Canterbury Junior & Youth American Football

15/09/2026

Our Panthers Girls are building something special…

14/09/2026

Young bucks, ready to shine!

01/09/2026

Some of our AFC Junior & Youth whanau spent the weekend in Auckland at the APEX ATHLETIX camp working on their skills and soaking up knowledge from Coach Jaleel Zhier-Muhammad Ali Sr. A massive thank you to our own A.M. Life for making it happen for our incredible flag community.

31/08/2026

😢

🐈‍⬛ 🏈 OFFICIAL CLUB STATEMENT:
Following our 2026 AGM, American Football Canterbury has made the decision to CANCEL OUR MEN’S CONTACT FOOTBALL 2026 SEASON.

This was a difficult decision, but was made in the interest of rebuilding our club from the ground up, and ensuring we remain committed to our Club’s strategy, which is:

“To put our players in the best position to pursue American football opportunities at the national team level, collegiate level, or international club level”.

We believe that re-investing in our Youth contact programme is the best way to achieve this in the short term. We have great coaching resources at the club that we believe should focus on continuing to develop and enhance our Youth programme, and do this by expanding the format of our Youth Football to 7-man contact American Football.

By shifting the focus of our club to Youth Contact Football for 2026, we hope to rebuild our player core to become that next generation of Senior Men’s contact football in future seasons. In the process, allowing our Youth players to get more value out of their football at this crucial stage of their playing careers, we hope AFC can feed more of our players into National squads and take these opportunities to platform themselves to pursue even greater opportunities in their young lives.

We want to sincerely thank all of our Senior players and their families over the past 3 years for the commitment, passion, and drive. Senior football will return to Canterbury soon, and we hope some of you will be ready to go when that opportunity returns.

27/08/2026

That’s right! Both our flag and tackle competitions are completely full meaning registrations are now closed!!

Can’t wait for the season to start and for our new and existing players to light things up! 🔥

06/08/2026

5 National titles
25 New Zealand rep selections
250 Junior & Youth players learning a new sport, making friends and having a heap of fun!

Come join the country’s biggest and best youth American Football programme!

Registrations for our 2026 season are now open for boys and girls aged 14 to 18*. But hurry, we only have limited spaces available!

Register here: https://forms.gle/vDmDNFBJQ3y6mG7Q7

*based on age as of 31/12/26.

10/07/2026

We wanted to wish our AFC boys all the best as they prepare to take on Australia tomorrow at The Trusts Stadium in Auckland.

9am - U16s
Rory McNabb
Byron Taylor
Harrison White

12pm - U18s
Adam Beaman

You’ve shown what can be achieved when you work hard and put your mind to it. Everyone at AFC is right behind you and we know you’ll do the silver fern proud! Go well boys!

Please see the links below for the livestream event:

9am Game NZ U16 vs Australia U16 Livestream link: https://youtube.com/live/GvkfgTaGl7g?feature=share

12pm Game NZ U16 vs Australia U18 Livestream link: https://youtube.com/live/au1jlePLHgo?feature=share

3pm Game NZ Men vs Australia Men Livestream link: https://youtube.com/live/HK75nMMz8Tc?feature=share

30/06/2026

As a coach, every now and then you come across a special group of players. As offensive coordinator for the New Zealand U17 boys flag team at the recent Junior International Cup, I was fortunate enough to come across such a group in my five offensive starters. Five players who worked seamlessly as a unit. Five players who knew the standard. Five players at the peak of their powers
They stepped onto the field with some of the very best players on the planet and showed they belonged. Finishing the tournament as the 3rd highest ranked offence, averaging over 30 points per game, they never took a backward step to anyone, and every single one of them showed that they were world class.
Unfortunately USA Football’s tournament structure and the focus on points against, prevented them from achieving the results we know they could have, but those who were there saw what they were capable of.
It was an absolute privilege to coach this group of young men and a pleasure to see them bring my playbook to life.
In their final game of the tournament , nothing was more satisfying for me, than not calling a single play all day and just watching them go to work, as they hung 41 points on their opposition. It showed total confidence in their abilities, trust in each other and an in-depth understanding of the playbook - testament to this amazing group of athletes. I’m sure there were a number of teams thankful they did not have to play us.
Thank you boys, and to all of the players in the NZ U17 Boys team - you all did yourselves, your families and your country proud.
(Special shoutout to our “6th man” on offence Willie Shum, who lit things up every time the ball came his way.)

28/06/2026

Welcome home and congratulations to all our AFC New Zealand flag players. You represented yourselves, your families, your club and your country with pride, passion and determination. We are incredibly proud of you and can’t wait to see you all continue to grow and develop in the sport!

22/06/2026

And that’s a wrap for our AFC delegation at the Junior International Cup in L.A. We are so proud of how each and every one of them represented our country on the international stage! 🇳🇿
Now it’s time for Disneyland! 🏰