Internasjonal Fotballserie

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Internasjonal Fotballserie
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2024 IFS Season
Internasjonal Fotballserie.svg
FormerlyNordlig Liga
Sørlig Fotballforbund
Jortfeld-Furby Island-Hartizsák League
SportTronder Rules Football
FoundedMay 17, 1950; 74 years ago (1950-05-17)
Alna, Tevitheim
Inaugural season1950-1951 Season
CommissionerErik Sorensen
No. of teams24
CountryTevitheim, Jortfeld, and Furby Island and Hartizsák
HeadquartersAlna, Tevitheim
Most recent
champion(s)
Koross
(5th title)
Most titlesAlna City
(8 titles)

The Internasjonal Fotballserie (IFS) is a professional Tronder rules football league that consists of 24 clubs. The IFS is the highest level of Tronder rules football (simply known as "football" in the member countries) in Tevitheim, Jortfeld, and Furby Island and Hartizsák. Each IFS season begins in early June, followed by a 17-week regular season which runs from late August to late December, for a total of 28 games per club over 17 weeks. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the eight clubs with the most points (established by the point system) move on to the finals, a series tournament that culminates in the IFS Championship Series, which is contested in December to January. In addition, three other awards are granted: the Offensive and Defensive shields are given to the clubs with the best offenses and defenses, as determined by a commission of journalists, pundits, players, and coaches. In addition, the Oberjarl's Trophy is given to the club with the best record. Winning all three of these awards, plus the championship game, is known as crowned season. The IFS is a full member of the INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION, the governing body for Tronder rules football.

The IFS was formed in 1950 as a merger of the Jortfeld-Furby Island-Hartizsák League (JFIH League), the Northern League, and the Southern Association of Football. This new league began with 13 clubs, three from the JFIH, six from the Northern, and four from the Southern. The league would expand to 16 clubs in the 1960s, 20 in 1974, and reached its current number of 24 in 1997. While initially final standings determined the champion, a three-way tie between Jarlens, Adelsønn, and North Furby Island in 1957 led to a single elimination tournament to determine the champion, which was won by Jarlens. The final rounds were so popular that the league voted to keep the structure for the next years. This system was expanded from 3 clubs to 4, 6 in 1973, 8 in 1984, and then eventually to 12 in 1997. The IFS is the most popular sports league in the three countries which host teams, averaging 11 million viewers per game and an average attendance of 49,000 people.

Alna City holds the most championships with eight titles and the most Oberjarl's Trophies, winning six. The reigning league champion is Koross, who defeated North Furby Island in three games to win its fifth ever championship.

Organizational Structure

Season Format

Regular Season

Currently, the league operates under a round-robin system, with each club playing every other club in the league at least once, for a total of 28 games per club. The league runs a 17-week regular season, with bye weeks in weeks 6 and 12 and a total of 336 games. Since 2000, the season has begun the last Monday of August which is not August 31st and concludes in late December, roughly 19 weeks later. The opening game of the season is normally a home game on a Monday night for the league's defending champion.

Most IFS games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a Monday night game typically held at least once a week. Most weeks (with some exceptions) IFS games include two Friday evening games, four Saturday afternoon games, a Saturday night game, four Sunday afternoon games, a Sunday night game, and two Monday evening games. Teams typically play twice a weekend, either Friday and Sunday or Saturday and Monday. IFS games are rarely scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday, and those days have only been used three times since 1948: in 2010, when a Sunday game was rescheduled to Tuesday due to a hurricane; in 2012, when the Kickoff game was moved from Monday to Sunday to avoid conflict with the national conventions of several political parties; and in 2020, when a game was postponed from Monday to Wednesday due to a terror-risk being declared by the government.

Although a club's home and away opponents are constant, the exact dates and times for IFS games are not determined until much later because the league has to account for, among other things, operation of other sports leagues and local events that could pose a scheduling conflict with IFS games. During the 2010 season, over 200,000 potential schedules were created by computers, 1,000 of which were considered "playable schedules" and were reviewed by the IFS's scheduling team. After arriving at what they felt was the best schedule out of the group, nearly 50 more potential schedules were developed to try to ensure that the chosen schedule would be the best possible one.

Postseason

Following the conclusion of the regular season, a 12-club variable tournament, called the IFS postseason. The postseason consists of four rounds. The first three narrow the field from 12 clubs to just two and is single-elimination. The final round consists of a three games series between the two finalists. Clubs are selected according to their point values relative to the rest of their division. Points are earned in the regular season by teams for their performance. A win is worth two points, a tie or an overtime loss is worth one point, and a regulation loss is worth zero points. Ties are broken through a series of tiebreakers outlined by the league's officials. The three best teams in every division are selected for the postseason, with the top team in each division receiving a bye in the first round. In the event a team has gotten into the playoffs with more losses than wins, and another team has more wins than losses but has missed the postseason, then the second team will replace the first team. The most recent example of this occurring was during the 2024 season, where Noord Strand, which had a record of 15 wins to 13 losses, replaced Kirkeby, which had a record of 13 wins to 15 losses.

