Austria Appoints US Coaches to Revive Flag Football Olympic Hopes

Austria’s national flag football teams have appointed a four-man American coaching quartet led by Brian Traster and David Price to overhaul their programs following disappointing results at the World Championships in Düsseldorf, sport.orf.at reported on October 12, 2026.

AFBÖ Appoints New Head Coaches for National Teams

The American Football Federation of Austria (AFBÖ) made the appointments official on Monday, October 12, 2026, after parting ways with former men’s coach Michael Salamon and women’s coach Robert Riedl due to differing views on the program’s future direction. Brian Traster, a former world champion player with the United States, takes over as head coach of the women’s team. David Price, who won world gold with the U.S. in 2021 and gold at the 2022 World Games, assumes leadership of the men’s squad. Bryan Garcia and former AFBÖ advisor Christopher Lankford complete the quartet in coaching roles alongside Austrian staff.

The structural changes arrive in response to the World Championships in Düsseldorf in August. The Austrian men’s team, which finished as world runners-up in 2024, placed 15th and last. The women’s team finished in sixth place. With flag football set to make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, qualification paths proved narrow at the world tournament, where only two spots per division were secured by the top finishers.

Next Steps on the Road to Los Angeles

Austria’s immediate focus turns to the 2027 European Championships. AFBÖ Sports Director Andreas Pröller stated that the primary objective is to reach the final at the continental tournament to keep Olympic qualification hopes alive. Reaching the final would advance the teams into a ten-team qualification series in 2028 where three final Olympic tickets will be awarded. Preparation camps and squad restructuring will begin ahead of the 2027 competition.