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AFI’s Way Too Early ELF Power-Rankings: The Bottom Third (17-11)
As mid-April is rapidly approaching AFI’s core of European League of Football writers have been combing through the off-season signings, the team needs, conferences, schedules,...
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Japan: The 76th Rice Bowl pits the reigning champion Fujitsu Frontiers against the Panasonic Impulse
By Aidan Wohl The stage is set for the 76th annual Rice Bowl, featuring the two No.1 regular season teams, the Panasonic Impulse, and the...
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Japan Rice Bowl: QBs Head to Head – Fujitsu Frontiers’ Tsubasa Takagi vs Panasonic Impulse’s Jaylon Henderson
By Aidan Wohl The Fujitsu Frontiers and the Panasonic Impulse will face for the second year in a row in Japan’s championship game, the Rice...
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Former ELF quarterback Aaron Ellis leads Japan’s Dentsu Caterpillars to brink of X League promotion
In the world of international American football, Europe and Japan stand as the two opposing pillars. Both have rich histories but vastly different cultures, rarely...
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Japan: Keven Lightner thriving as a coach with Fujitsu Frontiers
By Aidan Wohl As part of one of Japan’s most storied X-League franchises in recent history, seventh-year Fujitsu Frontiers assistant coach Keven Lightner has the...
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NFL International Combine Invites: Pacific Region
Seven players from the Pacific region of the world will travel to London’s NFL International Combine and make their case for a shot at the...
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Yoshito Omi returns to Japan’s IBM Big Blue
After two years of playing outside of his home country, Japanese receiver Yoshito Omi will return to the XLeague. Omi has signed to be re-join...
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Is American Football Finding Success Around The World?
In the United States, American football is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the country. Americans call it football and agree that...
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Japan: Catching up with the XLeague through its first two weeks
After two exciting weeks of play in Japan, three familiar teams sit atop the standings. The Fujitsu Frontiers, Obic Seagulls, and Panasonic impulse all remain...
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European League of Football kicks off kicks off inaugural season!
The European League of Football kicks off its highly anticipated inaugural season this weekend with all eight teams in action. The eight team league is...
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Japan’s Les Maruo: ‘I’m trying to compete against the best of the best’
WINNIPEG — After spending the first few years of his life in Shizuoka, Japan, he experienced a complete culture shock when he moved across the...
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Garrett Safron: Continuing to build his brand in Japan!
Garrett Safron had already made a name for himself before signing on as the quarterback for the Asahi Challengers in Japan’s X-League Area the country’s...
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AFI’s All-Pandemic Team: Right Guard – Shun Mochizuki, Fujitsu Frontiers
The AFI All-Pandemic Team selection panel has watched every game of football in all the leagues playing this year including in the Japanese Xleague, and...
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Fujitsu Frontiers QB Michael Birdsong finds his football fit in Japan
Michael Birdsong took his time chasing the pro football dream, but could never really find his fit. In college he bounced around, starting at James...
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From Germany to Japan: QB Kurt Palandech making his mark in a new country
When the Nojima Sagamihara Rise line up to face IBM Big Blue in the final round of Japan’s XLeague this weekend, there will be plenty...
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Japan: Fujitsu Frontiers beat IBM Big Blue for 2nd straight win
The defending champion Fujitsu Frontiers used a strong second half to pull away from IBM Big Blue and cruise to a 41-21 win in the...
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Japan’s XLeague set to kick off shortened season
The Japanese X League, the top American football league in Asia, kicks off a shortened season this Saturday, October 24 with seven teams. The defending...
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What’s it like to play football in Japan? Check out the Inside Sport Japan survey
Japan’s X League is arguably the top club team league in the world outside of the United States and Canada. And yet, to the outsider,...
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The most popular sports to watch in Japan
For many years, Japan remained isolated from the world, a factor that inhibited the growth of its sports industry. With more people taking an interest...
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Michigan players find pro football opportunities in a new frontier: Japan
By Rod Beard, The Detroit News For the past three years, Joshua Cox has been on a football odyssey. It’s a journey that’s taken him...
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Japan’s X Bowl pits Fujitsu Frontiers and Panasonic Impulse in classic matchup
The last two teams to win the X Bowl in Japan, the Fujitsu Frontiers and Panasonic Impulse, square off Monday, December 16 at the Tokyo...
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Fujitsu QB Ready To Shine in X Bowl After Being Thrust Into Starting Role
By Ken Marantz Tsubasa Takagi might seem to have been preparing for this moment for four years. In reality however, the dream began way back...
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Victor Mitchell Jr. relishing football life in Japan as he prepares for title game
Panasonic Impulse running back Victor Mitchell Jr. is making the most of his football talents – on the other side of the world, in Japan....
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Japan: Revamped XLeague kicks off new season – will Fujitsu win title #5?
The Fujitsu Frontiers head into the upcoming X-League season with a legitimate shot at winning a record-tying fourth straight championship, but also a major question...
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End of an Era in Japan: Kevin Jackson retires from Obic Seagulls after 14 sterling seasons
For the past 14 years, the big defensive end wearing No. 11 for the Obic Seagulls wreaked havoc on opponents, making sacks, harassing quarterbacks, and...