Liga di Futbol Angleano

Liga di Futbol Angleano

Current season, competition or edition: 2023-2024 LFA Season
Formerly	Liga Superior Angeleano
Sport	Gagian Rules Football
Founded	May 17, 1970 (1970-05-17) Playadiestat, Los Angeles
Inaugural season	1970-1971 Season
Commissioner	Alfonso Wevers
No. of teams	18
Country	Los Angeles
Headquarters	Playadiestat, Los Angeles
Most recent champion(s)	Entoun (2nd title)
Most titles	Jerrostad (7 titles)

The Liga di Futbol Angleano (LFA) is a professional Gagian rules football league that consists of 18 clubs. The LFA is the highest level of Gagian rules football (known simply as "football" in the country). Each LFA season begins in early October, followed by the 19-week regular season which runs until February, where each team plays every other team and have two bye weeks spread throughout, for a total of 17 games over 19 weeks. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the six clubs with the most points (established by the point system) move on to the championships, a single-elimination tournament that culminates in the Angelean Cup, which is contested in March and played by the remaining two clubs. In addition, two other awards, the Gold Shield and Silver Shield are given respectively to the club with the best record and the one voted to be the top club by a commission of journalists, pundits, players, and coaches. Winning all three of these awards in a single season is known as a triple season. The LFA is a full member of the Konfederashon di Futbol pa Los Angeles (KFLA), the governing body for Gagian rules football in Los Angeles.

The LFA was formed in 1970 as a privatization of the Liga Superior Angeleano (LSA), the previous state-owned league. As a part of the Angelean Dawn, the political reforms of the 1960s, the LSA, then consisting of ten clubs, was made autonomous and eventually fully privatized. The new league, called the LFA, would expand from ten clubs to twelve in 1973, fourteen in 1985, and finally eighteen in 1999. While initial standings determined the divisional champion, a tie between Presidencial, Onslander Kaptstad, Playadiestat VC , and Atlético Torres in 1974 led to a single elimination tournament to determine the champion, which Onslander Kaptstad won. The tournament system was so popular it was implemented, with three best clubs moving on to the tournament. This was expanded to four clubs in 1985, and six in 1999. The LFA is the most popular sports league in Los Angeles, with an average attendance of 38,910 people, the highest average viewership in Los Angeles at 1.6 million per game, and is the second wealthiest sports league in Galia, just behind the Onhsanenea League.

Jerrostad holds the most championships with seven titles and the most Gold Shields, winning eight. The reigning league champions are Entoun , who defeated Puntonorte in the 42nd Angelean Cup to win their second championship game.

Organizational Structure

At the corporate level, the Liga di Futbol Angleano considers itself a trade association made up of and financed by its 18 member clubs. Under current Angelean tax laws, the LFA is therefore an unincorporated nonprofit association, and thus did not pay taxes as current Angelean tax laws provide an exemption from income taxation for business leagues, chambers of commerece, real-estate boards, boards of trade, or professional sports leagues corporate operations that do not withhold profit or keep any of the net earnings of the league, provided that such profits are redistributed to the constituent clubs. The clubs, in turn, do pay income taxes on the income they earn, whether directly or by league redistribution, though at a lower rate than most other corporations as the clubs are collectively owned sports franchises.

The league has three defined officers: the commissioner, secretary, treasurer, and president. The president is a ceremonial role, an honorary position with few powers and mostly ceremonial duties, including awarding the league honors, such as the championship trophy to the club which wins the championship.

The commissioner is elected by the affirmative vote of two-thirds (currently twelve) of the clubs of the league, while the president of the league is elected by a three-fourths vote (currently fourteen). The commissioner appoints the secretary and treasurer and has broad authority in disputes between clubs, players, coaches, and employees. He is the "principal executive officer" of the LFA and also has authority in hiring league employees, negotiating television contracts, disciplining individuals that own part or all of an LFA team, clubs, or employed individuals of an LFA club if they have violated league by-laws or committed "conduct detrimental to the welfare of the League or professional football". The commissioner can, in the event of misconduct by a party associated with the league, suspend individuals, hand down a fine of up to ₭968,538 (roughly V͇1,000,000), cancel contracts with the league, and award or strip clubs of selection rights.

