Month: September 2010

Navy & Notre Dame to play in Dublin.

The Irish American Football Association (IAFA) is pleased to announce that a major NCAA game is due to take place in Ireland.

 Navy will face Notre Dame in the newly constructed Aviva Stadium on Saturday 1st September 2012. The game will be a full NCAA regular season game and the outcome is expected to have a major effect on both teams National Championship prospects. Both teams have visited Dublin in the past, having played against each other in Croke Park, Dublin in November 1996. On that occasion, Notre Dame won 54-27.

 “To see this stadium is to believe it has to be one of the finest venues in the world,” said Navy Athletic Director, Chet Gladchuk. “Although modest in capacity, few stadiums anywhere have attended to the detail, aesthetics and fan comfort found at Aviva. I guarantee those who travel to Ireland and attend this event will enjoy an experience that will be awesome and a memory not to be forgotten. Navy is very much looking forward to our visit and the wonderful experience we expect our coaches, players, fans and friends will enjoy.”

Aviva Stadium, Dublin.

 “We are all delighted that Navy has chosen Aviva Stadium for its game against Notre Dame in 2012,” said Aviva Stadium Director Martin Murphy. “We fully realize just how important this game is in the U.S. sporting calendar and we are looking forward to hosting what will undoubtedly be a fantastic event. The selection of Aviva Stadium for this game is a huge endorsement of the stadium and it is a terrific boost for Irish tourism as I have no doubt the teams’ fans will travel in great numbers. We are confident they will have a memorable time in Ireland.”

 The Navy-Notre Dame rivalry is the longest continuous intersectional rivalry in college football with the two schools having met every year since 1927. The 84th meeting between the two schools will take place on Saturday, Oct. 23, at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutheford, N.J. Kickoff is set for 12 noon and will be nationally televised by CBS.

 Navy and Notre Dame will be the first NCAA teams to visit Ireland since John Carroll University, Adrian College and CMU played Irish opposition in the Celtic Classic series of games between 2004 and 2007. The Aviva Stadium is built on the site of Lansdowne Road stadium which hosted NCAA games involving Boston College, Army, Pittsburgh & Rutgers in the 1980s.

The sport of American football has made some significant strides in Ireland over the past decade with membership of the IAFA increasing 10 fold over that period. This increase in interest in the sport, and the consequential larger fan base, has now made Ireland and viable and attractive venue for major games.

Details of how to obtain tickets will be released closer to the game.

Link to official release on Navy website:

http://www.navysports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/092110aaa.html

Link to official release on Notre Dame website:

http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/092110aac.html

Dublin Rebels named International Team of the Month.

Rebels in action in Shamrock Bowl XXIV

The Dublin Rebels have been named as the International Team of the Month for August 2010 by the International Federation of American Football (IFAF). This award comes as a result of their unbeaten 10-0 season which concluded with victory over the UL Vikings in Shamrock Bowl XXIV last month.

IFAF made the following statement when announcing the award:

“Finishing a season undefeated and winning a championship does not happen as a fluke. For a team to accomplish such a task, it requires much hard work, preparation, determination and of course skill. The Dublin Rebels will be remembered for this season for years to come and IFAF.org would also like to honor the unbelievable feat by naming the team IFAF.org August 2010 Team of the Month. ”

http://www.ifaf.org/articles/view/527/Lw

The Dubin Rebels are the second Irish team to be awarded this major award in recent months. The UL Vikings were named as Team of the Month for June 2010 following their victory in the EFAF Atlantic Cup. This is also the first time ever that two club sides from the same country have won an award in the same year.

Match report for Shamrock Bowl XXIV can be found at the following link:

http://www.americanfootball.ie/dublin-rebels-win-shamrock-bowl-xxiv/

Team Ireland U13’s finish 2nd in European Championships

The Team Ireland Under 13’s squad had a very impressive debut in the European Flag Football Championship Finals, played in Rome, Italy over the weekend of 17th to 19th September. The team finished in second place overall, after reaching the Final, where they were defeated by reigning Champions, the Netherlands.

The Irish team got off to a very impressive start in the league stage of the competition with comprehensive victories over Austria and Germany on Saturday morning. The team then lost to Switzerland on Saturday afternoon.  On Sunday morning, they were involved in two close games – losing to host country Italy by only 1 point and then beating the Netherlands by 1 point.  Three wins qualified the team for the Semis.

Team Ireland had a comfortable 33-24 victory over Austria in the Semi-final, but then lost by 39-13 to the Netherlands in the Grand Final.

The players representing Ireland were selected from the schools currently participating in the Schools Flag Football programme underway in the Midlands.  This is the first time that an Irish underage flag football team contested a European finals. All of the players in the squad were introduced to the sport for the firts time through the Schools Flag programme. The team is being coached by Ken Farrell and Aidan Waters, both of whom are involved in the programme.  What is also notable, is that the Irish squad was the youngest in the competition. As the players were selected from Primary Schools, the majority are only 11 or 12 years old and so will still qualify for U13 level next year.

All games were played in Rome’s Stadio Pasquale Giannattasio.

The tournament website is: http://www.euroflagrome2010.com

Team Ireland Results:

Saturday 18th:

Ireland 32 -14 Austria

Ireland 49-19 Germany

Ireland 0-13 Switzerland.

Sunday 19th:

Ireland 26-27 Italy

Ireland 20-19 Netherlands.

Semi-Final:

Ireland 33-24 Austria

Final:

Ireland 13-39 Netherlands.

IAFL – Applications From New Teams

The Irish American Football League is requesting that all parties interested in setting up a new team contact the league before the 30th September. This applies to any possible teams or parties hoping to form teams who are interested in playing at any level (i.e. 11s or DV8s) in 2011 or 2012.

The league has a progressive pathway, which includes a series of feedback/advice meetings, which the managements of prospective new teams attend, as they work towards league membership.

Prospective new teams are initially given Formative status, which allows for the recruitment of  members and some training. This status also satisfies the Associations requirements that all American football activities in Ireland must be sanctioned by the Association.  Once teams have recuited some players/coaches etc. they can progress onto the DVs Development League and ultimately onto the main IAFL league. It takes, on average, two years for a team to progress from Formative status to being a full member of the IAFL, though the timeframe can vary from team to team.

Prospecitve new teams are asked to email the following details to iafl@americanfootball.ie by close on business on 30th September 2010.

1. Name of Team.

2. Location.

3. Team Managers name and contact details.

Team Ireland U13 Flag in Euro Champs.

 

The Team Ireland Under 13 Flag Football team is competing in the European Junior Flag Championships taking place in Rome, Italy over the weekend of 17th to 19th September.

The players representing Ireland have been selected from the schools currently participating in the Schools Flag Football programme underway in the Midlands. This is the first time that an Irish underage flag football team will contest a European finals. The team is being coached by Ken Farrell and Aidan Waters, both of whom are involved in the Schools Flag Football programme.

The other participants in the U13 category are Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands and host country, Italy. Team Ireland will play Austria, Germany and Switzerland on Saturday 18th and Netherlands and Italy on Sunday 19th. The top teams in the league stage will qualify for the final on Sunday afternoon.

All games are taking place in Rome’s Stadio Pasquale Giannattasio.

The tournament website is: http://www.euroflagrome2010.com

Results of Team Ireland’s games will be posted on this site.