AFI’s Top 5 Stories of 2020
It goes without saying that the story of the year was not one but all the stories related with the COVID-19 pandemic which has ravaged the world.
With that in mind, we have reduced our list to the Top 5 with each one representing several other than our most read story of the year, our list of the top club teams in the world. Before we present our list, we would like to thank all our readers who have helped make American Football International the leading website in the world covering American football outside of North America.
World Top 225 American Football Teams
Our number one story was our historic list of the Top 225 club teams in the world outside of the USA and Canada. Never before has this been undertaken.
In partnership with Inside Sport: Japan, we attempted to do the impossible…give a ranking to all the thousands of club teams throughout the world. We realized the task was unrealistic as these teams have not and in some cases never will play against each other. The naysayers were plenty but the goal of this list was not necessarily to accurately rank the teams, but to show how big the game has grown and where is it played with the best efficiency.
RIP Bryce Wilson
The death of Bryce Wilson on April 2 hit the international football community hard. Wilson, 31 from Glendala, Arizona, was a victim of COVID-19 and the last person any of us imagined would be struck down like that. He was a veteran of international American football and most recently played for the Budapest Cowbells in the Hungarian Football League, helping them reach the HFL semifinals. He had spent several years playing in Brazil as well for the Porto Alegre Gorillas (2018), Itajaí Dockers (2018), Jaraguá Breakers (2016), and Criciúma Miners (2015).
His passing was a portent of things to come and a reminder that we all have to be vigilant.
Is this what an NFL COVID-19 helmet could look like
This story of how to design a helmet for the new coronavirus age, may well not have accurately predicted the way equipment would change to adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it fueled the fires of interest. Drastic changes to helmets did not transpire but they still could.
European Football leagues still in suspension, cancellations have started
In late March, the the dawn of a new pandemic age arrived, no one knew as yet what was to come so leagues started postponing in the hope that relief would soon appear and they could ultimately continue. As we all know, sadly, in most cases, these postponements became cancellations. A handful of nations did ultimately play a much-delayed and shortened pandemic season. But this article ushered in the new era.
“Pro” football returns to Europe, European League of Football kicks off in 2021
In the midst of the deepest international health crisis in the past century, lightning struck in the form of the announcement of the launch of the European League of Football, ELF, in 2021. Headed up by commissioner Patrick Esume, whose name is well known throughout Europe, and CEO, Zeljko Karajica of SEH Sports & Entertainment Holding, the new league will have teams in Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Hildesheim/Hannover, Ingolstadt, Barcelona (Spain) and Wroclaw (Poland).
The new league is not being born without controversy with the German Football League having the biggest objections.
Articles included in the runners up list:
A nation divided: Germany’s football leaders react to the European League of Football
Top 10 Exercises For Football Strength and Speed
Does Vaping Impact Athletic Performance?
Best NFL players that played in the CFL
Countries with the Biggest NFL Fan Bases
