American Football Association of Finland
Encyclopedia
American Football Association of Finland (SAJL) is the national governing body of American football
in Finland
. It was founded in 1979 and it is founding member of both of European Federation of American Football
, EFAF and International Federation of American Football
, IFAF
. Since 2000 American football has grown steadily. Though it can be considered to be one of the smaller sports in Finland
in 2006 there was 27 clubs playing the sport with over 100 teams and over 1400 players.
President of American Football Association of Finland is Roope Noronen
.
Every fall teams must apply for a place in Maple League and 1st division. Teams eligible to apply for a spot in Maple League are the ones ranked from #1 to #10 in national ranking, including Maple League teams from previous season plus 2-4 best teams from the 1st division, depending on the number of Maple League teams the previous year. Teams eligible for 1st division are the teams from the previous year and the two best from 2nd division. SAJL checks the applications and grants licenses according to their seed in the previous season. In seeding the teams the winner of Spaghetti Bowl overtakes the last team from Maple League and the winner of 2nd division is favoured before the last teams from 1st division.
The system was put in place largely to ensure long-term planning and sensible running of clubs. The system has already shown its cruelty as teams with no alarming difficulties in competitiveness have been relegated due to lack of management and/or economical difficulties.
Women have played flag football, but the league for tackle football for women had its inaugural season in 2008.
Team's current main objective is the EFAF European Championships´ A-group tournament held in Germany in 2010. The event was originally awarded to Finland and was scheduled to be held in 2009 but it was later postponed due to women's football European Championships (also hosted by Finland and Finnair Stadium, the slated venue for the EFAF competition too).
Finland was in the race for spots in the first World Junior Championship to be held in Ohio, USA in summer 2009. Qualification was done in the 2008 EJC with three top teams granted a spot. Finland, finishing 7th, fell short as Germany, Sweden and France prevailed.
Finland has also participated in Nordic Junior Championship played biannually since 1997 winning four gold and two silver medals. Finland will host the 8th Championship played in Vantaa in October 2010.
The junior national team has a history of being the showcase of best youth talent in Finnish American football. Many of the Finland's best players have starred the junior team during their careers, including Michael Quarshie
, Seppo Evwaraye
and Klaus Alinen
.
As of the 2009 season, the age limit for this junior class is set to 17 to meet EFAF regulations. International tournaments are still in consideration. Finland and Sweden have scheduled a friendly match to be played in Stockholm in October 2009 and again in Turku in 2010.
The newest addition to the association's list of national teams is the women's tackle football team. After years of flag football and semi-contact women's tackle football was started in 2008. Women's team also hosted Sweden in a historical international game between two women's tackle football teams. Finland's experience became plainly obvious with a crushing victory with a score of 66-0. With the growth of women's American football in many countries IFAF has established Women’s World Championship of American Football and the first ever tournament will be hosted by Sweden in late June 2010.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. It was founded in 1979 and it is founding member of both of European Federation of American Football
European Federation of American Football
The European Federation of American Football is the governing body of American football in Europe. It is recognized by the International Federation of American Football ....
, EFAF and International Federation of American Football
International Federation of American Football
International Federation of American Football is the international governing body of American football associations. Its headquarters are in La Courneuve, France, and its current president is Tommy Wiking...
, IFAF
International Federation of American Football
International Federation of American Football is the international governing body of American football associations. Its headquarters are in La Courneuve, France, and its current president is Tommy Wiking...
. Since 2000 American football has grown steadily. Though it can be considered to be one of the smaller sports in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
in 2006 there was 27 clubs playing the sport with over 100 teams and over 1400 players.
President of American Football Association of Finland is Roope Noronen
Roope Noronen
Roope Noronen, is the president of American Football Association of Finland, SAJL.Noronen has been the president of SAJL since 2001 . Noronen has been vice-president of European Federation of American Football EFAF since 2001 and is currently elected to serve as Senior Vice-president until 2010...
.
Men
Men's teams are divided into four divisions with provisional promotion and relegation rules.- VaahteraliigaVaahteraliigaThe Vaahteraliiga is the highest level of American football in Finland played under American Football Association of Finland. The winner of the Vaahteraliiga is the Finnish champion. The Vaahteraliiga season is played in summer, with a schedule usually from May to September.The first season of the...
- The 8-team national premier league. Final game is called Vaahteramalja (Maple Bowl). Relegation to 1st division. - 1st division - The five-team league below Maple League. Final game is called Spagettimalja (Spaghetti Bowl). Promotion to Maple League and relegation to 2nd division.
- 2nd division - The 13-team league divided into two conferences. Promotion to 1st division, no direct relegation.
- 3rd division - The 5-man football league for starting clubs and reserve teams. No direct promotion.
League license system
The two highest tiers have a league license system in place, hence no promotion and relegation between these and 2nd division is ever based on competitive results alone. In addition to competitive status teams have to reach a certain level when it comes to economics and organisational structure. They must meet a number of standards in different fields, such as the amount of licensed players, number of junior teams etc. The criteria are the same with Maple League and 1st division licenses, however for League teams the standards are higher.Every fall teams must apply for a place in Maple League and 1st division. Teams eligible to apply for a spot in Maple League are the ones ranked from #1 to #10 in national ranking, including Maple League teams from previous season plus 2-4 best teams from the 1st division, depending on the number of Maple League teams the previous year. Teams eligible for 1st division are the teams from the previous year and the two best from 2nd division. SAJL checks the applications and grants licenses according to their seed in the previous season. In seeding the teams the winner of Spaghetti Bowl overtakes the last team from Maple League and the winner of 2nd division is favoured before the last teams from 1st division.
