Russia national American football team
The Russia national American football team (Russian: Сборная России по американскому футболу) is the official American football senior national team of Russia. The team was formed in 1992 alongside the Russian League of American Football.
Russia Россия | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Association | FAFR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Region | Europe (EFAF) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Founded | 1992 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
IFAF Affiliation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Colors | Red and White | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Head coach | Dmitry Maksimov[1][2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General manager | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History
The birth of American football in the USSR
American football first appeared in the USSR in the summer of 1989, when two Oklahoma high school football teams ("Stars" and "Boomers") played three exhibition games in Moscow, Leningrad, and Tallinn, Estonia. These games generated great excitement, which became the impetus for the creation of American football teams in the USSR.
Taturyan Edgar, the founder of the Soviet teams, became the coach of the USSR national rugby team. In 1989, the Moscow Bears team was formed and represented the Soviet Union in the international tournament. The first official game of the USSR national team took place against the German national team (represented by the players from Berlin Adler) in West Berlin, on 17 September 1989. The Bears lost 77–6. In the final quarter, Edward Zveigzne scored the first football touchdown in USSR history.
On 10 November 1989, the Union of American football in USSR was formed, but in April 1990, due to differences in the leadership, the Union established an independent association. In 1991, all teams joined the association. That year, the USSR national team began to prepare for the European Championships, expecting a game against Norway in December, but the game was canceled.
In late January 1991, the USSR national team debuted in the European Championships qualifying tournament in a game against the Netherlands, losing to the Orange 30–7.
Russia
Following the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the Association of American football transformed into the Eurasian League. Teams from the former Soviet republics entered there.
In 1994, the first school of American football was opened. A year later a Children's League was organized. In 1996 the Moscow Federation of American Football was created.
Since 1996, the championship of Russia among juniors in 2002 established the championship of Russia among the senior teams.
Results
In 1998, the Russian national team debuted in the European Junior Championships, held in Düsseldorf, Germany. Russia took 4th place. In 2000, Russia was the runner-up of Europe, losing in the finals to the Germans. In 2002, they won the gold medal.
In 1999, Russia debuted in the European League Cup. The Moscow Bears reached the quarterfinals, second only to the Helsinki Roosters. In 2003, the adult team won the European Championship in group "C" and was promoted to group "B".
In 2004, the team took third place in the European Championship in the "B" group. In 2012, they did not appear. Due to the long absence, the team moved to group "C".