Following the successful conclusion of the first flag football league for women in Africa and the Middle East, The Egyptian Federation of American Football (EFAF) is now set to launch the third iteration of its men’s tackle football league, the Egyptian National Football League (ENFL).
This year, the league is set to be bigger than ever. There are many aspects which make this third version of the league different than previous ones:
Ministry Support
EFAF was invited – along with a variety of new and upcoming sports organizations – to a meeting with H.E. Khaled Abdel Aziz, Egyptian Minister of Youth and Sports. In that meeting, the Minister assured EFAF that the Ministry would provide its utmost resources to support the sport.
In that aspect, the Ministry assisted EFAF in obtaining a great venue for the league; The Olympic Center in Maadi, which is very conveniently situated for both players and audiences, especially American expats wanting to come to the games.
Officials
In order to assure high calibre game officials for the league in a country which is relatively new to the game, EFAF has organized extensive officiating courses in order to prepare officials for the league.
Social Media Marketing
Making use of the great interest in the sport generated by the heavy media coverage of the women’s league, EFAF has already initiated a strong social media marketing for the sport in general and the league in particular. This marketing campaign has generated even more interest in the sport and EFAF has already received numerous inquiries about joining the sport and heavy audience presence is expected at the league games
Game-day Experience
Another point that will be addressed differently in ENFL 2017 is the gameday experience, which is something that makes football different from the majority of other sports. While in previous years the focus was mainly on the field, a lot of planning and effort is being put into providing a great experience for attendees, unlike anything previously experienced by Egyptian sports audiences. Food, drink, giveaways, competitions and entertainment are among the new additions to this year’s football experience.
Participating Teams
ENFL 2017 will have 5 participating teams:
The Cairo Bears
The Cairo Hellhounds
The Cairo Wolves
The MSA Tigers
The GUC Eagles
The League opener will take place on Friday, February 17th at the Olympic Center in Maadi.
League Schedule is as follows:
Upon completion of the regular season, the postseason will commence with the league number 1 automatically advancing while the second and third teams will battle it out in a playoff game with the winner advancing to play the league number one at the National Championship game, the Egyptian Bowl, to win the title and a year’s worth of bragging rights.
Playoff game will take place Friday, March 24th , while the Egyptian Bowl will take place on Friday, April 7th.
