After finishing seventh at last year’s World Championships, then fifth at this year’s World Games, GB women retained their European title in Paris last month.
Last December, the British American Football Association (Bafa) also received funding from UK Sport for the first time, with £500,000 being put towards the development of an Olympic performance programme.
That, along with investment from a private benefactor, has allowed Bafa to provide GB players with better support services than ever before and, for the first time, to cover most of their expenses for travelling to this year’s events in China and France.
After receiving another £500,000 from Sport England, Bafa has launched a new strategy to develop the UK game’s governance, infrastructure and participation pyramid, which now includes more than 10,000 players and 150 clubs.
And since the women’s team became back-to-back European champions, more potential sponsors have expressed their interest.
“It’s similar to rugby – look what the success of England’s women has done for them,” said Chad Ehlertsen, who became Bafa’s chief executive last year.
“I’ve tried to change the mindset across the group, to make it less focused on winning and more about developing the right culture and values. But if we’re getting short-term success it only helps us ensure that flag will be here for the long term and that GB will perform at a high standard.”
There was not a men’s event at this year’s World Games but, after finishing 10th at last year’s World Championships, GB’s men finished fourth at the Europeans, meaning both GB teams qualified for next year’s World Championships in Germany.
“That could be an early qualification route for the Olympics,” Ehlertsen said. “We hope to be in the mix, so it’s a big year coming.”