The American Football league in Córdoba, Argentina is just about to get underway for its 2016 season. Football in Argentina is broken down into four different city leagues in Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario, and Mendoza
The Córdoba league is made up of four teams: Cóndores, Centauros, Coyotes and Dragones. The teams have been playing 9-on-9 since 2014, because of the increasing number of newcomers who have been arriving each year.
Each of the four teams (Centauros, Cóndores, Coyotes, and Dragones) will play one preseason game, consisting of two quarters of 15 minutes each.
New players being assessed in “Rookie day”
The champions of the Córdoba League in 2015 were the Coyotes. The Condors are the newest addition to the league debuting this year.
More than 30 new players in rookie camp
Each year the teams hold “rookie camps” to evaluate the new players. These players are then assigned to each of the four teams in a draft which was held in mid April.
Since early March, the 2016 rookie class of Córdoba American Football has been training hard to join La Liga in 2016.
During the four weeks of intense physical and technical work, the applicants learned and assimilated the various basic concepts of the sport and game play.
This year, with the addition of “Condors” (our fourth team), the number of new applicants has increased, with more than 35 aspiring players this year, who trained hard.
A newcomer to American football gives his view
The official regular season will start on May 28, with a winter break in the season in July. One of the rookies’ relates his experiences as interviewed by the Asociación Córdoba Football Americano media staff:
We were able to talk with some of them, and one of them, Ernesto Barbieri, who with the Coyotes who tells us his feelings:
CFA: How did you find that was American football in Cordoba?
EB: For me it was not new, as several of my friends started the sport here in Cordoba. For many years they had invited me and told me how good the sport was, but I must admit that I thought it was ‘Not real Football. These guys are crazy to do that.’ Today I have another view, and I realize I was wrong, and that is a sport that has integration and companionship with very good people and with lots of physical contact.
CFA: What attracted you to the sport?
EB: This year I decided to follow a training program to improve physically. I knew about the Coyotes and they invited me to join. After attending, I really liked the sport itself. It promotes teamwork and dedication and the coaches teach lessons that never leave you.
CFA: How did you experience the preparation stage? Was it complicated?
EB: The introduction requires much physically, but I took it as a challenge. With regard to sport, it was a matter of attending practices and trying again and again, trial and error. But the coaches are there and constantly seeing and correcting and so we learn. There are very good people teaching all of us and telling us their experiences.
CFA: What expectations do you have for La Liga 2016?
EB: For now, after finishing the rookies course and continue to improve physically and technically, I’m still missing much so I have to work harder. And beyond that I really want to learn the sport.
League Schedule
2016 League Schedule Source: Córdoba Football Americano