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PFL (Poland) Power Ranking Before Easter Break
We’re basically a quarter of the way through the Polska Futbol Liga (PFL) regular season after last weekend. As the league takes a break and players head home for Easter, it’s the perfect time to launch First Down Magazine’s first PFL Power Ranking.
Last week gave us some really interesting matchups. We witnessed a shootout between the Lowlanders Białystok and Silesia Rebels, the Eagles steamrolling the Kings on their own field, an important OT win for the Jaguars, and...
Apr 17
Revenge, Redemption, or Reckoning? A Hero’s Journey
The European League of Football is a breeding ground for some of the most competitive athletes in the world—men who, for the simple love of the game, are willing to sacrifice their bodies without the need for large contracts, full stadiums, or sponsorship deals. Most of the homegrown talent in the ELF double as teachers, doctors, tradesmen, and other working professionals, while the A-imports often hold part-time jobs during the offseason and find ways to coach and stay conne
Apr 17
BAFA Premiership Week 1 Power Ranking
The top end of our first-ever power ranking from Britain almost writes itself, with last year’s finalists both recording sizable shutout wins on the road to kick off their respective 2025 campaigns. As reigning champions—retaining the vast majority of that championship squad, including star QB Dee Williams, and having not recorded a regular season defeat since July 2023—the London Warriors are the clear choice at #1. However, considering that defeat came at the hands of a Bri
Apr 16
Badalona Dracs Return to Spanish Bowl After Dominating Osos Rivas in the second Semi-Final
The most decorated team in LNFA history secured their spot in the championship with a commanding 33-13 victory and now aims to reclaim supremacy against LG OLED Black Demons.
Badalona, June 13, 2025 – The Badalona Dracs left no room for doubt. With precise execution and a relentless defense, the Catalan squad defeated Osos Rivas 33-13 in the Spanish National Football League (LNFA) semifinals, booking their ticket to their 19th championship appearance—their first since 2021
Apr 16
Las Rozas Black Demons on their way to three-peat in Spain
The team from northwest Madrid made a statement after rolling over the Terrassa Reds, who you may remember as the surprise team of the year. The Black Demons won easily at home 35-0 to continue their quest to achieve a three-peat.
Apr 15
CNFA (Romania) Week 1 Power Rankings
First Down Mag is now covering the Romanian CNFA too, make sure you're up to date with this one too!!
Apr 15
OTHER NEWS
The AFLE Conundrum
American Football continues to make news with our friends across the pond, and there is a lot to cover this offseason. Shortly after the end of the 2025 European League of Football (ELF) season, there was an outcry from ownership for better transparency and a more democratic style of league management.
Team owners became frustrated with ELF CEO Zeljko Karajica at the helm. Money was not coming in, sponsors were not paying up, and the entire league reeked of a potential coll
10 hours ago
A European Showdown in Krefeld - IFAF Final Four
After two years, the European Championship comes to a close with the first ever Final Four in Germany.
The home team, after ten years, will host a huge event in continental Tackle Football, coming back after a ban arrived as a result of problems with the old IFAF management. They will face Austria, the defending champions and the favourites to win it all.
In the other semifinal, Finland, the National Team with more continental wins than any other country, will face Italy, c
Oct 24
Portugal: LPFA XV Team Grades
Another edition of the Portuguese American Football League has come to an end, once again capped off by a televised final. It was a season of plot twists, revenge stories, and new stars who stepped onto the stage and shone brightly. And we’ve now gathered all their grades. Top of the Class Lisboa Devils – A The Devils did exactly what was expected of them: reach the final. With major reinforcements like Jordan Vieira and Chris Thelasco , plus a culture of consistency bui
Sep 3
Britball Playoff Recap and Britbowl Preview
The sun is setting on another British American Football season, and a rematch for the ages is the final treat before the 2025 season enters the history books and the 25/26 British University American Football season can be born out of its ashes.
A new playoff format for those competing in Divisions 1 & 2 means that no teams from those divisions will be loading their car with pads and helmets to take the field at the home of British American Football at Butts Park in Coventry
Sep 2
Classroom of Champions: ELF Teams Get Their Grades
The curtain has fallen on the regular season, and as tradition dictates, the council gathers one last time. The grades are in, the exam papers have been marked, and it’s time to see which teams proudly move to the top of the class, which barely scraped a passing grade, and which will be stuck in detention until next year.
We could have done that division by division to hand out the grades, but here’s a little spoiler for the impatient: nobody really shone across the board. Ea
Aug 29
A TRUE RIVALRY IN DUBLIN
As every year, Dublin dressed up to host a new edition of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. Shop windows and pubs across the city were adorned with the vibrant colors of the universities: the red of Iowa State and the purple of Kansas State blended into every corner. Yet this time there was something truly special in the air: for the first time, the Aviva Stadium would host a game officially considered a rivalry — the storied Farmageddon.
This is one of the oldest and
Aug 28
News You Can Use – IFL Edition #2
Almost a month later, First Down Mag is back with some news on Italian Football during the offseason.
The Italian Movement is running wild despite the forced stop after the end of the Senior championships in July.
Now the focus is on the national Flag Football teams playing in both The World Games and in the Euros in September, while the Junior Tackle Championships will start in less than two months, while the National Tackle team will face a new challenge in November.
...
Aug 27
News You Can Use – IFL Edition #1
The Italian Football League has come to an end as Guelfi Firenze have beaten the Ancona Dolphins 49-14 to take their second Italian Bowl in the team’s history. With that, though, the offseason has just started. Right up until the start of the 2026 season in February, First Down Mag will inform you about all the movements in the IFL by all teams and around the league...
Jul 15
5 Takeaways from Superserien 2025
A (POSSIBLE) NEW DYNASTY
We might have a new dynasty on our hands. The Carlstad Crusaders were Swedish champions for 8 years in a row between 2010 and 2017 and HC Christian Forsman might have just restored that old glory with a second consecutive title.
Crusaders key players seem to be going nowhere and they are reinforcing their strong homegrown squad with clever (and long-term) import choices each season. As we see what unfolds in the offseason, we could be looking at yet
Jul 15
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