliff.hickman@cantonrep.com

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