In extreme cases, the commissioner can offer recommendations to the LFA's executive committee, up to and including the "cancellation or forfeiture" of a club's membership or any other action, he deems necessary. The commissioner can also issue sanctions up to and including a lifetime ban from the league if an individual connected to the LFA has gambled on games or failed to notify the league of conspiracies or plans to bet on or fix games. The current Commissioner of the LFA is Alfonso Wevers, who was elected in 2019 after Paal Mikkelsen, the previous commissioner, died of a heart attack.

Season Format

Regular Season

Currently, the league operates under a round-robin system, with each club playing every other club in the league once, for a total of 17 games per club. The league runs a 19-week regular season, with bye weeks in weeks 6 and 12 and a total of 153 games. Since 2000, the season has begun the first Monday of October which is not October 1st and concludes in February, 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 LFA games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a Monday night game typically held at least once a week. Most weeks (with some exceptions) LFA games include two Saturday afternoon games, a Saturday night game, four Sunday afternoon games, a Sunday night game, and a Monday night game. LFA 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 convention of the United Democratic Party; 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 LFA 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 LFA 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 LFA'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 6-club single-elimination tournament, called the LFA Championships, is then held. Teams are selected according to their point values. 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 six teams with the best point values move on to the championships, which occur over four weeks, including a bye.

The top two teams (seeded 1-2) are granted bye weeks. The remaining four teams (seeded 3-6) compete in the first round of the championships, with the 3-seed hosting the 6-seed and the 4-seed hosting the 5-seed. The winners advance to the next round, which matches the lowest seed against the 1-seed, with the 1-seed hosting, and the two remaining teams against each other, with the 2-seed hosting. The winners of these games then compete in the Angelean Cup at a neutral site (after a week-long bye), which determines the league champion.

Player Acquisition

National Selection

Each May (excluding 2014 when it took place in June), the LFA holds a selection of players from lower leagues, which act as farms for the LFA as a whole. The selection process consists of fourteen rounds, with each of the 18 clubs getting one selection in each round. The order is determined by regular-season record though it is randomized. This is because, prior to 2004, teams were alleged to intentionally lose games in order to obtain a better place in the upcoming selections. To disincentivize this behavior, teams are randomized in groups of three. For example, prior to 2004 the 18th team would have selected first. However, since 2004 the 16th, 17th, and 18th teams are in a lottery for the first, second, and third selections. All potential selectees must be at least twenty years old in order to be eligible for the selections. Farm players that have met that criterion to be eligible for the selections must write an application to their respective developmental leagues by February 15 renouncing their remaining contacts. Clubs can trade away picks for future selections, but cannot trade the rights to players they have selected in previous selections.

Aside from the seven selections each club gets, compensatory selections are given to teams that have lost more compensatory uncontracted players than they have gained. These are spread out from rounds 6 to 14, and a total of 18 are given. Clubs are required to make their selection within a certain period of time, the exact time depending on which round the pick is made in. If they fail to do so on time, the clubs behind them can begin to select their players in order, but they do not lose the selection outright. This happened in the 2014 selections, when Jerrostad failed to make their selection on time. Playadiestat VC and Colonial were able to make their picks before Jerrostad was able to use theirs. Selected players are only allowed to negotiate contracts with the club that picked them, but if they choose not to sign they become eligible for the next year's selection. Under the current collective bargaining contract, all contracts to drafted players must be four-year deals with a club option for a fifth. Contracts themselves are limited to a certain amount of money, depending on the exact selection the player was selected with. Players who were eligible but not picked in the selections process are free to sign with any club.

