Israel Football League

2007–2008 season

The inaugural season of the IFL, with regulation pads and staff, consisted of four teams: the Jerusalem Lions, the Haifa Underdogs, the Hasharon Pioneers, and the Tel Aviv Sabres. In the championship game, Israel Bowl I, the Jerusalem Lions defeated the Haifa Underdogs in overtime.

2008–2009 season

The league grew to five teams with the addition of another team in Jerusalem (Jerusalem Kings), while the Pioneers moved to a new home in Modi'in. The Pioneers defeated the defending champion Lions, 32–26 in double overtime in Israel Bowl II.

2009–2010 season

After growing from four to five teams the previous season, the IFL expanded to seven teams with the addition of two expansion teams: the Beer Sheva Black Swarm and the Judean Rebels. The schedule grew as well, as each team played ten regular season games followed by the playoffs. The teams who finished the regular season in first through sixth place qualified for the playoffs. The Tel Aviv Sabres defeated the Jerusalem Lions in Israel Bowl III.

2010–2011 season

Judean Rebels with the Becker Trophy, celebrating their victory in Israel Bowl IV

With eight teams in the IFL, the league was split into two divisions: the North Division, consisting of the Tel Aviv/-affa Sabres, the newly relocated Tel Aviv Pioneers, the Haifa Underdogs, and the expansion Herzliya Hammers; and the South Division, consisting of the Jerusalem Lions, the Jerusalem Kings, the Judean Rebels, and the Be'er Sheva Black Swarm. In the North Division, the Sabres clinched the bye and in the semifinals beat the Pioneers, who had beaten the Hammers in the first round. In the South division, the Rebels beat the Black Swarm in the first round and then beat the Lions in the semifinals with an unforgettable comeback, coming back from an 18-point deficit with 7:40 to go in the game. Rebels QB and League MVP Alex Swieca took the winning score in himself with just sixteen seconds left. The Rebels defeated the Sabres in Israel Bowl IV by a score of 32–30, having almost let the Sabres complete a comeback of their own.

2011–2012 season

Two additional teams joined the league: the Petah Tikva Troopers joined the South Division and the Northern Stars joined the North Division. Media coverage grew as the league gained popularity throughout the country. In the playoffs, the 5th-seeded Haifa Underdogs routed the defending champion Judean Rebels but were beaten by the Tel Aviv-Yaffo Sabres in the semis. The Tel Aviv Pioneers defeated the Jerusalem Kings in the wild-card round, and proceeded to rout the previously undefeated Jerusalem Lions behind a record-setting performance by running back Ilan Bielas.

Israel Bowl V was a Tel Aviv derby. The Sabres took a 14-0 lead in the 1st quarter, but had no answer to Pioneers RB Ilan Bielas, who lead his team to a 28-22 lead in the 2nd quarter, and the half ended with a tie game. The 3rd quarter was a scoreless affair, setting the table for a back-and-forth 4th quarter with the teams alternating scores, and setting up a final Pioneer drive with 1 minute remaining and the Sabres ahead by 2. An unfortunate miscommunication between QB Itay Ashkenazi and RB Koby Nimrod lead to a Pioneer fumble, which the Sabres pounced on to clinch their 2nd crown.

2012–2013 season

The league expanded to 11 teams as the Rehovot Silverbacks became the newest expansion franchise. The division format was left behind in favor of a simple schedule in which every team played every other team once. The Tel Aviv/Jaffa Sabres became the first team in IFL history to go undefeated throughout the regular season and post-season, as they loaded up on talent and barreled their way through the schedule. The wild card round saw both underdog teams come out victorious, including the Kings' Hail Mary pass to beat the Hammers. In the semifinals, the Sabres crushed the Kings and the Rebels upset the Pioneers in 100+ degree heat. The Sabres and Rebels went toe-to-toe in Israel Bowl VI, but the Sabres pulled away midway through the third quarter, and held on for their second straight title.

2013–2014 season

The 2013–2014 saw a regime change for the IFL as Betzalel Friedman took over as commissioner. The IFL expanded to play nine-on-nine instead of eight-on-eight and implemented a foreign-player limit for the first time. The Tel Aviv/Jaffa Sabres left the league after walking off of the field in a game against the Judean Rebels in protest of the refereeing. They were handed a postseason ban for their walk-off and subsequently folded. The Judean Rebels coasted through the regular season virtually unchallenged and the Hammers got off to a strong start as well, but both top-seeded teams were upset in the semifinals; the Rebels were out-muscled by a fierce Pioneer defense and the Hammers lost an overtime thriller to the Lions. Israel Bowl VII provided to be the most lopsided Israel Bowl ever as the Pioneers steamrolled the Lions 80-28.

2014–2015 season

The Judean Rebels finished the regular season undefeated for the second straight season, behind the highest scoring offense (PPG) in IFL history, as well as the second best defense (PPG) in IFL history. This time they were able to ride their dominance through to a championship in Israel Bowl VIII, beating the Tel Aviv Pioneers by a score of 20-10.

2015–2016 season

The season consisted of a ten game schedule and the Judean Rebels defeated the Tel Aviv Pioneers, 32-14, in Israel Bowl IX.

2016–2017 season

The season consisted of a ten game schedule with two divisions, the fields were enlarged to 80 yards and the games were now played with nine player teams. The season concluded with the Jerusalem Lions defeating the Judean Rebels in Israel Bowl X.

2017–2018 season

Only seven teams competed this season, with the Ramat haSharon Hammers going on hiatus. The season concluded with the Jerusalem Lions defeating the Petah Tikva Troopers, 28-20, in Israel Bowl XI to win their second consecutive championship.

Results

Current Teams

Former Teams