Founding of the EFLI

The EFLI was founded in mid-2011 and publicly announced on August 5, 2011. The aim of the league is to introduce American football to the Indian market and its large consumer base. The organization's management team consists of both American and Indian business and entertainment executives as well as several American sports figures. American brand marketing consultant Sunday Zeller is noted as the main founder.

Prominent investors include former Green Bay Packers linebacker Brandon Chillar, Super Bowl-winning head coach Mike Ditka, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin and former NFL quarterbacks Ron Jaworski and Kurt Warner. Both Ditka and Irvin are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Chillar is of Indian descent. Investors outside of the sports community include American actor and entertainment producer Mark Wahlberg.

The EFLI will not be the first attempt to establish a professional American football league outside of the USA. NFL Europe was established in 1991, although NFL Europe eventually folded. Officials from the NFL have also expressed the possibility of starting a franchise in the United Kingdom, citing the popularity of the NFL's periodic exhibition games in London. Additionally, American football leagues exist throughout Europe, South Korea, Japan, Israel, New Zealand, and many other countries. Cricket enjoys dominating popularity in the country, but the domestic Indian Premier League and the proposed EFLI seasons do not overlap; IPL matches generally begin in April, and EFLI games are slated to commence in November and end in February.

The first regular season games are scheduled to begin in September 2012. Games will be broadcasted on television in India and Sri Lanka, as well as in the Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, and Pakistan on Ten Sports. This will represent a potential audience of over 500 million viewers

Professional Football Concept [2009]

The concept of Professional Football within India was brought to fruition with an initial investment of $25K. The concept was to develop a league with Indian athletes whom were already familiar with contact sports such as Rugby and kabbadi.

Training Rating - Fundamentals - EFLI [2011]

The first EFLI Coaches & Players Training Program was held at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune, November 10, 2011 headed by NFL Superstar Doug Plank.

1ST Football Scrimmage - EFLI [2012]

On March 29th, 2012, the EFLI held the first full scale, uniformed football scrimmage ever in the country of India. The scrimmage was a was filmed by an 8 camera crew and was directed and edited by the award-winning SuperBowl director-the late Sandy Grossman. The scrimage was a “dress-rehursal” for the historic upcoming “EFLI Season One”.

University Football - EFLI-U [2013]

University Tackle Football was recognized as an official University sport for the first time in history.