The Romanian American Football National Championship – Campionatul National de Fotbal American – CNFA started just two weeks ago with the first two games of the regular season. The Cluj Crusaders defeated the Mures Monsters 58 to 17 and Bucharest Warriors lost in a tight game against Timisoara 89ers, 12-6.
This year, there are only five teams in Romania’s National League:
- Bucharest Rebels
- Cluj Crusaders
- Timisoara 89ers
- Bucharest Warriors
- Mures Monsters
The Resita Locomotives, the team that played in the 2015 edition of CNFA alongside the five that are also participating this year, didn’t have the necessary manpower to play in CNFA 2016.
Because only five teams are competing, the format of the league has changed. Every team will play against the other four in an effort to make it to the semi-finals. There, the No. 1 seed will face the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed will face the No. 3 seed for a chance to pay in RoBowl VII which will be held on the June 25th/26th.
The favorites for this year are the two teams that played in RoBowl VI, where Bucharest Rebels defeated the Cluj Crusaders by scoring only a safety, giving Bucharest a 2-0 victory over Cluj.
This season, the other three teams are not to be excluded from the RoBowl race. The Timisoara 89ers, Bucharest Warriors and Mures Monsters have all consolidated their roosters and their technical staffs.
It will be a long and exciting journey to RoBowl VII and a crucial game will take place this weekend, on the 2nd of April, when the Cluj Crusaders will head to Bucharest for a rematch against the Rebels after last year’s RoBowl loss.