| American football in Israel | |
|---|---|
| Country | Israel |
| Governing body | American Football in Israel |
| National team(s) | Israel |
| First played | 1988 |
American football is a sport played at the amateur and international competition levels in Israel. The Israel Football League (IFL) is the highest level of competition in Israel, although there are multiple flag football leagues, a high school league and a youth league. All forms of American football in Israel are governed by American Football in Israel (IFL). [1] As of February 2017 [update] , there are 1,350 active football players living in Israel. [2]
American Football in Israel (AFI) is a non-profit association formed in 1998. In 2004 it was officially recognized by Ministry of Education's Sports Authority in Israel. Since this recognition, it is the sport’s official governing body for all American Football activities within Israel. [3]
AFI is a member of the International Federation of American Football. [4]
The Israel Football League (IFL) was founded in the summer of 2005 by a group of Israelis, led by Ofri Becker, who wanted to play tackle American football. The first season was played without pads or an official governing body. In 2007, the league began fully equipped play under the umbrella of AFI, and Israel Bowl I was held in 2008.
The Israel national American football team represents Israel in international men's American football competitions. The team formed in 2012 and consisted of mostly Israel Football League players and coaching staff. The first international American football game played by Israel was played May 17, 2012 in Baptist village near Petah Tikva, when the Israeli national team met Maranatha Baptist Bible College. [5]
The first official game in EFAF competitions took place at 30 August 2015 in Madrid. The opponents was Spain national American football team from EFAF C Group European Championship. As a new entry Israel could earn its way into Group B. [6] Israel won the game 28-20. [7]
Israel will thus play in the four team Group B European Championship in Italy in September 2016 with the winner of the four team tournament eligible for another qualifying round against either Denmark or Sweden, [8] the sixth and fifth place of the 2014 championship respectively, to the A Championship to be held in Germany in 2018.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is the largest donor to Israeli American Football initiatives.
Kraft has donated millions of dollars to the Israeli Football League. Additionally due to his generosity the American Football stadium in Jerusalem is called the Kraft Family Stadium, [9] the only American Football stadium in Israel. [10] Kraft's wife Myra Kraft has donated millions of dollars to women’s Flag Football in Israel. [11]
On an annual basis Kraft also brings NFL players and other celebrities to Israel, including Tom Brady in 2006. [12] In 2015 Kraft brought 19 Pro Football Hall of Fame members with him, including: Raymond Berry, Mel Blount, Tim Brown, Curley Culp, Chris Doleman, John Hannah, Mike Haynes, Ken Houston, Paul Krause, Floyd Little, Tom Mack, Curtis Martin, Ron Mix, Jim Taylor, Thurman Thomas, Andre Tippett, Roger Wehrli, Rayfield Wright, and Jack Youngblood. [13] In 2017 Kraft brought Calais Campbell of the Arizona Cardinals, Dan Williams of the Oakland Raiders, Cameron Jordan of the New Orleans Saints, Delanie Walker of the Tennessee Titans, and Mychal Kendricks of the Philadelphia Eagles. [14]
In 2014, during Operation Protective Edge, a soldier from the Los Angeles area, Max Steinberg, was killed in action. Upon hearing that Steinberg was a Patriot’s fan, Robert Kraft wrote a letter to the family offering his condolences. [15] In November 2015, Ezra Schwartz, from Sharon, Massachusetts, was killed in a terror attack in Gush Etzion, and was honored with a moment of silence prior to the Monday Night Football game against the Buffalo Bills on November 23. [16]
In 2017, just after the Patriots won Super Bowl LI, Kraft agreed to donate $6 million to build Israel's first ever regulation size football field, near Jerusalem. [17] In June 2017, Robert Kraft along with several NFL Hall of Famers traveled to Israel for the grand opening of the new Kraft Family Sports Campus. [18]
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The Patriots play home games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Boston. The franchise is owned by Robert Kraft, who purchased the team in 1994. As of 2023, the Patriots are tied for the third-most valuable sports team in the world and have sold out every home game since 1994.
Super Bowl XXXI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1996 season. The Packers defeated the Patriots by the score of 35–21, earning their third overall Super Bowl victory, and their first since Super Bowl II. The Packers also extended their league record for the most overall NFL championships to 12. It was also the last in a run of 13 straight Super Bowl victories by the NFC over the AFC. The game was played on January 26, 1997, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Flag football is a variant of gridiron football where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier ("deflagging") to end a down. In flag football, contact is limited between players. The sport has a strong amateur following with several national and international competitions each year sponsored by various associations but is most popularly played in America where it was invented. The international governing body for the sport is the International Federation of American Football (IFAF). In 2022, flag football was shortlisted as a proposed discretionary event for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, with inclusion being accepted on October 16, 2023.
Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States, which is 22 miles (35 km) southwest of downtown Boston, Massachusetts and 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Providence, Rhode Island. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for both the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL) and the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer (MLS). It opened in 2002, replacing the adjacent Foxboro Stadium. It also served as the home venue for the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Minutemen football team in 2012 and 2013, while on-campus Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium underwent renovations; it continued to serve as a part-time home venue for higher attendance UMass games through 2018. Gillette Stadium's seating capacity is 64,628, including 5,876 club seats and 82 luxury suites.
Foxboro Stadium, originally Schaefer Stadium and later Sullivan Stadium, was an outdoor stadium in the New England region of the United States, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It opened in 1971 and served as the home of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL) for 31 seasons and also as the first home venue for the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer (MLS) from 1996 to 2002. The stadium was the site of several games in both the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. Foxboro Stadium was demolished in 2002 and replaced by Gillette Stadium and the Patriot Place shopping center.
Eight-man football is a form of gridiron football, generally played by high schools with smaller enrollments. Eight-man football differs from the traditional 11-man game with the reduction of three players on each side of the ball and a field width that can be reduced to 40 yards, 13 1/3 yards narrower than the 53 1/3-yard 11-man field. Most states continue to play on a field 100 yards long, whereas a few states opt for 80-yard lengths. Reduced-player football, which consists of eight-man, six-man, and nine-man football has gained popularity across the United States. As of 2015, 1,561 schools in 30 states sponsor reduced-player football, with 1,161 of those teams participating in eight-man leagues, whereas 284 teams play six-man football and 116 teams play nine-man football.
Robert Kenneth Kraft is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainment, real estate development, and a private equity portfolio. Since 1994, Kraft has owned the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He also owns the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer (MLS), which he founded in 1996, and the esport-based Boston Uprising, which Kraft founded in 2017. As of July 2024, he has an estimated net worth of US$11.1 billion according to Forbes.
American Football in Israel (AFI) is the governing body of all American football activities in Israel, including the Israel Football League and various flag football leagues, and is a member of the International Federation of American Football.
IFAF Europe is the governing body of American football in Europe. It is a member of the International Federation of American Football. IFAF Europe replaced the European Federation of American Football (EFAF) which had begun in 1976 as the American European Football Federation (AEFF).
American Football Association of Finland is the national governing body of American football in Finland. It was founded in 1979 and it is a founding member of the European Federation of American Football, EFAF and International Federation of American Football, IFAF. Since 2000, American football has grown steadily. In 2006 there were 27 clubs playing the sport with over 100 teams and over 1400 players. In 2012, the association's competitions fielded over 150 teams with more than 2200 licensed players.
Jonathan Ashford Kraft is an American businessman. He is president of The Kraft Group, the holding company of the Kraft family's business interests. He is also the president of the New England Patriots and investor-operator of the New England Revolution.
The Israel Football League, also known as the Kraft Family Israel Football League for sponsorship reasons with the Kraft Family, is an amateur American football league consisting of eight teams. The IFL is the highest level of American football in Israel and each season culminates in the Israel Bowl. The Tel Aviv Pioneers are the reigning Israel Bowl champions, having defeated the Ramat HaSharon Hammers in Israel Bowl XVI, a rematch from the previous year.
The Underdogs are a semiprofessional American football team based in the north of Israel, playing in the Israeli Football League (IFL).
Myra Hiatt Kraft was an American philanthropist and the wife of New England Patriots and New England Revolution owner Robert Kraft.
The Israel national American football team is the official American football senior national team of Israel. The team formed in 2012, mainly with Israeli Football League players and coaching staff.
The Egyptian Federation of American Football was founded in 2014. It was granted full membership by the IFAF in 2014. The EFAF is the country's top league, composed of 6 teams. The country's national team had its first match on 13 December 2014 against the Moroccan national team at the GUC stadium, for qualifications for the 2015 IFAF World Championship, and lost 26-6.
The Jerusalem Lions, commonly known as the Jerusalem "Big Blue" Lions, are a semiprofessional American football team based in Jerusalem. The Lions were a founding member of and currently compete in the Israel Football League.
The 2007–2008 Israel Football League season was the inaugural season of the Israel Football League. The season concluded with the Jerusalem Lions defeating the Haifa Underdogs, 24–18 in overtime, in Israel Bowl I.
The 2008–2009 Israel Football League season was the second season of the Israel Football League (IFL). This was the first season under the IFL's new sponsorship agreement with the Kraft Family, which re-branded itself as the Kraft Family Israel Football League. This was also the inaugural season for both the Jerusalem Kings expansion team and the Pioneers' in their new home of Modi'in after relocating from HaSharon in the off-season. The season concluded with the Modi'in Pioneers defeating the Jerusalem Lions, 32-26 in double overtime, in Israel Bowl II.
Kraft Family Sports Campus is the home stadium of American Football in Israel. They host the Israel national American football team, Israel men's national flag football team and Israel women's national flag football team. They are also the home stadium of the Jerusalem Lions. It is sponsored by the New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
