| Italian Football League | |
| Pixels: | 100 |
| Sport: | American football |
| Classification: | Top level league |
| Level: | Level 1 |
| Inaugural: | 1980 |
| Teams: | Max 12 |
| Champion: | Parma Panthers (7th title) (2024) |
| Most Successful Club: | Bergamo Lions (12 titles) |
| Website: | www.fidaf.com |
| Ceo: | Enrico Mambelli[1] [2] |
Italian Football League (IFL; the name is in English) is the top level American football league in Italy first established in 1978. The first recognized league champion was crowned in 1980.
The annual final playoff game to determine the league champion is called the Italian Bowl, that awards, for American football, the title of "champion of Italy" and the scudetto.[3]
In Italy, the first American football game took place in Genoa on 27 November 1913 when the teams of the USS Connecticut and USS Kansas faced each other, two of the 14 ships of the American Great White Fleet temporarily docked in the Ligurian port during an exercise cruise in the Mediterranean Sea. USS Connecticut won 17–6.[4]
After this sporadic appearance, American football returned to Italy with the Allied troops during World War II. American football followed the advance of the US units from the south to the north of the Italian peninsula. On 23 November 1944, a touch football match was played at the Stadio della Vittoria in Bari, between the Playboys and the Technical School.[5] The trophy, called the "Bambino Bowl", was won by the Technical School 13–0 in front of an audience of 5,000.[6]
A little over a month later, the Spaghetti Bowl[7] was held in Florence in front of 25,000 people on New Year's Day 1945 between the Bridgebusters (representatives of the Twelfth Air Force) and the Mudders (United States Army North); the Mudders won 20–0.[8] Although probably other matches were played in those years of which no documentation remains, the first in peacetime, took place in Trieste, the last territory liberated from the Nazi-Fascists, in January 1948. The match was organized by the Trieste United States Troops and saw the SP'S prevail over D Company by "three touchdowns" (then 21–0).[9]
In the 1970s teams formed and played in Italy. The first American football championship organized in Italy, which was never recognized by the federation, took place in 1977 and was won by the .
Among the games played in the 1970s there was the first official match played between Italian American football teams in preparation for the first championship officially recognized by the federation; played on 24 June 1978 at the Stadio Carlo Speroni in Busto Arsizio, it was won 36–0 by the Rhinos Milano over the Gallarate Frogs.[10]
In 1980 the first official American football league in Italy was established and crowned a champion.[11] This championship did not include a final and was won by . However, the title of first champions of Italy was recognized to the Lupi only in 2016.[12]
The Italian league (Series A) in the late 1970s and early 1980s, was one of the first leagues in Europe to sign professional import players and coaches from the USA. The league had good popularity in the early years especially the late 1980s and early 1990s with reported attendance of nearly 20,000 fans for a Series A league final championship game in that time period.[13] American Football in Italy has had ups and downs since that time but has always had a competitive league with different lower levels playing below the Italian Football League (IFL).
The new IFL was founded in 2007, taking over previous league's significance called (National Football League Italy).[14] The league was born as a result of the escape of several of the best clubs of the old championship organized by the Italian federation, such as Milano Rhinos, Parma Panthers, Bologna Doves and Bolzano Giants. However some of the historic Italian clubs have not joined the new league and continue to participate in different tournaments organized by other federations.
In the following years a lot of teams moved to the (the federation the IFL belongs to)[15] and most of the biggest teams are now again part of the IFL that is the First Division or in the other two divisions.
The Bergamo Lions have won the most Italian Super Bowl league championships winning 12 finals.
On Saturday, July 1, 2023, Italian Bowl XLII will be played at the Glass Bowl Stadium on the campus of The University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, USA. This will mark the first Italian Football League Championship held outside of Europe. The Parma Panthers won the game played in front of nearly 10,000 fans and televised in the USA.
