Ever since the announcement of the league’s change from the NSFL moniker to the current International Simulation Football League name we use now, there have been questions regarding what role the new “international” focus in the name of the league would trickle down into a push for expansion of the league to turn towards locations outside of the US. The ISFL currently only sports one team outside of the 50 American states, the Wraiths in Yellowknife, Canada. The DSFL bolsters our total here to 3 with the presence of the Luchadores in Tijuana, Mexico and the Royals in London, UK. With the announcement of the next expansion, Head Office officially made it known that the inclusion of an international location in applications for expansion franchises would be “HIGHLY encouraged.” As someone that has been incredibly interested in the prospects of expanding the scope of the league to better represent the user base for this league and the future of the sport with the inclusion of new, international franchises, I wanted to give a comprehensive rundown of great locations and possible branding choices for people looking for possible ideas to use for their own expansion bid. I will not be entering the race for an expansion franchise myself, so I wanted to put down my two cents on some of the amazing possibilities and really cool locations for the next ISFL teams. In this article, I’ll quickly go around the globe region by region to give a comprehensive review of my favorite locations in each region based on their viability (presence of strong engagement in American football, either with organized play or engagement with the NFL) and just generally what I think would be cool and interesting for the ISFL.
North America
Mexico
The Tijuana Luchadores are the sole representation for Mexico in the league, playing in the DSFL. However, Tijuana is very far north in the country, falling just south of Mexico’s border with California. The best possibility for expansion into Mexico would have to be Mexico City, the country’s political and cultural capital. Mexico City was originally founded by the Aztecs in the middle of Lake Texcoco as the city of Tenochtitlan. The city fell to the Spanish invaders, but was rebuilt and remains the largest city in the country today. Mexico City can even satisfy some of the league’s “muh realism” blowhards as it currently serves as a location for the NFL’s International Series, and the rapidly growing fan base in the country could very well demand attention worthy of a major league American football team in the meta world of the ISFL in 2040 or whatever year the league is in. While I would love to see a franchise here use the original Nahuatl name Tenochtitlan, people here already have a hard enough time saying “Hahalua.” My favorite ideas for a branding for Mexico city would have to be either the Mexico City Eagles or Mexico City Jaguars, named after the most elite classes of warriors in Aztec military organization. The eagle especially goes back to the original mythology behind the establishment of Tenochtitlan and is featured on the country’s flag. Other possibilities could be the Feathered Serpents, the Suns, or the Stars, all of which harken back to historic Mesoamerican religion, mythology, and science.
Canada
The Wraiths represent an incredibly small portion of Canada’s population in Yellowknife. There are still a plethora of excellent options for Canadian franchises, though I personally would rather see the league expand farther out to more vastly different cultures. However, with representation for the country in a number of major sports leagues, Canada is super attractive for a more “realistic” expansion. To bring a more diverse presence to the league outside of the current ISFL teams’ offerings, I think the best option for a Canadian expansion team would have to be in Montreal, or another location in the province of Quebec. Quebec’s French history and heritage is a sharp differentiation between the people and culture of this province and those of other viable expansion locales in the country. Toronto and Vancouver would also have to be high on my radar if I was looking to expand into the Great White North, but Montreal takes the cake for me. My favorite ideas for a possible Montreal franchise are the Montreal Rebelles (or Rebels), based on the history of the province of Quebec and the unrest among the remainders of French descended Canadians under the thumb of the British colonial government and the still standing differences between Quebec and the rest of the country, and the Montreal Castors (or Beavers), based on the beaver as a strong symbol across the country as a distinct and important piece of Canada’s unique fauna. I suggest using the French names for any branding based in Quebec, as this seems to be the mode for existing professional teams in the region and more strongly represents the large population of primary French speakers in the province.
The Caribbean
More of a long-shot candidate, the Caribbean, as well as possible Central America, has a lot of potential for franchise ideas. There are a number of highly populated cities in the region, and a team in the Caribbean would still be plenty close to the Southeastern USA. Sarasota, for example, is less than 300 miles away from Havana, Cuba, one of my favorite possible locations for a Caribbean team. Kingston, Jamaica and Port-au-Prince, Haiti could also be cool additions to the ISFL, but Havana seems the most likely of any location in the Caribbean to have wide-spread appeal for members of the league. Havana branding ideas include the Havana Hurricane and the Havana Pirates, named after the two most dangerous historical threats to the ports and shores of the Caribbean.