Like many other major sports leagues, the LFA maintains protocol for a disaster restocking. In the event of a 'near disaster' (less than 15 players killed or disabled) that caused the club to lose a quarterback, they could select one from a team with at least three quarterbacks. In the event of a 'disaster' (15 or more players killed or disabled) that results in a club's season being canceled, a further selection would be held. Missile strikes during the opening days of the Third Great War killed enough members of two clubs (Playadiestat VC and Gobernador Mérida) to trigger a disaster restocking for both. However, league play was entirely canceled before the process could begin.

Uncontracted Players

Uncontracted players in the Liga di Futbol Angleano are divided into restricted uncontracted players, who have three accrued seasons and whose current contract has expired, and unrestricted uncontracted players, who have four or more accrued seasons and whose contract has expired. An accrued season is defined as "six or more regular-season games on a club's active/inactive, reserved/injured or reserve/physically unable to perform lists". Restricted uncontracted players are allowed to negotiate with other clubs besides their former club, but the former club has the right to match any offer. If they choose not to, they are compensated with selections in the next national selection. Unrestricted uncontracted players are free to sign with any club, and no compensation is owed if they sign with a different club.

Clubs are given one player hold to offer to any unrestricted uncontracted players. The player hold is a one-year deal that pays the player 120% of his previous contract or no less than the average of the five highest-paid players at his position, whichever is greater. There are two types of player holds: exclusive holds, which do not allow the player to negotiate with other clubs, and non-exclusive holds, which allow the player to negotiate with other clubs but gives his former club the right to match any offer and two first-round selections if they decline to match it.

Clubs also have the option to use a transition hold, which is similar to the non-exclusive player hold but offers no compensation if the former club refuses to match the offer. Due to that stipulation, the transition hold is rarely used, even with the removal of the "poison pill" strategy (offering a contract with stipulations that the former club would be unable to match) that essentially ended the usage of the hold league-wide. Each club is subject to a salary cap, which is set at V͇184.6 million (or about ₭192 million) for the 2022-2023 season.

Members of clubs' practice squads, despite being paid by and working for their respective clubs, are also simultaneously a kind of uncontracted player and are able to sign to any other club's active roster (provided their new club is not their previous club's next opponent within a set number of days) without compensation to their previous club; practice squad players cannot be signed to other clubs' practice squads, however, unless released by their original club first.

Clubs

Triple Crown

League Champions

Shielded Club

Gold Shield

Silver Shield

Emblem	Club	Location	2022-2023 Finish					Playoff Finish
			Finish	Points	W	L	T
	Colonial	Villelibre	7th	18	9	8	0	Did not qualify
	Cruz Kingslayers	Cruz	12th	14	7	10	0	Did not qualify
	Dele	Coração de Cristo	8th	18	9	8	0	Did not qualify
	Entoun	Entoun	5th	21	10	6	1	Won (at Jerrostad) 28-16 Won (at Mikkelby) 20-4 Won 42nd Angelean Cup (vs Puntonorte) 28-24
	Gobernador Mérida	Mérida	10th	16	8	9	0	Did not qualify
	Groenkust	Nassau	2nd	25	12	4	1	Lost (vs Puntonorte) 28-34
	Jerrostad	Jerrostad	4th	22	11	6	0	Lost (Entoun) 16-28
	Mikkelby	Mikkelby	1st	26	13	4	0	Lost (vs Entoun) 4-20
	Onslander Kaptstad	Kaptstad	9th	18	9	8	0	Did not qualify
	Playadiestat VC	Playadiestat	14th	10	5	12	0	Did not qualify
	Porto Azul	Porto Azul	11th	14	7	10	0	Did not qualify
	Presidencial	Nova Ralume	15th	10	5	12	0	Did not qualify
	Puntonorte	Puntonorte	3rd	24	12	5	0	Won (vs Villelibre) 28-16 Won (at Groenkust) 34-28 Lost 42nd Angelean Cup (vs Entoun) 24-28
	Santa Maria	Santa Maria	13th	12	6	11	0	Did not qualify
	Santo André	Santo André	17th	8	4	13	0	Did not qualify
	Atlético Torres	Torres	16th	10	5	12	0	Did not qualify
	Villelibre	Villelibre	6th	20	10	7	0	Lost (at Puntonorte) 16-28
	Noord Strand	Playadiestat	18th	6	3	14	0	Did not qualify