† defunct
♦ due to league expansion the Napoli team can play the 2015 IFL season and is not relegated to the second division
‡ Roma Grizzlies won the second division championship and earned the right to play the 2015 IFL season[16]
Italian Bowl is the annual final play-off game of the Italian Football League (IFL) to determine the league champion. It is the game that awards, for American football, the title of "champion of Italy" and the scudetto.[3] Until 2014 the championship game was called Italian Super Bowl.
| Game | Year | Winner | Opponent | Result | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | 1980 | - | Group winners | - | ||
| I | 1981 | 24–8 | ||||
| II | 1982 | 11–0 | Stadio Tonino Benelli, Pesaro | |||
| III | 1983 | Warriors Bologna | 20–14 | Palasport di Genova, Genoa | ||
| IV | 1984 | Warriors Bologna | 16–6 | Stadio Romeo Neri, Rimini | ||
| V | 1985 | Doves Bologna | 27–11 | Stadio Silvio Appiani, Padova | ||
| VI | 1986 | Warriors Bologna | 18–8 | Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna | ||
| VII | 1987 | 27–24 | Stadio Romeo Neri, Rimini | |||
| VIII | 1988 | Warriors Bologna | 17–0 | Stadio Dorico, Ancona | ||
| IX | 1989 | 39–33 | Stadio Ennio Tardini, Parma | |||
| X | 1990 | 33–6 | Stadio Romeo Neri, Rimini | |||
| XI | 1991 | Giaguari Torino | Phoenix San Lazzaro | 38–16 | Stadio Brianteo, Monza | |
| XII | 1992 | Pharaones Milano | 35–25 | Stadio Druso, Bolzano | ||
| XIII | 1993 | Gladiatori Roma | 48–39 | Stadio Comunale, Telgate | ||
| XIV | 1994 | 37–27 | Stadio Giovanni Mari, Legnano | |||
| XV | 1995 | Gladiatori Roma | 32–26 | Stadio Alfiero Moretti, Cesenatico | ||
| XVI | 1996 | Phoenix Bologna | Gladiatori Roma | 25–20 | Stadio Dorico, Ancona | |
| XVII | 1997 | Phoenix Bologna | 42–35 | Stadio Brianteo, Monza | ||
| XVIII | 1998 | 29–28 | Stadio Santa Maria Goretti, Catania | |||
| XIX | 1999 | Giants Bolzano | 49–14 | Stadio Europa, Bolzano | ||
| XX | 2000 | Giants Bolzano | 49–27 | Velodromo Vigorelli, Milan | ||
| XXI | 2001 | Dolphins Ancona | 30–24 | Stadio Europa, Bolzano | ||
| XXII | 2002 | Dolphins Ancona | 21–14 | Stadio Europa, Bolzano | ||
| XXIII | 2003 | Dolphins Ancona | 45–0 | Polisportivo Comunale, Civitanova Marche | ||
| XXIV | 2004 | Dolphins Ancona | 14–13 | Stadio Andrea Torelli, Scandiano | ||
| XXV | 2005 | Warriors Bologna | 42–14 | Stadio Andrea Torelli, Scandiano | ||
| XXVI | 2006 | 24–12 | Stadio Andrea Torelli, Scandiano | |||
| XXVII | 2007 | 55–49 (2 OT) | Stadio Andrea Torelli, Scandiano | |||
| XXVIII | 2008 | Giants Bolzano | 56–54 | |||
| XXIX | 2009 | Giants Bolzano | Marines Lazio | 35–21 | ||
| XXX | 2010 | 56–26 | ||||
| XXXI | 2011 | Warriors Bologna | 76–62 | |||
| XXXII | 2012 | 61–43 | ||||
| XXXIII | 2013 | 51–28 | ||||
| XXXIV | 2014 | 33–3 | ||||
| XXXV | 2015 | 24–14 | ||||
| XXXVI | 2016 | Giants Bolzano | 44–18 | |||
| XXXVII | 2017 | 37–29 | ||||
| XXXVIII | 2018 | Giants Bolzano | 28–14 | |||
| XXXIX | 2019 | Firenze Guelfi | 62–28 | |||
| - | 2020 | No season played because of the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||
| XL | 2021 | 40–34 (OT) | ||||
| XLI | 2022 | 21–17 | ||||
| XLII | 2023 | 2913 | ||||
| XLIII | 2024 | 38–26 | Stadio Bruno Benelli, Ravenna | |||
| Victories | Team | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Lions Bergamo | 1993, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 |
| 7 | Panthers Parma | 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2021, 2023, 2024 |
| 6 | Frogs Legnano | 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1994, 1995 |
| 5 | Milano Seamen | 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| 5 | Rhinos Milano | 1981, 1982, 1983, 1990, 2016 |
| 1 | Firenze Guelfi | 2022 |
| 1 | Giants Bolzano | 2009 |
| 1 | Pharaones Milano | 1992 |
| 1 | Giaguari Torino | 1991 |
| 1 | Warriors Bologna | 1986 |
| 1 | Doves Bologna | 1985 |
| 1 | Lupi Roma | 1980 |