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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


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


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


Have you heard of the IFL 2 and 9FL?
Italian football isn't just about the Italian Football League. The two lower divisions have provided just as much entertainment and plenty of surprises in the three months of the regular season just concluded.
Between the movement's fallen nobles, developing local projects, and countless hidden talents, the two leagues have kept pace with the main league, successfully providing thrills to both insiders and fans across the country.
In this article, we explore the journeys of
Jun 1


IFL Power Ranking - Week 12
1. Guelfi Firenze
Another great victory for Guelfi Firenze, this time at the home of a direct rival, Frogs Legnano, mathematically securing first place in the playoff standings.
The 48-24 final score was perhaps predicted by some, but even against the big teams, the Tuscans are prepared, and now they can dream big.
After the match against the Warriors Bologna the following weekend, thoughts turn to a season finale that could bring not one, but two major trophies.
In fact,
May 27


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 9
1. Guelfi Firenze
Even in a remake of the last Italian Bowl, Guelfi managed to take control, winning 51-17 against Dolphins Ancona.
The tie lasted only one quarter, the first, which ended 14-14, before the Viola began to put the fifth quarter into effect, matching their winning streak this year.
A win against Lazio Marines next week could secure direct qualification to the semifinals, a step closer for the league's top favorite. However, the threat of too many matches in a
May 6


IFL Power Ranking - Week 8
1. Guelfi Firenze Despite the Bye Week, the Guelfi still won in Week 8. The Frogs Legnano's loss at the Dolphins Ancona allows the Tuscans to remain alone at the top of the Italian Football League standings, undefeated. The next match will be against the Dorics, who are coming off three consecutive wins and are currently among the hottest teams in the IFL. While the goal in Italy will be to defend first place, the European plans have become clearer this weekend. In fact, the
Apr 30


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


News You Can Use – IFL Edition #5
This fifth issue of our monthly magazine dedicated to Italian football has a lot on the table, from the National Tackle team's final match of the calendar year to the presentation of the new Italian Football League.
There's a lot of news to report, especially regarding the IFL sidelines, with both confirmed players and new arrivals.
Italy loses against Canada in Milan, losing the first Gridiron Nations Championship
On November 9th, Italy and Canada took to the field at the
Dec 5, 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


Flag Football in Italy: The Growth and International Success of a Rapidly Rising Sport
Flag football, a non-contact version of American football, has seen significant growth in Italy, from its early grassroots phase in the late
Oct 15, 2024


IFL Game of the Wildcard Weekend: Panthers Parma vs Frogs Legnano
The upcoming Wild Card match on Saturday, 8th, between Parma Panthers and Frogs Legnano, we are about to Break Down and Preview.
Jun 7, 2024
OTHER NEWS


Born on a Base: How FIDAF and Italian Football Began
Football’s Italian story starts more than a century ago, with a Thanksgiving Day game in Genoa between the crews of the USS Connecticut and the USS Kansas. It was a one-off game, and decades passed before the sport returned in any organized way: first with Allied troops, in the Bambino Bowl in Bari and the Spaghetti Bowl in Florence, the latter drawing a crowd of 25,000, both played between 1944 and 1945; then through U.S. bases that kept the game alive into the 1950s and 196
4 days ago


The Italian Football League Kicks Off Its 2027 Season in Bologna
On October 4th, at The Social Hub in Bologna, the Italian Football League began preparations for the upcoming 2027 season with a press conference and a league meeting that offered a preview of the league's new year.
In the presence of the press and top figures in Italian football, the new season of the country's premier league was launched, featuring numerous new developments and the announcement of several partnerships.
What new developments and challenges will the IFL fac
Oct 9


Andrew Weidinger - The Head Coach of the London Guard
Starting his coaching career at The University of Arizona in 2000, Andrew Weidinger has been everywhere, and then some, on his path to becoming EFA London’s Head Coach.
"Like every kid who has ever put the pads on, all I ever wanted to do was play in the NFL. Then I managed to crack a vertebrae when I was in high school and couldn’t play anymore, which got me interested in coaching. I was very fortunate to have a lot of great opportunities and work with a lot of great people
Oct 7


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
Sep 24


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
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