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The Intercontinental Football League (IFL) was a proposed professional American football league in Europe in the early 1970s. The league was spearheaded by Bob Kap, Tex Schramm, and Al Davis, but failed to materialize. The IFL and European leagues that began shortly after the proposed league such as the European Football League (Eurobowl), is credited with "setting the stage" for NFL Europe.
History
editBy the early 1970s, the National Football League (NFL) was already looking to promote its product abroad. The league had sent players to tour American military bases and hospitals during the Vietnam War. On May 27, 1972, forty-two NFL players (including Dan Pastorini, Bob Hayes, Jim Kiick, Jan Stenerud, Alan Page, Matt Snell and Merlin Olsen) had demonstrated “le rugby Americain” before 8,000 in Paris. NFL Bleu beat NFL Rouge that day, 16-6, in a game that closely followed a script. Two years later, interest in overseas play was revived.
At the June 5, 1974 press conference at NFL headquarters in New York, the teams of the IFL were announced. The IFL was to be divided into two divisions of three teams each. The likely organization would have been for the teams from German speaking nations (Munich, West Berlin and Vienna) to be in one group, and the southern teams (Barcelona, Rome and Istanbul) in another.
The IFL failed to materialize. There are four reasons usually stated:
- Europe was not ready for American football.
- Competition with the World Football League, which had planned to expand internationally to such cities as Tokyo and Mexico City.
- The NFL players’ strike that summer.
- The economic recession in the U.S. at that time.
Despite the league's goals, the IFL did not materialize - the Pro Football Researchers Association attributed this failure to Europe not being ready for American football, potential competition with the World Football League (WFL), a players' strike during the summer of 1974, and the recession that had been "gripping the nation".[1] Another factor was the turmoil in Europe in 1974: Turkey had invaded Cyprus, the American ambassador to Cyprus had been assassinated, Basque separatists had assassinated the prime minister of Spain, and terrorist groups like the Red Brigades had engaged in kidnapping.[2] This turmoil led the State Department to meet with NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle; the officials discouraged him from pursuing the league further. The IFL also suffered a potentially fatal blow when Pan American World Airways, who Kap had brought on as a sponsor, pulled out of the project. Ultimately, Rozelle deemed the creation of the league "impractical".[2]
Proposed teams
editFor the 1975 season
edit- Barcelona Almogovares (Spain)
- Berlin Bears (Germany)
- Istanbul Conquerors (Turkey)
- Munich Lions (Germany)
- Rome Gladiators (Italy)
- Vienna Lipizzaners (Austria)
New teams for the 1976 season
edit- Copenhagen Vikings (Denmark)
- Milan Centurions (Italy)
- Paris Lafayettes (France)
- Rotterdam Flying Dutchmen (Netherlands)
References
edit- ^ Maher, Tod (1992). "Origins of the WLAF" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. 14 (2). Pro Football Researchers Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 18, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
- ^ a b Ford, Mark L.; Foglio, Massimo (2005). "The First 'NFL Europe'" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. 27 (6). Pro Football Researchers Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2019.