After being retired for about half a year, Marc-Antoine Dequoy is making a return to football competition with the Canadian men’s team at the IFAF world flag football championship in Duesseldorf, Germany. Dequoy, a 31-year-old safety who previously played for the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL, decided to retire in February due to physical limitations that made it challenging for him to commit to a full CFL season.
Despite initially not considering flag football, Dequoy was approached by Canadian head coach Paul LaPolice and eventually decided to give it a try after doing some research and consulting with friends. He took a break from flag football to co-host a television show in March through May before realizing that he missed the competitive aspect of the sport. This led him to rejoin the Canadian flag football team.
Although Dequoy had a successful CFL career, flag football presented a new challenge for him due to its different rules and gameplay on a smaller field with five players per side. He had to adapt his playing style to avoid physical contact and focus on grabbing opponents’ flags instead.
In the tournament, Canada had to readjust its schedule after Nigeria withdrew its men’s and women’s teams due to visa issues, resulting in Canada playing two preliminary-round games instead of three. The top-two finishers in the tournament will secure Olympic berths, with the possibility of a third team advancing if the United States reaches the gold-medal game as the host nation.
Dequoy expressed his excitement about the opportunity to qualify for the Olympics through flag football, highlighting the significance of the sport’s inclusion at the highest level of competition. He emphasized the team’s goal of finishing in the top-two or three to secure a spot in the Olympics, underscoring the importance of this tournament for their Olympic aspirations.