Costa Rica Enters A New Era Of Tico Football
The 2019 gridiron season in Costa Rica commenced with a new league and new vision for the future of the sport. The recently established Costa Rica Football League (CRFL) ushered in the National Championship calendar on Sunday, March 3rd, with a renewed spirit of enthusiasm and optimism.
CRFL is now the official national league and became affiliated with the International Amateur American Football League (IAAFL) based in Italy. The mission of the IAAFL is to support the growth and development of American Football nations from around the world. IAAFL is not a federation and has no intention to replace any national or international federations, but rather to support American Football initiatives. IAAFL has collaborated with more than 20 affiliated countries since its inception in 2014 and recently welcomed to their family, Argentina, Uganda and our very own, Costa Rica.
CRFL-IAAFL is determined to take Costa Rican players beyond the usual Central American tournaments and to showcase their talent on new continents. The legal and administrative woes of the past several years that bottle-necked the advancement of the sport in Costa Rica have finally been resolved through the diligent efforts of dedicated individuals.
IAAFL Welcomes Costa Rica
For me, Walter Sabbioneda, founder of IAAFL, and all of us, we desire that the new CRFL will be successful and that the league will achieve all of its endeavors in the future. IAAFL supports all kind of national and international projects with the goal to develop American Football worldwide, and we are glad to announce that between CRFL and IAAFL exists an accord to collaborate mutually. For this, and other reasons, we are glad to invite players of Costa Rica to participate in the World Sport Games (WSG) 2019 in Tortosa, Catalunya, Spain where for the first time, American Football will be included in the program of the games. Today is born an alliance with brothers and sisters of Costa Rica and IAAFL will be present to help as best as possible, for the “good” development of American Football in this very beautiful country.
#33 Dani ‘Disco’ Herrera, IAAFL Commissioner for Central America and Costa Rica was quoted as saying,
We are very happy to form a more professional and structured league, we hope for the support of all national football fans.
CRFL-IAAFL 2019 National Championship Calendar Teams
Five Calendar Teams; Bulldogs F.A., Dragons F.A., Knights F.C., Leones F.C. and Toros F.C.
The signing of the El Labrador Stadium in Coronado as the home base for the majority of the CRFL-IAAFL 2019 National Championship calendar games brought new fandom expectations as it is located between the capital city of San Jose and the former capital city of Cartago. This new venue provides more accessibility for fans and players alike from both of the major cities. The calendar will also host a limited number of games in Pérez Zeledón, Cartago and Alajuela.
CRFL-IAAFL 2019 National Championship Calendar Game Week 1 – Leones F.C. vs Dragons F.A.
Season opener game-day featured two games. The first game was played between the Leones F.C. and Cartago Dragons F.A. with a final score of 8-18 in favor of the Leones F.C.
The feature game reunited the two predominant teams holding the championship titles over the 10-year history of the sport. Bulldogs F.A. (6x National Champions 20-10/11/12/14/16/17) and Toros F.C. (4x National Champions 20-09/13/15/18).
The reigning 2018 National Champions, Toros F.C. got ferociously attacked by the Bulldogs F.A. during their opening debut game of the season. The Bulldogs F.A. bit back against the Toros F.C. with a 30-point lead over them. Final Score Toros F.C. 8 – Bulldogs F.A. 38.
With their heads held low the Toros F.C. headed back to the bullpen for a bye-week.
A brief recap of the touchdown plays.
Bulldogs #31 Max McCarthy ran for 17 yards. Touchdown! (2-point conversion pass by #3 Arturo Ogiste to #16 Derrick Fadell is completed.) Toros 0 – Bulldogs 8
Bulldogs #21 Enrique Trejos ran for 45 yards. Touchdown! (A failed 2-point conversion run by #3 Arturo Ogiste.) Toros 0 – Bulldogs 14
Toros #2 RB ran for 12 yards. Touchdown! (2-point conversion run by #2 RB is completed.) Toros 8 – Bulldogs 14
Bulldogs #3 Arturo Ogiste made a completed pass to (import player) #12 Phillip Williams for 24 yards. Touchdown! (2-point conversion run by #31 Max McCarthy is completed.) Toros 8 – Bulldogs 22
Bulldogs #31 Max McCarthy ran for 15 yards. Touchdown! (2-point conversion pass by #3 Arturo Ogiste to #12 Phillip Williams is completed.) Toros 8 – Bulldogs 30
Bulldogs #3 Arturo Ogiste made a completed pass to #34 Wynn Nguyeng for 13 yards. Touchdown! (2-point conversion run by #31 Max McCarthy is completed.) Toros 8 – Bulldogs 38
The second game week of the CRFL-IAAFL 2019 National Championship calendar on Sunday, March 10th, will pit the Leones F.C. against the Bulldogs F.A. at 11:00 AM. Both teams are currently ranked at the top of the standings after the first week of games. The afternoon game at 2:00 PM will have the veteran team Dragons F.A. versus Knights F.C. a team comprised of two developmental teams, the Southern Knights F.C. from Pérez Zeledón and the Pumas F.A. from Alajuela. Both games will be played at Quincho Barquero Stadium in Paraiso, Cartago.
The CRFL-IAAFL 2019 National Championship calendar will have two breaks during its ten game weeks. The first during Semana Santa (Sunday, April 21st) and the second (Saturday, May 18th), when the Tropic Bowl 2019 will be played between the CR All Stars and the North Eastern USA All Stars. CRFL-IAAFL playoffs will be on Sunday, May 26th and the inaugural Tazon CRFL-IAAFL 2019 will be on Sunday, June 2nd at 5:00 PM.
For more information visit the following links below.
Costa Rica Football League – IAAFL: Facebook
IAAFL Costa Rica Council: Facebook
International Amateur American Football League (IAAFL)
Tropic Bowl Go Fund Me For Youth Program
CSIT World Sports Games (WSG) – 2019