Trophies

Team Trophies

The Liga di Futbol Angleano has used three different trophies to honor its champion over its existence. The first trophy, the People's Cup, was first created in 1949 to honor the champions of the predecessor league of the LFA, the Liga Superior Angeleano (LSA). The trophy became property of the LFA during the privatization of the league. The trophy was intended to be a traveling trophy and not become permanent until a team had won five titles. However, after only five years of being used by the LFA, the People's Cup was destroyed by Dilanian bombing campaigns during the Third Great War. The remains of the cup were never found.

The People's Cup (Copa di Pueblo) was created in 1949, but was destroyed by aerial bombing during the Third Great War.

The current Angelean Cup, which has been used since 1999.

The Memorial Trophy, dedicated to those who died during the Third Great War, served as the league's trophy until 1999.

A second trophy, the Memorial Trophy, was issued by the LFA from 1987 to 1999. The trophy was dedicated to those who died during the Third Great War, with the names of all players, coaches, and LFA staff who died being engraved into the base of the trophy. In addition to the main trophy, which would be in the posession of the current league champion, the league issued a smaller replica trophy to each champion, who would maintain permanent control over it. This was considered disrespectful, and the trophy was discontinued. The Memorial Trophy is now instead kept by the club who last won it, Jerrostad, who won the trophy in 1999.

The current trophy of the LFA is the Angelean Cup. The trophy was named to represent the national nature of the new championship and was created to reflect the growing league, being announced alongside the expansion of the league from 14 to 18 clubs. Unlike the People's Cup, the Angelean Cup is a pure traveling trophy, being placed in a place of honor somewhere in the winning team's stadium. Teams are authorized to make copies of the trophy for display, which are identical to the real trophy other than an engraving of the final matchup and result into the trophy. In addition, each player and coach on the winning team are awarded rings to commemorate their victory. Each ring design varies, but they usually include the matchup's score and the emblem or colors of the winning club.

In addition to the championship trophies, the LFA awards four other team awards. The first, the Gold Shield, is awarded to the team voted to be the best single team in the regular season by a panel of pundits, journalists, coaches, and players. The Gold Shield de jure ranks equivalent to a league championship, though it is de facto not as prestigious. However, it is often considered a respectable end to the season by itself. The second, the Silver Shield, is awarded to the team with the most points (and therefore the first seed in the postseason) at the end of the season and ranks just below league championship and is often considered respectable, but not with the same level of respect as the championship or a Gold Shield. Winning a Shield and a championship is called a Gold/Silver Champion, while winning all three is considered a Triple Crown.

In addition to the shields, four banners are given out, the Offensive Banner and Defensive Banner, both of which come in a blue and orange form. The blue form of both banners is awarded to the team voted to have the best single offense or best single defense according to the same panel which decides the Gold Shield, and is the more prestigious of the two forms of banner. The orange form of the Offensive Banner is awarded to the team with the highest scoring offense, while the orange form of the Defensive Banner is awarded to the team with the lowest number of points allowed. Being awarded both banners means a team is "Double Bannered"

A perfect season, where a team wins the championship, both shields, and all four banners, has only ever happened once; the 2009-2010 Presidencial team, widely considered one of the best teams of all time. Two other teams have come close; the 1987-1988 Villelibre team, which won every award except the Silver Shield, as they lost inexplicably lost to the 1-11 Cruz Regional team. The second team which came close was the 2017-2018 Jerrostad team, which won every award except the orange form of the Offensive Banner, thanks to a fluke game where Cruz Regional won their final match against Onslander Kaptstad by 104-28, meaning Cruz Regional scored 725 points to Jerrostad's 724. As Cruz Regional is responsible for preventing two perfect seasons, it has earned the nickname "Kingslayer", which became the official club name in 2018.

