EFL pullout by BAFA...
QUETZALCOATL MONTEZUMA OAXACA TENOCHTITLAN INTI RAYNI RA CHICHEN ITZA TLAXCALA MACCHU PICCHU CUZCO AKRANES REKJAVIK AKUYEYRI KEFLAVIK HAFNAFJIORDHUR GODTHAAB THULE MINNESOTA NORTHSTARS SEATTLE SEAHAWKS KON-TIKI
The BAFA (British American Football Association), the group which
controls American Football in Britain , voted a fortnight ago to pull out of theEFL.
Three of the five members (NDMA,BNGL & the referees) voted to pull out.
There was one abstention , the colleges, and the youth association voted againstit.
There has been considerable wrangling since over whether the decision
was a forward step for BritBall.The main reasons cited for the pullout were the
recent treatment of Birmingham in the Eurobowl (several of their top players
were barred from the game against Amsterdam because of registration mix-ups,
which seems to dog BritBall, & their resulting appeal was not given a hearing)
and the costs compared to the Benefits (BAFA claims it costs UK#15-20,000 to
send a team to the European Championships , and they feel neglected by the EFL
in return).
However, the individual teams & players were not consulted and many
feel betrayed by BAFA (the chairmen of the NDMA,BNGL *AND* Referees are all
American). The pullout has already left Britain out of the European Championship
being scheduled at the moment and many players feel they are being used by
BAFA to get back at EFL , which does not allow non-nationals to take a seat
in the EFL.
It seems like the age-old problem besetting BritBall has struck again ,
if you do not have full control , you do not take part.
When American football started there were disagreements and in its firstseason there were two leagues, this rose to as many as six and meant teams had
to travel further to play games as their nearest competitors were in rival
leagues.The resulting cost left teams in financial trouble so various regional
leagues were set up to keep costs down (eg. Welsh,Thistle(scotland),
SWAFL(southwest) & Capital(london) ).
The result of that and the depression has seen a drop from over 200
teams to approximately 100 with a record number folding during or as the season
began (12 compared to 3 last year). It did seem hopefull recently as the NDMA
& BNGL were talking of a merger with promotion/relegation between *ALL*
divisions, and recent recognition by the Sports Council joining top countries
Finland, Italy & France where the sport gets financial assistance from the
state. Most observers see this as a major set back for the sport especially
as the EFL was on the verge of recognition by the NFL, and many see its status
with ports
uncil iS
iii
QUETZALCOATL MONTEZUMA OAXACA TENOCHTITLAN INTI RAYNI RA CHICHEN ITZA TLAXCALA MACCHU PICCHU CUZCO AKRANES REKJAVIK AKUYEYRI KEFLAVIK HAFNAFJIORDHUR GODTHAAB THULE MINNESOTA NORTHSTARS SEATTLE SEAHAWKS KON-TIKI
with the Sports Council is in jeapordy as the SC is in favour of international
competition.
Enda.
Ludwig Alberter
This is nothing short of a disaster. I feel sorry to hear that and I'm worrying
that loosing its strongest member perhaps could kill the whole EFL.
--
regards,
Ludwig
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EXTRA / \/ \/ \ NULLA
BAVARIAM \ /\ /\ / VITA
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QUETZALCOATL MONTEZUMA OAXACA TENOCHTITLAN INTI RAYNI RA CHICHEN ITZA TLAXCALA MACCHU PICCHU CUZCO AKRANES REKJAVIK AKUYEYRI KEFLAVIK HAFNAFJIORDHUR GODTHAAB THULE MINNESOTA NORTHSTARS SEATTLE SEAHAWKS KON-TIKI
>This is nothing short of a disaster. I feel sorry to hear that and I'm worrying
>that loosing its strongest member perhaps could kill the whole EFL.
More news on the pullout:
The Spanish federation which tried to host last years Eurobowl could not pay
all the fees so they pulled out of the event, Finlands representative Helsinki
Roosters had already paid for the flight and as a result lost all their money.
The Eurobowl was then held in Germany without Spain or Finland.
Spain subsequently pulled out of the EFL and are no longer a member,
however the Scandinavian reaction to the pullout was strong: Den,Swe,Fin & Nor
all condemmed the move and suggested that Britain be banned till 1995.
for financial reasons the AFAI (AmFoot Association of Ireland) has also
pulled out following the British pullout.
They could not pay their dues for this year or last and following
Britains pullout trips to the continent for the Eurobowl & European
Championships would be far too costly.
The NDMA Chairman Ron Weisz has suggested however that a re-entry might
be possible if some sort of compromize could be sought. There has not however
been any response from the EFL or Continental countries yet.
Enda.