IFAF rebuilding European structure, new club tournament in the works
IFAF, the International Federation of American Football , is rebuilding and taking aim at Europe.
With Europe still in disarray following the CAS ruling earlier this year naming Richard MacLean as the true president of IFAF, the new Director for Europe, Dr. Gregor Murth, vice president of the American Football Bund Österreich (AFBÖ) and former vice chairman of IFAF Europe, has issued a plan for reorganizing the structure of IFAF competitions/tournaments in Europe.
This is a bold step and includes a new import rule regulating the number of import and domestic players on each team. The “tournament” is slated to kick off in April of 2019 so teams are encouraged to submit their applications as fast as possible.
Dear Federations, Teams, Players, Coaches, Managers and Fans,
IFAF is in the difficult process of rebuilding European structures and competitions. Now that the legal battles are won, the resources we have can be focused on rebuilding tournaments. We have been busy in the time since the Panama Congress.
In 2019 IFAF will have a Tackle Men’s EC, Tackle Women EC, Tackle Men’s U19 EC and a Flag EC for National Teams.
We are working also on a united European Club Team Competition. The winner will be “Official European Champion”.
Eligible for participation are:
- National Champions,
- Top 20 Teams in Europe*, (selections made in conjunction with American Football International and the AFI Top 20)
- IFAF rules,
- New European Import rule regulating “import” and “homegrown”-players,
- Visiting teams will receive some travel compensation from home team,
- 4 groups, winners proceed to play-offs
Dates for international games are:
- 13/14 April
- 27/28 April
- 11/12 May
- 8/9 June
- 29/30 June
As the final competition depends heavily on the number of participants, the exact format will be finalized once the participants are fixed.
IFAF aims to integrate existing competitions where possible to make it easier for teams to make the transition from their existing competitions to the new IFAF format. This however depends on the willingness of all participants to compromise.
Participation will also be possible for teams from countries whose federations are not IFAF members. Those teams may face additional requirements regarding anti-doping or the registration of players in order to have all teams compete on a level playing field.
If you represent a team thinking about participation, please preregister here:
Sign up for Club Team Competition for Teams
Even if you have already named for different competition, please let us know if you are interested for the future.
Please forward this information to all teams in your federation that could be interested in participation.
Thank you very much
Gregor Murth
Director for Europe
IFAF
