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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


IFL - Wild Card Round Recap
The Italian Football League kicked off its season finale with the playoffs, the final step toward the Italian Bowl in early July.
Six teams are taking to the field this hot June on the Road to Ferrara, which will determine the Italian American Football champion for the 2026 season.
Four of these teams — Giaguari Torino, Dolphins Ancona, Frogs Legnano, and Aquile Ferrara — with Guelfi Firenze and Panthers Parma also looking ahead to next week's semifinals, took to the field
Jun 17


IFL Final Power Ranking of the Year
1. Guelfi Firenze
Twenty consecutive wins. This alone explains the impact the Tuscans have had on our football in recent years.
Their 47-0 victory over the Warriors Bologna represents a significant milestone in our movement. Is this the birth of a new dynasty or a continuation of it?
With first place in the playoffs, the Guelfi will now have to watch their backs on several fronts. Next week, they will face the Thonon Black Panthers in the CEFL, who finished 9-1 in their Fr
Jun 4


IFL Power Ranking - Week 10
1. Guelfi Firenze
The Guelfi continued their winning streak with a crucial 42-7 home win over the Lazio Marines. The Tuscans have gone eighteen consecutive games without defeat between the Regular Season and the Playoffs since last year in the Italian Football League.
The game was settled in the first half for the league leaders, who, with their 6-0 record, officially qualified for the playoff semifinals. For them, the only thing left to do is decide whether they will finis
May 13


IFL Power Ranking - Week 7
1. Guelfi Firenze
Guelfi Firenze's journey toward a back-to-back title continues in Ferrara with yet another strong performance from Coach Fabrizio Bocci's team.
The Tuscans defeated Aquile Ferrara on the road 40-12, putting their purple Ferrari in fourth gear as they race toward the Italian Bowl and, perhaps, something more important.
Meanwhile, four wins in as many games allow the Florentines to once again achieve their playoff goal and dream of another title that would c
Apr 23


BACK TO SCHOOL - IFL 2026 MIDTERM GRADES
With the Easter holidays already upon us, the IFL is taking a general Bye Week before resuming full steam ahead until the end of May with the Regular Season.
In this special edition of the Power Ranking, in addition to the usual commentary on the league games—only one this weekend—there's also a rating for the teams based on their performances this season.
1. Guelfi Firenze (A)
There's no getting around it. Guelfi Firenze's season start, undefeated in 14 consecutive game
Apr 2


IFL Power Ranking - Week 4
1. Guelfi Firenze
There are few words to describe this Saturday's performance by the Guelfi at home against the Rhinos Milano. It was a magnificent performance by the players coached by Fabrizio Bocci, who left their opponents with only crumbs.
The Tuscans won the match as a team; there's no one name in particular to highlight, although the biggest compliments go to Karim Diop, a player from the youth team who scored his first IFL touchdown.
In three weeks, the first test of
Mar 25


IFL Power Ranking - Week 2
Week 2 of the Italian Football League didn't provide many surprises in terms of results in the two games played over the weekend.
The Giaguari Torino easily defeated the Bologna Warriors, who have yet to score a touchdown in their two games so far, while the Parma Panthers defeated the debutants Lazio Marines at home, albeit with considerable difficulty.
While we wait to see Frogs Legnano and Dolphins Ancona on the field, here is the First Down Magazine Power Ranking update
Mar 13


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, 2025


IFL SEMIFINALS AND PLAYOUTS REVIEW!
The Italian Football League has awarded both finalists for the June 28th Championship Game in Toledo and a relegated team for next year's tournament. Guelfi Firenze and Dolphins Ancona have won against Frogs Legnano and Panthers Parma in the deciding games for the second final in the States, while the Pirates Albisola have beaten the Bergamo Lions, who have been relegated to IFL 2, the Second Division of Italian Football, at least on the field.
The stage Is almost set for th
Jun 17, 2025


Italian Football League - Report Card
Ancons Dolphins : A+ (9-1)
Fantastic season for the Ancona Dolphins who dominate Girone A, the change of head coach seems to have given them greater awareness. They won both the direct clashes with Parma and edged over Legnano to get the #1 seed and enter the playoffs as favorites. Their import QB Blake Eaton has shown great ability and perseverance, together with the help of one of the best defenses we've ever seen in the IFL they'll be a tough matchup for anyone. Will they
Jun 7, 2025


IFL Season Awards Prediction!
The Italian Football League regular season is over and the Road to Toledo is starting once again.
After 14 weekends of games played, the six remaining teams will face each other in the playoffs starting this weekend in the Wild Card round. The games will see the second and third place teams from both groups on the field. That means we'll see a rematch of last year's semifinal with the Skorpions Varese hosting the Panthers Parma, whilst the Legnano Frogs will host the Giaguar
Jun 3, 2025


Italian Football League - Final Power Ranking
1st Place: Ancona Dolphins
The Dolphins have been dominant this season. An impressive 9 game win streak took them to the first place of our ranking. The last 3 games have been very convincing, especially the victory over Parma. After that win, they arrive at the playoffs as the clear leaders and favorites for the playoffs. Will they be able to finish what they started?
2nd Place: Firenze Guelfi
Guelfi finished the season the same way they started it, winning. The competiti
May 30, 2025