The system was put in place largely to ensure long-term planning and sensible running of clubs. The system has already shown its cruelty as teams with no alarming difficulties in competitiveness have been relegated due to lack of management and/or economical difficulties.
Youth and women's leagues
Youth leagues run in 21 and under, 19 and under, 17 and under, 15 and under and 13 and under categories which are called A-,B-,C-,D- and E-juniors respectively. Except for E-juniors, all age classes have championship and division leagues. In championship leagues, A-,B- and C-juniors play with normal 11-man and D-juniors with 9-man rules. Championship league winners are given the title of national champion of their respective age class. All division leagues from A to D-juniors and E-juniors are played with 7-man rules.Women have played flag football, but the league for tackle football for women had its inaugural season in 2008.
National teams
SAJL currently fields five national teams: men's senior, U-19, U-17, U-15 and women's team.Men's Senior National Team
Men's national team has taken a part in European Championship tournaments since their beginning in 1983. Finnish National team is the most successful team in Europe being the only team to participate in all final tournaments and having won European Championship 5 times (1985, 1993, 1995, 1997 and 2000) while finishing second in 1983, 1991 and 2001 and third in 1987 and 2005. National team has also taken part in 1999 World Championship tournament and 2003 and 2007 qualifications.Team's current main objective is the EFAF European Championships´ A-group tournament held in Germany in 2010. The event was originally awarded to Finland and was scheduled to be held in 2009 but it was later postponed due to women's football European Championships (also hosted by Finland and Finnair Stadium, the slated venue for the EFAF competition too).
Men's U-19 National Team
The first junior national team was ensembled in 1988. First years saw just single games against amateur club teams from Nordic countries. In 1992, the first ever European Junior Championship was held in Toulouse, France. Finland entered the competition with a team now consisting players of, according to new international rules, 19 years old and under. Finland was crowned as the first European Junior Champions beating Italy in the semifinal game and the host nation France in the final game. Finland has since participated every time in the biannual event - apart from the 2002 competition when they lost the qualification game to the Czech Republic. Finland was the most successful team in the first years of the competition winning the first three titles followed by a bronze medal. The new millennium has seen the tightening of competition with new participants and the rise of power houses like Germany. Since losing the bronze game in 2000 EJC, Finland has not qualified for the medal games.Finland was in the race for spots in the first World Junior Championship to be held in Ohio, USA in summer 2009. Qualification was done in the 2008 EJC with three top teams granted a spot. Finland, finishing 7th, fell short as Germany, Sweden and France prevailed.
Finland has also participated in Nordic Junior Championship played biannually since 1997 winning four gold and two silver medals. Finland will host the 8th Championship played in Vantaa in October 2010.
The junior national team has a history of being the showcase of best youth talent in Finnish American football. Many of the Finland's best players have starred the junior team during their careers, including Michael Quarshie
Michael Quarshie
Michael Quarshie is a Finnish American football defensive tackle.Michael was born in Germany in 1979. After living in Germany for six years and in Ghana for a short period, his family moved to Finland. He graduated from high school and completed his mandatory military service before moving to the...
, Seppo Evwaraye
Seppo Evwaraye
Seppo Evwaraye is a retired Finnish NFL offensive guard first signed by Carolina Panthers as a free agent in 2006., and also played for Minnesota Vikings as an international practice squad member.-Career:...
and Klaus Alinen
Klaus Alinen
Klaus Alinen is a Finnish American football player who also played tight end for the Atlanta Falcons. After one year on the practice squad he received a contract and played throughout most of the 2006 pre-season. He was the first Finn to ever to sign a contract with an NFL football team...
.
Men's U-17 National Team
Project for creating a new junior national team for younger players that weren't yet getting playing time in the U-19 team began in 2007. The age limit was first set to 16. With one and a half years on preparation the team was set to take part in Nordic Championship schehuled to be held in Tampere, Finland. The tournament was eventually cancelled because of financial difficulties of Norway and Denmark. Finland had to settle to a game against Sweden. However, this match was given the championships status and Finland went on to win the inaugural U-16 Nordic Championship beating Sweden 33-6.As of the 2009 season, the age limit for this junior class is set to 17 to meet EFAF regulations. International tournaments are still in consideration. Finland and Sweden have scheduled a friendly match to be played in Stockholm in October 2009 and again in Turku in 2010.
Men's U-15 National Team
Finland has been an eager participant in international tournaments in youth flag football. Their best result so far has been fourth place in the 2006 European Championships.Women's National Team
Women's national team started in 2000. In the 2004 World Championship Finland's two teams took silver in the 7vs7 competition and placed fourth in 5vs5's. The big success came the next year in the European Championships when the team went undefeated to claim the title. In the 2006 World Championships they took bronze and in 2007 they narrowly failed to defend their title in EC, taking silver.The newest addition to the association's list of national teams is the women's tackle football team. After years of flag football and semi-contact women's tackle football was started in 2008. Women's team also hosted Sweden in a historical international game between two women's tackle football teams. Finland's experience became plainly obvious with a crushing victory with a score of 66-0. With the growth of women's American football in many countries IFAF has established Women’s World Championship of American Football and the first ever tournament will be hosted by Sweden in late June 2010.
International games against Sweden
Throughout its time as an independent state Finland has had big rivalries in all fields of sport against its neighboring country Sweden and American Football makes no exception. Men's senior team played an annual game against Sweden in 1992-1998. The tradition was revived in 2003 and plans for continuing the series go through 2010. The U-19 team also had its encounters with Sweden in the 90's but in recent years the juniors have faced only in international tournaments. The two newest national teams, U-17's and women's, also had their first taste of the rivalry in 2008.External links
- Suomen Amerikkalaisen Jalkapallon Liitto ry, official website in Finnish
- SAJL on the EFAF Website
- SAJL on the IFAF Website