Italian Football League
.png) | |
| Sport | American football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 |
| CEO | Enrico Mambelli [1] [2] |
| No. of teams | Max 12 |
| Country |
 Italy |
| Most recent champion(s) | Milano Seamen |
| Official website |
www |
Italian Football League (IFL) is an American football league in Italy.
History
The league was founded in 2008, taking over previous league's significance (National Football League Italy). The league was born as a result of the escape of several of the best clubs of the old championship organized by the Italian federation, such as Milano Rhinos, Parma Panthers, Bologna Doves and Bolzano Giants. However some of the historic Italian clubs have not joined the new league and continue to participate in different tournaments organized by other federations. This is the case of Legnano Frogs, Torino Giaguari, etc. In the following years a lot of teams moved to the FIDAF (the federation where the IFL belongs to) and most of the biggest teams are now part of the IFL that is the First Division or in the other 2 divisions.
IFL teams
- Ancona Dolphins (2008 - present)
- Bergamo Lions (2008 - 2010, 2012, 2014 - present)
- Bologna Doves (2008 - 2009, 2011 - 2012) (now in III Division)
- Bologna Warriors (2009 - present)
- Bolzano Giants (2008 - present)
- Catania Elephants (2008 - 2012) (now in II Division)
- Ferrara Aquile (2014 - present)
- Lazio Marines (2009 - present)
- Martesana Daemons (2012) (now in II Division)
- Milano Rhinos (2008 - present)
- Milano Seamen (2011 - present)
- Napoli Briganti (2014 - present ♦)
- Palermo Corsari (2008 †)
- Palermo Sharks (2008) (now in II Division)
- Parma Panthers (2008 - present)
- Reggio Emilia Hogs (2009 - 2013) (now in II Division)
- Roma Grizzlies (2015 - present ‡)
- Torino Giaguari (2014 - present)
† defunct
♦ due to league expansion the Napoli team can play the 2015 IFL season and is not relegated to the second division
‡ Roma Grizzlies won the second division championship and earned the right to play the 2015 IFL season[3]
Championship games
| Date | Winner | Opponent | Result | Location | Television | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 19, 2008 | Bergamo Lions | Giants Bolzano | | San Giovanni in Marignano Stadio Comunale | ||
| June 29, 2009 | Giants Bolzano | Marines Lazio | | Milano Marittima Stadio Dei Pini | ||
| June 29, 2010 | Panthers Parma | Elephants Catania | | Sesto San Giovanni Stadio Breda | RAI Sport 1, Dahlia TV, Sportitalia | |
| July 9, 2011 | Panthers Parma | Warriors Bologna | | Parma Stadio XXV Aprile | RAI Sport 1, Dahlia TV, Sportitalia | |
| July 7, 2012 | Panthers Parma | Elephants Catania | | Varese Stadio Franco Ossola | RAI Sport 1, Eurosport 2, Sportitalia | |
| July 6, 2013 | Panthers Parma | Milano Seamen | | Ferrara Stadio Paolo Mazza | RAI Sport 1, Eurosport 2 | |
| July 6, 2014 | Milano Seamen | Panthers Parma | | Ferrara Stadio Paolo Mazza | RAI Sport 1, Eurosport 2, Sportitalia, 7gold | |
| July 4, 2015 | Milano Seamen | Panthers Parma | | Milano Velodromo Vigorelli | Sportitalia |
MVP Italian Superbowl
- 2008 MVP Reggie Green
(RB, Giants Bolzano) - 2009 MVP Reggie Green (RB, Giants Bolzano)
- 2010 MVP Greg Hay (RB, Panthers Parma)
- 2011 MVP Tanyon Bissell (WR, Panthers Parma), MVP Ita Tommaso Monardi (QB, Panthers Parma), MVP Def Michele Canali (DL, Panthers Parma)
- 2012 MVP Kevin Grayson (WR, Panthers Parma)
- 2013 MVP Alessandro Malpeli Avalli (RB, Panthers Parma), MVP Usa Ryan Christian (RB, Panthers Parma), MVP Def Simone Bernardoni (DL, Panthers Parma)
- 2014 MVP Mattia Binda (RB, Seamen Milano),MVP Usa Jonathan Dally (QB, Seamen Milano), MVP def Andrea Zini (DB, Seamen Milano).
In popular culture
The IFL is featured in John Grisham's 2007 novel Playing for Pizza, about an American quarterback playing for the Parma Panthers.
References
- ↑ http://wayback.archive.org/web/20150315023625/http://www.ifleague.it/news/2757-enrico-mambelli-presidente
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 12, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
- ↑ I Grizzlies sbranano gli Elephants - Sport Locale - iltempo
External links
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