South America
Brazil
Organized American football has really only been played in the country over the last 10 years, going back to the beginning of the Superliga Nacional de Futebol Americano in 2010. However, organized football in Brazil has been rapidly growing in the country and fans of the sport are not only showing up big for those teams, but also for the NFL. A 2018 study by the Global Web Index places Brazil as the third largest fan base by nation for NFL football, placing behind only the US and Mexico. Fast forwarding to the current time in the ISFL meta universe, I could very easily see the rapid growth of rabid American football fandom in the country demanding the attention of the NFL or the ISFL. I think this is by far and away one of my favorite possible locations for ISFL expansion in the whole world. The relative proximity from the US isn’t crazy, and the biodiversity of the Amazon and surrounding areas in Brazil provide a lot of cool ideas for team names. São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro have to be the favored locations for a team in Brazil, though São Paulo is my personal favorite. Name ideas for this team could include the Tucanos (toucans), Capivaras (capybaras), or Piranhas.
Argentina
The likelihood and attraction of a team in the rest of South America really falls off after Brazil. The only other viable location I see would be Argentina, most likely finding its home in Buenos Aires. I couldn’t find any evidence of organized play in Argentina, so maybe you could look into Colombia or Uruguay, but Buenos Aires seems likely to be the next most recognizable location in South America to members of the league. Additionally, that Global Web Index poll ranked Argentina 11th in terms of NFL fandom. I had a hard time thinking of a good idea for branding, as the two most likely symbols in Argentine culture and society lead me to the names of the Suns and the Eagles both of which I’ve already suggested for Mexico. I’ll leave you on your own for figuring out that one then.
Europe
Germany
Germany ranks 6th on the GWI poll for NFL fandom and has a longstanding relationship with American football on the highest levels. Germany was a huge part of the NFL Europe league, with 5 of the 9 teams that participated in the European division of the league being based in Germany. Germany continues to be a dominant force in the region when it comes to organized play, and the country has been able to ship some talent out to the NFL. There are a number of viable cities in the country for an ISFL franchise, but I’ll focus on the most likely, Berlin, which is also the largest city and the capital of the nation. While I found the idea of a team named the Berlin Wall quite amusing, I ended up wanting to distance any ideas for the branding of the team from any kind of important historical reference for this team. The biggest, most obvious possibility is the Berlin Bears, based on the longstanding mascot for the city as a whole. The black bear has been featured in one way or another for much of the city’s modern history on the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. Another possibility I found interesting is the Berlin Express, based on the city’s long-standing relationship with the railway industry.
Austria
Perhaps a surprise to some, Austria makes this list because of a historical presence as one of the best countries when it comes to organized play in all of Europe. Just behind Germany, Austria holds the second highest number of championships in the European Football League competitions. The Vienna Vikings hold the most titles of any one team on their own. An expansion franchise in Vienna could definitely appeal to those looking for a strong and interesting location in central Europe without going to Germany. It took some time to find an idea for a Vienna branding I liked. I came to find the Lipizzan horse breed, a breed that derives from horses owned by the Austrian monarchy. I think it would be cool to bring a horse-related team name into the ISFL, and there are a lot of directions you could go with that. The Vienna Stallions, the Vienna Chargers/Cavalry, or even the Vienna Unicorns. I could also see this kind of branding being applied to a potential team in Poland.
The Rest of Europe
There are certainly a lot of other possibilities for European teams, but they all fall a fair bit behind Germany or Austria for me, especially with a London team already being taken by the Royals in the DSFL. I have a hard time justifying a team in the UK or Ireland when it feels like that branding would be something of a second fiddle to London. However, I could see someone taking a lot of interest in a location like Dublin, Galway, or Edinburgh. After that, there are a few other regions with a history of participation in organized American football and an interest in the NFL. The three biggest remaining possibilities would have to be a franchise in Sweden, Italy, or France. Possibilities for team names here could be the Stockholm Storm, the Genoa Griffins, the Paris Horizon.
Western Asia and Africa
Probably not
Yeah so I just wanted to drop this section in here so that I’ve covered every populated region of the world. I couldn’t really find any viable locations in either of these regions when it comes to engagement with American football. There are certainly areas of western Asia like Israel and Saudi Arabia that seem to have a fair bit of engagement with football, but the political realities of both of those countries really makes the possibility of a franchise in either one untenable to me. I couldn’t find any engagement with football in India, but I could still see interest in expanding into the country.