Italian Football League - Power Ranking Week 11
1st Place: Firenze Guelfi
The Firenze Guelfi did not play in week 11, therefore they keep their 1st place as the only undefeated team in Italy. They will be looking to avoid losing this title in their week 12 matchup versus the upcoming Ferrara Aquile.
May 9, 2025


Italian Football League - Power Ranking Week 10
1st Place: Firenze Guelfi
What a disappointing result for the Guelfi Firenze, with only 49 points scored they finished below their average of 50.4 points per game. Obviously that was a joke, the Guelfi keep on being the most dominant team in the IFL this season with a 49-17 win over the Lazio Marines, who just defeated the #2 seed Giaguari Torino. The usual suspect, and probable 2025 IFL MVP Andrea Fimiani had yet again another 3 passing - 3 rushing touchdowns performance, w
May 1, 2025


Italian Football League - Power Ranking Week 9
1st Place: Firenze Guelfi
The Guelfi Firenze are the only undefeated team left in the IFL, they are the highest scoring offense with 50.6 points per game, to put that in perspective the second team has a 35.1 average. Let’s highlight the future MVP of the 2025 season too, Andrea Fimiani, the most efficient QB in the IFL right now and he’s the best rushing player with 147 yards per game! Yes, you read that right, 147 yards rushed on average per game! He’s reached over 1000 y
Apr 24, 2025


Italian Football League - Power Ranking Week 7
The IFL has entered the second half of the season, read this ranking to see how the teams are shaping up for the 2025playoffs and playdowns!
Apr 3, 2025


Italian Football League - Power Ranking Week 3
Week 3 was a wild one, definitely the toughest yet to rank, give this a read and find out what happened in the Italian Football League!
Mar 6, 2025


Italian Football League - Power Ranking Week2
Here is the Week 2 power ranking of the Italian Football League, checl out the ranking by division at the bottom of the article!
Feb 27, 2025


Trap Game Alert: Milano Rhinos vs Ancona Dolphins in IFL Week 5 Matchup
IFL Week 5: Milano Rhinos vs Ancona Dolphins. Can Rhinos upset undefeated Dolphins? Coaching changes bring intrigue to this crucial matchup.
Apr 5, 2024
OTHER NEWS


FLORIAN BIERBAUMER INTERVIEW
“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
59 minutes ago


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


Perfect From Start to Finish: Budapest Cowbells Capture the HFL Championship
The HFL Championship Game had everything fans could ask for. Hard hits, defensive stands, momentum swings, and late-game drama. After an unbeaten regular season, the Budapest Cowbells completed the job, defeating the Győr Sharks to finish the year with a perfect record and lift the HFL trophy.
It wasn't an offensive shootout. Instead, it was a defensive battle for most of the afternoon, with both teams refusing to give an inch.
The game opened with an early fumble by the Co
Jul 14


DAFL History Made: Wild Boars Complete a Perfect Season to Become the First DAFL Champions
The inaugural DAFL Championship delivered an exciting battle between the Wild Boars and the Bucharest Titans. Both teams entered the final determined to make history, but in the end, it was the Wild Boars who proved why they had been the league's most dominant team all season.
From the opening kickoff, both offenses showed they were ready for the big stage.
The Wild Boars struck first as RB Bogdan Djordjevic powered into the endzone to give his team an early lead. The Titan
Jul 14


IFL - Italian Bowl Weekend Recap
The Italian Bowl Weekend took place in Ferrara on July 4–5, 2026, with all three FIDAF senior football finals held at the same venue: the Paolo Mazza Stadium.
Saturday saw action from the IFL2 and the IFL, while Sunday’s stage belonged to the Nine Football League - the third division of Italian football.
Who won the three titles? Who were the standout players? What tone will the sport set for the coming year?
2026 Italian Bowl – Guelfi Firenze vs. Panthers Parma: Guelfi’s
Jul 9


First Down Magazine's IFL 2026 Season Awards!
With the Italian Bowl 2026—the 45th edition in Italian football history—just a week away, it is time to present awards to the top players of the season that is now drawing to a close.
Ahead of the grand finale, the Italian editorial team at First Down Magazine is announcing its picks for the season's top players in Italian Football’s Top tier.
The categories are:
MVP (Most Valuable Player)
OPOY (Offensive Player of the Year)
DPOY (Defensive Player of the Year)
MIP (Most Imp
Jul 3


XLeague Breakdown!
With well known names from European football such as AJ Wentland and Reece Horn moving to the XLeague in 2026, many on the old continent have been asking for information about football in Japan.
So, here are some facts about Japanese gridiron - including several to show how it differs from the game in Europe.
Football started at the university level in Japan in 1934, and within a year USC came to the Land of the Rising Sun to play games against Japanese colleges - starting
Jun 30


AFLE and EFA Hit Cruising Speed as Early Contenders Begin to Emerge
The 2026 European football season is no longer warming up. Both the AFLE and the EFA are already moving at full speed, and after another packed weekend of football, the early shape of both competitions is becoming clearer. Some teams are confirming their status as contenders, others are still searching for rhythm, and several teams that looked beaten have shown enough fight to suggest that this season will not be short on drama.
AFLE Week 2: Vikings Stay Perfect as Thunder,
Jun 5
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