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News You Can Use - IFL Edition #4
In this fourth installment of updates related to Italian football, the focus is on the European Championship which saw the Blue Team among the participants in the Final Four and the first rumors about the 2026 season.
As we are getting closer and closer to the start of the season, here’s some more about the tricolore movement, and so much has happened all around Italian Football during this month, so let’s get into it with a little bit of tomato sauce on top...
Nov 6, 2025


Superserien Offseason: News You Can Use #2
SM FINAL 2026 IN CARLSTAD
In 2026, the Superserien final (SM Final) will once again be played in Sola Arena in Carlstad!
As the swedish federation, SWE3, announced, the Crusaders home town has won the bid for the second year running for hosting both the men’s and women’s finals.
With the Crusaders being reigning back-to-back champions in both leagues, it will for sure be an advantage to have home field advantage should they make it that far...
Oct 31, 2025


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, 2025


Top British University American Football Narratives:
The landscape of British University American Football is one in constant flux, as players come and go through graduation or moving universities, teams rise and fall, and there is always a story to be told about every team that takes part in what we call Uniball.
My name is Chris Tebbutt, or if you know me from the British American Football world, Tebbs, and I have been covering the glorious sport of Uniball for half a decade now, and these are the top narratives to follow co
Oct 15, 2025


Top British University American Football Narratives:
Division One:
Redemption’s Roar?
When it comes to the Southern Division One leagues, the South stands out as the one that will be the most hotly contested, with the Hertfordshire Hurricanes and Oxford Lancers both gunning for glory in the Division that has been their home for a while but the additions of Oxford Brookes fresh off their Division 2 Southern Championship last year and former Premiership side in the University of East Anglia (UEA) Pirates making the move from th
Oct 15, 2025


How Bavaria is becoming a hotspot for American football talent development?
A new chapter for American football in Germany is unfolding at Taufkirchen. Designed to help young athletes improve their skills, gain knowledge, and experience true player development, this camp brings together passion, structure, and opportunity in one of Bavaria’s fastest-growing sports communities.
Why Taufkirchen?
The Sports Park Freiham has earned a strong reputation within the German football community. The area is modern, vibrant, and filled with restaurants, shops,
Oct 10, 2025
OTHER NEWS


UNION JACK CLASSIC
Wembley Stadium has staged just about everything football has to offer. On Saturday, it added another chapter to its history: College Football. Kansas and Arizona State crossed the Atlantic for a Week 3 matchup that brought the sights, sounds and spectacle of a fall Saturday in America to the heart of London.
LONDON BECOMES THE CENTER OF EUROPEAN FOOTBALL
For one Saturday in September, London became the center of the College Football world.
The British capital is hardly a
6 days ago


The Pioneers: NFL Europe and the League That Dared to Cross an Ocean
Long before the NFL played regular season games in London, Munich, or Madrid, it tried something far bolder: building entire professional franchises on European soil.
In July 1989, NFL owners approved the creation of the World League of American Football, a genuinely transatlantic experiment and the first time the league had ever tried to plant a professional, developmental version of itself outside North America. When the WLAF kicked off on March 23, 1991, ten teams took th
Sep 23


Italian Football League News You Can Use #1
With the conclusion of the tackle football seasons in Italy, "News You Can Use" - the most beloved and imitated column - returns to First Down Mag, bringing you all the latest updates on Italian football.
From the first to the third division, and from North to South, here is everything you need to know about roster moves and the latest news from the world of Italian gridiron.
Here is the first batch of news from the Italian football scene. Enjoy the read.
Cameren Grodhaus
Sep 22


İTÜ HORNETS — INTERVIEW WITH HEAD COACH AHMET ÖZMEN
We've now won four championships in the university league, and in that arena we've long been a college team playing football at the very top level. In past years, though, as a club we struggled to carry that success over to the pro league. Even though the 2022 pro semifinal was a huge blow for us, I'd say it was the game that fueled our ambition and made us more determined than any other. But reducing the four championships won over the last two years — across both the pro an
Sep 15


2026 GFL Power Rankings — Week 18 Update
Biggest Takeaway
As the GFL season moves toward the postseason, the league has started to separate into clear tiers. At the top, three teams have consistently looked like the strongest championship threats.
Dresden Monarchs/Potsdam Royals/Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns
The Dresden Monarchs, Potsdam Royals, and Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns have separated themselves from the rest of the GFL.
These are clearly the three strongest teams in the league and the teams best positioned to ma
Sep 11


BELICHICK’S TAR HEELS WIN THE AER LINGUS COLLEGE FOOTBALL CLASSIC
DUBLIN DRESSES UP FOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL AGAIN
Throughout the week, Dublin’s streets were dressed in TCU purple and unmistakable Carolina Blue, and long before kickoff it felt as though the Horned Frogs held a slight advantage in the stands.
Close to 10,000 fans had travelled from Texas, filling the pubs of Temple Bar and much of the city centre with TCU colours. In total, more than 14,000 supporters made the trip from the United States for this year’s Classic. Fewer than in
Sep 4


FLORIAN BIERBAUMER INTERVIEW - “Seikovits and I played rock-paper-scissors to decide…”
“Seikovits and I played rock-paper-scissors to decide…”
Florian Bierbaumer is one of the star players of the Vienna Vikings. The Graz native, who carries the nickname “Cheat Code”, recently had to take an enforced break due to an ankle injury but used the time to try out new things alongside his recovery.
The former NFL hopeful looked back on his AFLE season so far exclusively with First Down Magazine, spoke about his experience as a co-commentator, his collaboration with f
Aug 13


IFL Teams Get Their Grades!
With the IFL having wrapped up its 2026 season about a month ago — featuring the Guelfi Firenze victory over the Panthers Parma in Ferrara—the final bell has rung, and it is time to grade the teams in the top league.
This article reviews the season for the nine teams competing in the First Division of Italian Football.
Which teams made the grade, which ones have work to do before the new term, and which ones failed?
Guelfi Firenze: A
The Italian Football League’s model te
Aug 6


SUPERSERIEN TAKEAWAYS 2026
Tyresö gets it’s championship
After a lot of years of being the dark horse to win the prestigious SM-Guld, the Tyresö Royal Crowns can finally call themselves Champions of Sweden upsetting #1 seed Carlstad and #3 seed Stockholm in the semis and final respectively.
This team had arguably no weakness and only finished in the #4 seed by having a game overturned and losing to both SMM and Calrstad with only one score each during the regular season.
While the semi against the C
Jul 16
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