Eastern Asia and Oceania
Japan
Japan’s X-League is probably the biggest and most well developed league outside of America. There is an obvious, long-standing, and passionate interest for the sport in Japan. Plus there are a bunch of weebs in this league. There are quite a few cool locations to put a franchise in Japan, but it seems best to use Tokyo, the largest city in the world by population. I’ve discussed my two favorite ideas for a Tokyo franchise before, and I really hope to see one of them realized at some point. These two branding ideas are the Tokyo Guardians, based on the history of mecha and giant robots in Japanese media, and the Tokyo Kaiju, based on giant monsters like Godzilla. Japan would be an amazing place to start the ISFL’s expansion into the global stage.
Korea/China
I’m combining these two countries together because they both seem equally likely and viable. Both have fairly underdeveloped but still growing organized football leagues and growing interests in the NFL. Both countries have great urban areas with great engagement in sports teams. My team branding ideas for Korea and China would be the Busan Bombers and the Shanghai Pandas
Australia
Australia has a fair bit more engagement with American football than I expected. I’ve learned over my time in the ISFL and in my research for this piece that Australia could very much be a strong emerging market for American football. The country has a strong, growing organization of teams and is even set to host the International Federation of American Football World Championship in 2023. I don’t have the numbers on national origin for members of the ISFL, but if I had to guess, they’d likely be 3rd or 4th on the list. I’d be thrilled to see a franchise opened up down under to represent the contingency of Aussies in the league. I’m pretty attached to the idea of a Koala logo in the ISFL, so I’d have to go with that when it comes to branding an Australian team. Though I don’t think it’d be the ideal location for an Australian team in a vacuum, the Canberra Koalas sounds the best of the variety of good options I saw. If I had to come up with a second option it’d be the Sydney Dingoes.
New Zealand
Honestly New Zealand is only making this list because I know there is a pretty decent coalition of kiwis in the league. From what I can find, there seems to be a good bit less engagement in American football in the country compared to Australia, but there is still an organized football league in New Zealand. Auckland and Wellington would both be great spots to put a franchise, but I won’t accept the branding unless it’s the Laser Kiwis.
Top 5
Well that is my best, most comprehensive review of the top viable international locations for ISFL expansion franchises. I wanted to quickly wrap up this very labor-intensive article with a quick top 5, going down in order of my 5 favorite locations for an ISFL expansion team.
1. Brazil (São Paulo)
2. Japan (Tokyo)
3. Mexico (Mexico City)
4. Australia (Canberra/Sydney)
5. Austria
Thank you for reading! I hope this article can help with anyone looking for a possible location for their expansion bid and for those that may still be wary of international expansion to see just how cool and viable these locations are for the next ISFL teams.
North America
Mexico
The Tijuana Luchadores are the sole representation for Mexico in the league, playing in the DSFL. However, Tijuana is very far north in the country, falling just south of Mexico’s border with California. The best possibility for expansion into Mexico would have to be Mexico City, the country’s political and cultural capital. Mexico City was originally founded by the Aztecs in the middle of Lake Texcoco as the city of Tenochtitlan. The city fell to the Spanish invaders, but was rebuilt and remains the largest city in the country today. Mexico City can even satisfy some of the league’s “muh realism” blowhards as it currently serves as a location for the NFL’s International Series, and the rapidly growing fan base in the country could very well demand attention worthy of a major league American football team in the meta world of the ISFL in 2040 or whatever year the league is in. While I would love to see a franchise here use the original Nahuatl name Tenochtitlan, people here already have a hard enough time saying “Hahalua.” My favorite ideas for a branding for Mexico city would have to be either the Mexico City Eagles or Mexico City Jaguars, named after the most elite classes of warriors in Aztec military organization. The eagle especially goes back to the original mythology behind the establishment of Tenochtitlan and is featured on the country’s flag. Other possibilities could be the Feathered Serpents, the Suns, or the Stars, all of which harken back to historic Mesoamerican religion, mythology, and science.