Player and Coach Honors

The LFA recognizes a number of awards for its players and coaches at its annual end of year gala, which takes place after the championships are finished. A panel of journalists, coaches, and players, called the Honors Panel, decides the recipients of each award, which is presented at the end of the gala. Major awards include the Offensive Player of the Year (for superior play on offense), Defensive Player of the Year (for superior play on defense), Special Teams Player of the Year (for superior play on special teams), the corresponding rookie equivalents of the awards, Coach of the Year, and the prestigious Communitarian Award (honoring those with the greatest impacts on their community). In lieu of a more conventional MVP award, the Honors Panel also assembles the All Honors Roster, which selects up to 51 players (21 on offense, 20 on defense, and 10 on special teams) considered to be the very best at their position in the league. As the LFA lacks a true all-star game, being selected for the All Honors Roster is considered a prestigious achievement.

Champions by Season

Season	Teams	Games	Regular Season			Championship
			1st Place	2nd Place	Gold Shield	Final Game		Game	Champion
1970-1971	10	9	Groenkust	Presidencial	Did Not Exist	No Championship Game
1971-1972	10	9	Groenkust	Presidencial	Did Not Exist	No Championship Game
1972-1973	10	9	Groenkust	Onslander Kaptstad	Did Not Exist	No Championship Game
1973-1974	12	11	Four Way Tie		Did Not Exist	Onslander Kaptstad	Playadiestat VC	1st	Onslander Kaptstad
1974-1975	12	11	Atlético Torres	Onslander Kaptstad	Did Not Exist	Atlético Torres	Playadiestat VC	2nd	Atlético Torres
1975-1976	12	11	Presidencial	Groenkust	Did Not Exist	Groenkust	Noord Strand	3rd	Noord Strand
League play cancelled from 1976-1983 due to the Third Great War
1984-1985	12	11	Groenkust	Colonial	Did Not Exist	Groenkust	Colonial	4th	Colonial
1985-1986	14	13	Colonial	Jerrostad	Colonial	Colonial	Playadiestat VC	5th	Colonial
1986-1987	14	13	Playadiestat VC	Colonial	Jerrostad	Jerrostad	Colonial	6th	Jerrostad
1987-1988	14	13	Jerrostad	Groenkust	Jerrostad	Playadiestat	Villelibre	7th	Villelibre
1988-1989	14	13	Puntonorte	Porto Azul	Puntonorte	Puntonorte	Porto Azul	8th	Porto Azul
1989-1990	14	13	Porto Azul	Puntonorte	Porto Azul	Porto Azul	Puntonorte	10th	Puntonorte
1990s
1990-1991	14	13	Mikkelby	Presidencial	Presidencial	Mikkelby	Presidencial	11th	Presidencial
1991-1992	14	13	Mikkelby	Puntonorte	Mikkelby	Mikkelby	Jerrostad	12th	Jerrostad
1992-1993	14	13	Playadiestat VC	Colonial	Colonial	Playadiestat VC	Colonial	13th	Playadiestat VC
1993-1994	14	13	Playadiestat VC	Colonial	Playadiestat VC	Playadiestat VC	Groenkust	14th	Playadiestat VC
1994-1995	14	13	Santo André	Onslander Kaptstad	Santo André	Santo André	Onslander Kaptstad	15th	Onslander Kaptstad
