Former Tar Heel Amber Clark Wins Gold At International Flag Football Championship

Former University of North Carolina track and field student-athlete Amber Clark is making her mark in a new sport.

On July 7, the former Tar Heel long and triple jumper won a gold medal at the IFAF Americas Continental Flag Football Championship in Charlotte.

Clark, a Greenville, N.C., native (South Central HS) and defensive back/wide receiver, totaled five interceptions and 18 passes defended across the team's six games, including the interception that sealed the championship game for the U.S. Women's National Team.

From July 5-7, the U.S. National Teams faced the best teams from North and South America and emerged undefeated. The gold medal match reunited rivals as both the men's and women's teams defeated Mexico, 40-36, and 26-21, respectively. Former NC State and NFL wide receiver Torry Holt, former Carolina Panthers stars Steve Smith Sr., Mike Rucker and Mike Tolbert and current Panthers safety Jeremy Chinn attended during the week to take in the exciting action.

Several elite athletes with strong ties to the Carolinas paved the way for the U.S. National Teams' success. Charlotte native (Jay M. Robinson HS) and former Limestone University (Gaffney, S.C.) track and field athlete Madison Fulford authored one of the best performances in the history of international flag football. She recorded 33 receptions for 578 yards and 14 touchdowns, including all four scores in the gold medal game.

On the men's team, former Coastal Carolina (Conway, S.C.) wide receiver Bruce Mapp, who ranks among the school's all-time leaders, contributed 24 receptions for six touchdowns and nine extra points across the men's 7-0 run. After the medal ceremony, Mapp proudly displayed his new medal alongside his previous golds from the 2021 IFAF World Championship and The World Games 2022.

Quarterbacks Darrell "Housh" Doucette and Vanita Krouch were also indispensable in the success of their teams, earning MVP honors in the gold medal games.

The Americas Continental Flag Football Championship was hosted by USA Football, the sport's governing body, and sanctioned by the International Federation of American Football (IFAF), the international governing body for the sport of American football. The championship is part of the biggest-ever cycle of global flag football competition in the run up to the 2024 IFAF Flag Football World Championships, in Lahti, Finland.

USA Football and IFAF are hopeful that flag football's exploding international popularity will secure the sport a spot in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

Flag football's popularity is booming in the United States and internationally. An annual participation study from the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) in 2022, showed 7.1 million people in the U.S. participated in flag football with approximately 2.5 million people routinely engaging with the sport.

Seven states plus Southern California have sanctioned girls' flag football as a varsity sport. Locally, the Carolina Panthers worked with Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools to pilot a girl's high school flag football league in 2021 that recently completed its second year, featuring 24 teams from 19 area high schools.

2023 U.S. Men's Flag National Team roster

Jersey; Name; Position; Residence
#0 Corey Webb; DB/Center; Dallas, Texas
#1 Bruce Mapp; WR/DB; Philadelphia, Pa.
#2 Deven Turner; Rusher/WR; Tampa, Fla.
#3 Jordan Oquendo; DB/Rusher; Spring Hill, Fla.
#4 Laval Davis; WR/Rusher; Jacksonville, Fla.
#5 Aamir Brown; DB/WR; Philadelphia, Pa.
#7 Darrell "Housh" Doucette; QB/Center; New Orleans, La.
#13 Velton Brown Jr.; WR/DB; Orlando, Fla.
#14 Laderrick "Pablo" Smith; WR/QB; Pompano Beach, Fla.
#15 Frankie Solomon Jr.; DB/WR; Dallas, Texas
#21 Jamie Kennedy; DB/WR; Pompano Beach, Fla.
#31 Johnluis "LuLu" Hernandez; DB/Center; Miami, Fla.

Alternates for the 2023 U.S. Men's Flag National Team
Name; Position; Residence
Terrance Bunting; WR/DB; Orlando, Fla.
Andy Fuentes; Center/DB; Miami, Fla.
Shaquille James; DB/Athlete; Philadelphia, Pa.
Dana Taylor; DB/Athlete; Dallas, Texas
Head Coach: Jorge Cascudo
Assistant Coach: Patrick Alley

2023 U.S. Women's Flag National Team roster

Jersey; Name; Position; Residence
#1 Joann Overstreet; WR/DB; Lewisville, Texas
#2 Ashley Edwards; WR/DB; San Antonio, Texas
#4 Vanita Krouch; QB/WR; Carrollton, Texas
#5 Madison Fulford; WR/DB; Charlotte, N.C.
#7 Marlee Marquez; QB/WR; West Palm Beach, Fla.
#10 Amber Clark; DB/WR; Greenville, N.C.
#13 Deliah Autry; WR/DB; Tampa, Fla.
#15 Jazlyn Camacho; WR/DB; Las Vegas, Nev.
#17 Addison Orsborn; WR/Rusher; Round Rock, Texas
#24 Kennedy Foster; WR/DB; Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
#25 Laneah Bryan; WR/DB; El Paso, Texas
#32 Ashlea Klam; DB/Center; Austin, Texas

Alternates for the 2023 U.S. Women's Flag National Team
Name; Position; Residence
Sheneika Comice; WR/DB; Ruskin, Fla.
Amyelia Gaudio; DB/WR; Wellsburg, W.Va.
Vanessa Goh; DB/WR; Davis, Calif.
Alyssa Linkous; Center/WR; Dunkirk, Md.
Nancy Nguyen; Rusher/DB; Milpitas, Calif.
Karine Polgar; WR/DB; Bethlehem, Pa.
Head Coach: Saaid Mortazavi
Assistant Coach: Liz Sowers

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