Canada
The Wraiths represent an incredibly small portion of Canada’s population in Yellowknife. There are still a plethora of excellent options for Canadian franchises, though I personally would rather see the league expand farther out to more vastly different cultures. However, with representation for the country in a number of major sports leagues, Canada is super attractive for a more “realistic” expansion. To bring a more diverse presence to the league outside of the current ISFL teams’ offerings, I think the best option for a Canadian expansion team would have to be in Montreal, or another location in the province of Quebec. Quebec’s French history and heritage is a sharp differentiation between the people and culture of this province and those of other viable expansion locales in the country. Toronto and Vancouver would also have to be high on my radar if I was looking to expand into the Great White North, but Montreal takes the cake for me. My favorite ideas for a possible Montreal franchise are the Montreal Rebelles (or Rebels), based on the history of the province of Quebec and the unrest among the remainders of French descended Canadians under the thumb of the British colonial government and the still standing differences between Quebec and the rest of the country, and the Montreal Castors (or Beavers), based on the beaver as a strong symbol across the country as a distinct and important piece of Canada’s unique fauna. I suggest using the French names for any branding based in Quebec, as this seems to be the mode for existing professional teams in the region and more strongly represents the large population of primary French speakers in the province.
The Caribbean
More of a long-shot candidate, the Caribbean, as well as possible Central America, has a lot of potential for franchise ideas. There are a number of highly populated cities in the region, and a team in the Caribbean would still be plenty close to the Southeastern USA. Sarasota, for example, is less than 300 miles away from Havana, Cuba, one of my favorite possible locations for a Caribbean team. Kingston, Jamaica and Port-au-Prince, Haiti could also be cool additions to the ISFL, but Havana seems the most likely of any location in the Caribbean to have wide-spread appeal for members of the league. Havana branding ideas include the Havana Hurricane and the Havana Pirates, named after the two most dangerous historical threats to the ports and shores of the Caribbean.
South America
Brazil
Organized American football has really only been played in the country over the last 10 years, going back to the beginning of the Superliga Nacional de Futebol Americano in 2010. However, organized football in Brazil has been rapidly growing in the country and fans of the sport are not only showing up big for those teams, but also for the NFL. A 2018 study by the Global Web Index places Brazil as the third largest fan base by nation for NFL football, placing behind only the US and Mexico. Fast forwarding to the current time in the ISFL meta universe, I could very easily see the rapid growth of rabid American football fandom in the country demanding the attention of the NFL or the ISFL. I think this is by far and away one of my favorite possible locations for ISFL expansion in the whole world. The relative proximity from the US isn’t crazy, and the biodiversity of the Amazon and surrounding areas in Brazil provide a lot of cool ideas for team names. São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro have to be the favored locations for a team in Brazil, though São Paulo is my personal favorite. Name ideas for this team could include the Tucanos (toucans), Capivaras (capybaras), or Piranhas.
Argentina
The likelihood and attraction of a team in the rest of South America really falls off after Brazil. The only other viable location I see would be Argentina, most likely finding its home in Buenos Aires. I couldn’t find any evidence of organized play in Argentina, so maybe you could look into Colombia or Uruguay, but Buenos Aires seems likely to be the next most recognizable location in South America to members of the league. Additionally, that Global Web Index poll ranked Argentina 11th in terms of NFL fandom. I had a hard time thinking of a good idea for branding, as the two most likely symbols in Argentine culture and society lead me to the names of the Suns and the Eagles both of which I’ve already suggested for Mexico. I’ll leave you on your own for figuring out that one then.
Europe
Germany
Germany ranks 6th on the GWI poll for NFL fandom and has a longstanding relationship with American football on the highest levels. Germany was a huge part of the NFL Europe league, with 5 of the 9 teams that participated in the European division of the league being based in Germany. Germany continues to be a dominant force in the region when it comes to organized play, and the country has been able to ship some talent out to the NFL. There are a number of viable cities in the country for an ISFL franchise, but I’ll focus on the most likely, Berlin, which is also the largest city and the capital of the nation. While I found the idea of a team named the Berlin Wall quite amusing, I ended up wanting to distance any ideas for the branding of the team from any kind of important historical reference for this team. The biggest, most obvious possibility is the Berlin Bears, based on the longstanding mascot for the city as a whole. The black bear has been featured in one way or another for much of the city’s modern history on the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. Another possibility I found interesting is the Berlin Express, based on the city’s long-standing relationship with the railway industry.