1995-1996	14	13	Atlético Torres	Santo André	Atlético Torres	Atlético Torres	Santo André	16th	Atlético Torres
1996-1997	14	13	Gobernador Mérida	Playadiestat VC	Gobernador Mérida	Mikkelby	Playadiestat VC	17th	Playadiestat VC
1997-1998	14	13	Gobernador Mérida	Mikkelby	Gobernador Mérida	Santo André	Santa Maria	18th	Santa Maria
1998-1999	14	13	Playadiestat VC	Jerrostad	Jerrostad	Playadiestat VC	Jerrostad	18th	Jerrostad
1999-2000	18	17	Jerrostad	Gobernador Mérida	Jerrostad	Gobernador Mérida	Cruz Kingslayers	19th	Cruz Kingslayers
2000s
2000-2001	18	17	Dele	Jerrostad	Dele	Dele	Cruz Kingslayers	20th	Dele
2001-2002	18	17	Dele	Villelibre	Dele	Villelibre	Noord Strand	21st	Villelibre
2002-2003	18	17	Santo André	Villelibre	Villelibre	Santo André	Noord Strand	22nd	Noord Strand
2003-2004	18	17	Dele	Atlético Torres	Dele	Dele	Atlético Torres	23rd	Dele
2004-2005	18	17	Jerrostad	Mikkelby	Jerrostad	Jerrostad	Mikkelby	24th	Jerrostad
2005-2006	18	17	Cruz Kingslayers	Jerrostad	Cruz Kingslayers	Cruz Kingslayers	Mikkelby	25th	Cruz Kingslayers
2006-2007	18	17	Cruz Kingslayers	Porto Azul	Cruz Kingslayers	Cruz Kingslayers	Porto Azul	26th	Cruz Kingslayers
2007-2008	18	17	Playadietstat VC	Colonial	Playadiestat VC	Playadiestat VC	Colonial	27th	Playadiestat VC
2008-2009	18	17	Cruz Kingslayers	Playadiestat VC	Cruz Kingslayers	Groenkust	Colonial	28th	Colonial
2009-2010	18	17	Presidencial	Groenkust	Presidencial	Presidencial	Groenkust	29th	Presidencial
2010s
2010-2011	18	17	Presidencial	Groenkust	Presidencial	Jerrostad	Mikkelby	30th	Jerrostad
2011-2012	18	17	Groenkust	Colonial	Groenkust	Groenkust	Colonial	31st	Groenkust
2012-2013	18	17	Santa Maria	Cruz Kingslayers	Cruz Kingslayers	Santa Maria	Cruz Kingslayers	32nd	Cruz Kingslayers
2013-2014	18	17	Santo André	Cruz Kingslayers	Santo André	Santo André	Atlético Torres	33rd	Santo André
2014-2015	18	17	Onslander Kaptstad	Groenkust	Onslander Kaptstad	Groenkust	Playadiestat VC	34th	Playadiestat VC
2015-2016	18	17	Noord Strand	Gobernador Mérida	Noord Strand	Noord Strand	Gobernador Mérida	35th	Noord Strand
2016-2017	18	17	Onslander Kaptstad	Gobernador Mérida	Onslander Kaptstad	Onslander Kaptstad	Jerrostad	36th	Onslander Kaptstad
2017-2018	18	17	Jerrostad	Onslander Kaptstad	Jerrostad	Jerrostad	Onslander Kaptstad	37th	Jerrostad
2018-2019	18	17	Colonial	Groenkust	Colonial	Colonial	Groenkust	38th	Colonial
2019-2020	18	17	Groenkust	Atlético Torres	Groenkust	Atlético Torres	Porto Azul	39th	Atlético Torres
2020s
2020-2021	18	17	Puntonorte	Atlético Torres	Puntonorte	Puntonorte	Mikkelby	40th	Puntonorte
2021-2022	18	17	Puntonorte	Gobernador Mérida	Puntonorte	Gobernador Mérida	Jerrostad	41st	Jerrostad
2022-2023	18	17	Mikkelby	Groenkust	Mikkelby	Puntonorte	Entoun	42nd	Entoun