The best of the EAFL will be on display on Friday, but what has made it so good is the work that goes on every other day of the year.
The rise of the league has been meteoric, introducing a sport that had virtually no founding whatsoever in this country before expanding to an organisation with four leagues full of quality players who love everything about the game.
But the league want more. And they will get it, they work too hard for it not to.
Amateur sport can be a difficult beast. Inactivity, complacency and incompetence can rear their heads at any time, but not in the EAFL.
Behind the scenes there are very good people doing a lot of work to expand the league, grow interest, develop grass roots American football, raise sponsorship and create a league that is sustainable and unique.
As well as everything has gone, there is no one in the organisation that is happy, the league always strives to be better.
Increased sponsorship has allowed some to be able to dedicate their time fully to the league. With more specialisation, the league is just getting started.
There is a deeper importance than just creating a league. It’s creating communities that didn’t previously exist and it is bringing profound pleasure to hundreds of people who otherwise would have gone without their favourite sport.
Any trip to a junior league will show you how healthy the future looks. Families and children are invested in the sport and the league, they will hold the communities of the future together as well as insuring that there is always a constant stream of talent to fill up the senior league.
What you see on the pitch on Friday at the Dubai Sports City complex won’t be just the finale to a superb second season for the league, you will be seeing the manifestation of thousands of hours of hard work. Luckily, there is plenty more to come from the EAFL.