Austria
Perhaps a surprise to some, Austria makes this list because of a historical presence as one of the best countries when it comes to organized play in all of Europe. Just behind Germany, Austria holds the second highest number of championships in the European Football League competitions. The Vienna Vikings hold the most titles of any one team on their own. An expansion franchise in Vienna could definitely appeal to those looking for a strong and interesting location in central Europe without going to Germany. It took some time to find an idea for a Vienna branding I liked. I came to find the Lipizzan horse breed, a breed that derives from horses owned by the Austrian monarchy. I think it would be cool to bring a horse-related team name into the ISFL, and there are a lot of directions you could go with that. The Vienna Stallions, the Vienna Chargers/Cavalry, or even the Vienna Unicorns. I could also see this kind of branding being applied to a potential team in Poland.
The Rest of Europe
There are certainly a lot of other possibilities for European teams, but they all fall a fair bit behind Germany or Austria for me, especially with a London team already being taken by the Royals in the DSFL. I have a hard time justifying a team in the UK or Ireland when it feels like that branding would be something of a second fiddle to London. However, I could see someone taking a lot of interest in a location like Dublin, Galway, or Edinburgh. After that, there are a few other regions with a history of participation in organized American football and an interest in the NFL. The three biggest remaining possibilities would have to be a franchise in Sweden, Italy, or France. Possibilities for team names here could be the Stockholm Storm, the Genoa Griffins, the Paris Horizon.
Western Asia and Africa
Probably not
Yeah so I just wanted to drop this section in here so that I’ve covered every populated region of the world. I couldn’t really find any viable locations in either of these regions when it comes to engagement with American football. There are certainly areas of western Asia like Israel and Saudi Arabia that seem to have a fair bit of engagement with football, but the political realities of both of those countries really makes the possibility of a franchise in either one untenable to me. I couldn’t find any engagement with football in India, but I could still see interest in expanding into the country.
Eastern Asia and Oceania
Japan
Japan’s X-League is probably the biggest and most well developed league outside of America. There is an obvious, long-standing, and passionate interest for the sport in Japan. Plus there are a bunch of weebs in this league. There are quite a few cool locations to put a franchise in Japan, but it seems best to use Tokyo, the largest city in the world by population. I’ve discussed my two favorite ideas for a Tokyo franchise before, and I really hope to see one of them realized at some point. These two branding ideas are the Tokyo Guardians, based on the history of mecha and giant robots in Japanese media, and the Tokyo Kaiju, based on giant monsters like Godzilla. Japan would be an amazing place to start the ISFL’s expansion into the global stage.
Korea/China
I’m combining these two countries together because they both seem equally likely and viable. Both have fairly underdeveloped but still growing organized football leagues and growing interests in the NFL. Both countries have great urban areas with great engagement in sports teams. My team branding ideas for Korea and China would be the Busan Bombers and the Shanghai Pandas
Australia
Australia has a fair bit more engagement with American football than I expected. I’ve learned over my time in the ISFL and in my research for this piece that Australia could very much be a strong emerging market for American football. The country has a strong, growing organization of teams and is even set to host the International Federation of American Football World Championship in 2023. I don’t have the numbers on national origin for members of the ISFL, but if I had to guess, they’d likely be 3rd or 4th on the list. I’d be thrilled to see a franchise opened up down under to represent the contingency of Aussies in the league. I’m pretty attached to the idea of a Koala logo in the ISFL, so I’d have to go with that when it comes to branding an Australian team. Though I don’t think it’d be the ideal location for an Australian team in a vacuum, the Canberra Koalas sounds the best of the variety of good options I saw. If I had to come up with a second option it’d be the Sydney Dingoes.
New Zealand
Honestly New Zealand is only making this list because I know there is a pretty decent coalition of kiwis in the league. From what I can find, there seems to be a good bit less engagement in American football in the country compared to Australia, but there is still an organized football league in New Zealand. Auckland and Wellington would both be great spots to put a franchise, but I won’t accept the branding unless it’s the Laser Kiwis.
Top 5
Well that is my best, most comprehensive review of the top viable international locations for ISFL expansion franchises. I wanted to quickly wrap up this very labor-intensive article with a quick top 5, going down in order of my 5 favorite locations for an ISFL expansion team.
1. Brazil (São Paulo)
2. Japan (Tokyo)
3. Mexico (Mexico City)
4. Australia (Canberra/Sydney)
5. Austria
Thank you for reading! I hope this article can help with anyone looking for a possible location for their expansion bid and for those that may still be wary of international expansion to see just how cool and viable these locations are for the next ISFL teams.