Serbia’s top American football league will kick off its 2017 club season the weekend of March 25/26.
Like last season, the league will have eight teams and the championship final – the Serbian Bowl – is scheduled for the weekend of July 8/9.
The Sport klub Prva Liga Srbije (Sport Club First League of Serbia) club selection was based on the placement of the of the clubs in the 2016 season:
- Kragujevac Wild Boars
- Belgrade SBB Wolves
- Novi Sad Dukes GAT
- Pancevo Panthers
- Belgrade Blue Dragons
- Sremska Mitrovica Legionaries
- Indjija Meridian Indians
- Sombor Celtis
In 2016, the Kragujevac Wild Boars capped a remarkable turnaround season by defeating arch rivals SBB Vukovi 53-29 to capture the Serbian championship for the first time since 2010 and the fifth time overall.
The new member of the top league is the Sombor Celtis team that was promoted after winning the second league of Serbia last season, which, according to the league rules, provided direct placement in the first division.
Nis Imperatori, were relegated after finishing last in the league and will compete in the second division this season.
The Competition System
The competition system is little changed from to last year. All eight teams will play a seven week regular season (as before), but the battle for a berth in the play-offs will be different.
Based on the ranking after seven games played, the first and second placed teams will qualify for the playoffs and earn first round byes. The clubs that occupy positions 3 through 6 qualify for the Wild Card round, where the third place team will face the sixth place team and the fourth place team will play the fifth placed team. The winners of these matches will advance to meet the top two finishers in the semi-finals.
As in prior years, at the end of the season the club that finishes 7th must defend their place in the top division against the second-placed team in the second division. The last placed team (8th) will automatically be relegated from the top league, while the second division champion will be promoted to the top level in 2018.
The Competition Schedule
As already indicated, the first games kick off the weekend of March 25/26. The regular season will end the weekend of June 3/04. Two weeks later the Wild Card weekend will be held as well as the relegated/promotion match (June 17/18 ). The semi-finals will be held on June 24/25.
Finally, the Serbian Bowl will be played on July 8/9 2017.
League Schedule 2017
| MARCH | 25/26 | Week 1 | Wild Boars – Celtis SBB Vukovi – Meridian Indians GAT Dukes – Legionaries Panthers – Blue Dragons |
| APRIL | 1/2 | ||
| 8/9 | Week 2 | Celtis – Blue Dragons Legionaries – Panthers Meridian Indians – GAT Dukes Wild Boars – SBB Vukovi |
|
| 15/16 | Easter | ||
| 22/23 | Week 3 | SBB Vukovi – Celtis GAT Dukes – Wild Boars Panthers – Meridian Indians Blue Dragons – Legionaries |
|
| 29/30 | Week 4 | Celtis – Legionaries Meridian Indians – Blue Dragons Wild Boars – Panthers SBB Vukovi – GAT Dukes |
|
| MAY | 6/7 | ||
| 13/14 | Week 5 | GAT Dukes – Celtis Panthers – SBB Vukovi Blue Dragons – Wild Boars Legionaries – Meridian Indians |
|
| 20/21 | |||
| 27/28 | Week 6 | Celtis – Meridian Indians Wild Boars – Legionaries SBB Vukovi – Blue Dragons GAT Dukes – Panthers |
|
| JUNE | 3/4 | Week 7 | Panthers – Celtis Blue Dragons – GAT Dukes Legionaries – SBB Vukovi Meridian Indians – Wild Boars |
| 10/11 | |||
| 17/18 | Wild Card Round | ||
| 24/25 | Semi-Final | ||
| JULY | 1/2 | ||
| 8/9 | Final |