Brazil’s Torneio Touchdown Announce Seventh Season, 2015 Schedule

This Tuesday, March 31st, the organizers of Brazil Torneio Touchdown football league, also know as TTD, (Touchdown Tournament in English) disclosed the schedule of the 2015 season.

Sixteen teams will compete for the title of this competition (TTD is a tournament with national level) , different from the previous edition had twenty* teams.

This season competing clubs are:

the Vasco da Gama Patriotas (defending champions), Flamengo FA and Botafogo Reptiles, all from Rio de Janeiro; Timbó Rex (runners-up) and Jaraguá Breakers, from Santa Catarina; Juventude, from Rio Grande do Sul; Paraná HP and UFPR Brown Spiders**, from Paraná; Corinthians Steamrollers, Santos Tsunami, Lusa Lions and Botafogo Challengers, from São Paulo; Vila Velha Tritões and Rio Branco**, from Espírito Santo; Minas Locomotiva, from Minas Gerais; Tubarões do Cerrado, from Distrito Federal.

This year, the TTD has organized the championship in two conferences: the North and the South. Each conference was divided into two divisions, with four teams each. Clubs will play seven games in the regular season.

The kickoff of the seventh edition is scheduled for June 27th, with the Carioca Classic between the defending champions, Vasco da Gama Patriotas, and the club with the third-best record in the TTD last season, the Botafogo Reptiles. The regular season ends on November 15th with the match between Vila Velha Tritões and Vasco Patriotas. The final will be on December 19th, but this date can be changed by organizers.

For the organizers and managers of the teams, the 2015 season has everything to be one of the hardest in the competition’s history. For the current president of Vila Velha Tritões (champions in 2010), Tony Chris Machado, American football has evolved greatly in the country and the teams that have remained in the TTD are investing every season.

“I expect nothing less than a high level of football in 2015 compared to last season.”

With two titles (2011 and 2012) in their history, head coach of Corinthians Steamrollers, Ricardo Trigo, bet that this season will be the best yet.

“2015 will be the year of greater physical, technical and tactical level that the TTD has had over the years. The teams are getting better infrastructure, fundraising and investments.”

The president of the Timbó Rex, Igor Rick, also believes this will be an incredible season.

“I expect a more close contests and teams coming in with intense physical plans. The technical level of the teams is getting higher because of the work of the managers to provide better training structures.”

Getting ready for 2015, the president of Lusa Lions, Renato Afonso, bet that will be the league where all teams will have all the conditions to fight for a spot in the playoffs.

“Certainly the most disputed year history of the tournament, all 16 teams will compete playoff berth and any defeat can by teams hitherto respected outside of tournament.”

Defending champs bring Americans on Patriotas

To ensure that the title remains in Rio de Janeiro, the president of Vasco da Gama Patriots, Roldan Junior, will have again with the Americans (QB Lucas Shaw and SS/KR Joshua Canup) in the roster, but the manager expects a championship even more complicated in 2015.

“After our achievement, I’m sure everyone will want to beat the current champion.”

This season all matches will be filmed for teams to exchange videos and knowledge their opponents throughout the competition. For most coaches, one more item to increase the balance between all times.

The teams

North – Div. A	CLUB	CITY, STATE
	Vila Velha Tritões	Vila Velha, ES
	Botafogo Reptiles	Rio de Janeiro, RJ
	Rio Branco FA**	Serra, ES
	Minas Locomotiva	Belo Horizonte, MG
North – Div. B	CLUB	CITY, STATE
	Vasco da Gama Patriotas	Rio de Janeiro, RJ
	Flamengo FA	Rio de Janeiro, RJ
	Tubarões do Cerrado	Brasília, DF
	Santos Tsunami	Santos, SP

South – Div. C	CLUB	CITY, STATE
	Paraná HP	Curitiba, PR
	Corinthians Steamrollers	São Paulo, SP
	Lusa Lions	São Paulo, SP
	Botafogo Challengers	Ribeirão Preto, SP
South- Div. D	CLUB	CITY, STATE
	Timbó Rex	Timbó, SC
	Juventude	Caxias do Sul, RS
	Jaraguá Breakers	Jaraguá do Sul, SC
	UFPR Brown Spiders**	Curitiba, PR

*Brasília V8, Campo Grande Gravediggers, São José Bulls and Uberlândia Lobos aren’t in this season. Vitória Antares merged with Rio Branco Cabritos to form new Rio Branco FA.
** New members.