The top club in every division is granted a bye week. The remaining eight clubs compete in the first round, with lower seeds always hosting higher seeds. This first round narrows the field down to 8 clubs out of 12. The next round reduces the clubs to 4, then to two. When the league's postseason has been narrowed down to two clubs, then a three game series, with the winner requiring two wins, is played to determine the championship.

Player Acquisition

National Draft

Uncontracted Players

Clubs

Crowned Club League Champions Oberjarl's Trophy Offensive Shield Defensive Shield
Emblem Club Location 2023-2024 Finish Playoff Finish
Finish Points W L T
Aalessos Atheltic Union.svg Ålessos Ålessos, Tevitheim 23rd 10 5 23 0 Did not qualify
Adelsønn Bears.svg Adelsønn Bears Adelsønn, Tevitheim 12th 30 15 13 0 Won (at Langager) 21-10
Lost (at Jortfeld City) 31-33
Alna City FK.svg Alna City Alna, Tevitheim 1st 50 25 3 0 Lost (vs Koross) 10-22
Jarlens Devold.svg Jarlens Paalstun, Tevitheim 5th 42 21 7 0 Won (vs Måkeøyene) 30-22
Lost (vs Koross) 18-28
Alna United FK.svg Alna] United Alna, Tevitheim 13th 30 15 13 0 Did not qualify
Drondhiem Brewers FK.svg Drondheim Brewers Drondheim, Tevitheim 8th 36 18 10 0 Lost (vs Koross) 14-18
Frihavn FK.svg Frihavn Frihavn, Tevitheim 24th 8 4 24 0 Did not qualify
Elvheim FK.svg Elvheim Elvheim, Tevitheim 18th 18 9 19 0 Did not qualify
Grønnkystheim FK.svg Guvernørensby Guvernørensby, Tevitheim 19th 18 9 19 0 Did not qualify
Hartizsák FC.svg Hartizsák Harta, Hartizsák, Furby Island and Hartizsák 9th 18 9 8 0 Lost (at Øyboer) 10-44
Hvitfrakker FK.svg Hvitfrakker Newhold, Tevitheim 21st 14 7 21 0 Did not qualify
Jortfeld City.svg Jortfeld City Friside, Jortfeld 2nd 48 24 4 0 Won (vs Adelsønn) 33-31
Lost (vs North Furby Island) 22-28
Jortfeld Men's Athletics.svg Jortfeld Men's Atlantisk, Jortfeld 15th 28 14 14 0 Did not qualify
Kirkeby FK.svg Kirkeby Kirkeby, Tevitheim 16th 26 13 15 0 Did not qualify
Kongenesby FK.svg Kongenesby Kongenesby, Tevitheim 20th 16 8 20 0 Did not qualify
Koross FK.svg Koross Koross, Tevitheim 10th 36 18 10 0 Won (at Drondheim) 18-14
Won (at Alna City) 22-10
Won (at Jarlens) 28-18
Won (vs North Furby Island) in 3
Langanger FC.svg Langager Langager, Furby Island, Furby Island and Hartizsák 7th 36 18 10 0 Lost (vs Adelsønn) 10-21
Atletisk Måkeøyene.svg Måkeøyene Kystheim, Tevitheim 4th 46 23 5 0 Won (vs Noord Strand) 36-33
Lost (at Jarlens) 22-30
Noord Strand FK.svg Noord Strand New Hammerfest, Tevitheim 11th 30 15 13 0 Lost (at Måkeøyene) 33-36
North Furby Island FC.svg North Furby Island Bedford, Furby Island, Furby Island and Hartizsák 3rd 46 23 5 0 Won (vs Øyboer) 44-10
Won (at Jortfeld City) 28-22
Lost (vs Koross) in 3
Nye Trondheim RF.svg Nye Trondheim Lindheim, Tevitheim 17th 24 12 16 0 Did not qualify
Øyboer FK.svg Øyboer Anders-På-Havet, Tevitheim 6th 40 20 8 0 Won (vs Hartizsák) 22-19
Lost (at North Furby Island) 10-44
Prospekt Friidrettsklubb.svg Prospekt Anvers, Tevitheim 22nd 12 6 22 0 Did not qualify
Tre Konger Fotball.svg Tre Konger Rikbakk, Tevitheim 14th 28 14 14 0 Did not qualify