2024 is already here and with that another season of the LNFA Serie A (Liga Nacional de Fútbol Americano, or National Football League), the earliest league in Europe to begin competition. The league is now entering week 4 of the season, using the same system established last year, consisting of 10 teams divided into two geographical conferences.
It seems that FEFA (spanish federation of american football) wants to establish the 10 teams and 10 regular season weeks for the foreseeable future. Something pretty important for a federation known for the constant changes in their competitions every year.
30 YEARS OF LEAGUE HISTORY
The Spanish league itself turns 30 this year. Liga AEFA, Liga Beefeater, Liga LNFA, LNFA Elite, Serie A… a lot of names and different number of teams, more or less economic problems and even a pandemic in between. Spain is certainly not the oldest country with a league in Europe, but it is steadily growing and evolving every year.
After 30 years there have been eight different champions. Badalona Dracs is the winningest team in spanish history with 11 titles, then L’Hospitalet Pioners with 6, Valencia Firebats with 4, Osos de Rivas and the extinct Madrid Panteras with 2 championships. There are 3 different single title teams, the Vilafranca Eagles, Fenix Vallés, and the reigning champion Las Rozas Black Demons.
TWO CONFERENCES FOR 2024
Like last year, the league is divided in two conferences, the east and the west.
The east conference is formed by: Badalona Dracs, L’Hospitalet Pioners, Mallorca Voltors, Zaragoza Hurricanes, and the Barcelona Pagesos, who are newly promoted after conquering the Serie B last season,.
The west conference is formed by: the reigning champion and recently crowned Spanish Cup winner LG Las Rozas Black Demons, Osos de Rivas, Alcobendas Cavaliers, Gijón Mariners and Camioneros de Coslada.
Everything is well under way and as of week 4 the standings are the following:
On top of the east conference are the Mallorca Voltors and Badalona Dracs, both with a 2-0 record. Currently in 3rd place is L´Hospitalet Pioners at 2-1 and tied at the bottom are Zaragoza Hurricanes (0-2) and Barcelona Pagesos (0-3).
In the west, the top teams are Las Rozas Black Demons and Osos de Rivas at 2-0. 3rd place belongs to the Camioneros de Coslada standing at .500 with a 1-1 record, followed by the Gijón Mariners at 1-2, and at the tail of the conference is the Alcobendas Cavaliers at 0-3.
STRUCTURE OF THIS SEASON IN SPAIN
The regular season will end in April, while the playoffs and the Spanish Bowl (the Spanish league final and most important game of the year) will take place in May. This format is relatively new, as it was created so as not to interfere with the training camps of the European League of Football (ELF). Scheduling is something that caused a lot of controversy a couple of years ago, when the season started and ended later in the year, resulting in a lot of the country’s best players having to leave their teams in the playoffs due to the ELF season.
Now everything is set up for another year of American football in Spain. It seems that this season is going to be an interesting one, not only in the national competitions but at European level too with the arrival of the Madrid Bravos, the new franchise of the ELF. This marks the first time ever that Spain is going to have more than one representative at that level, with the Barcelona Dragons and the already mentioned Bravos being ELF representatives.
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