Previewing the 2025 NFFL Season: A growing, every developing league

Photo: Inside Britball

by Arran Harrison and Andy Taylor

As we begin to reflect on the recent vote for a structural change in the NFFL for 2026, we also look forward to the kick-off of the 2025 NFFL season this weekend. While not all divisions and conferences will start their games this weekend, we provide a preview of all the teams and their alignments. 

Highlands Premiership 

Aberdeen Oilcats (3rd) 

Edinburgh Outlaws (4th) 

Glasgow Hornets (National Champions) 

Grangemouth Broncos (2nd) 

Grangemouth Colts (3rd Div 1 Highlands) 

West Lothian Chargers (2nd Div 1 Highlands) 

The Grangemouth Colts and West Lothian Chargers join the Premier Highlands stalwarts Oilcats, Outlaws, Broncos and the reigning National Champions Grangemouth Broncos. They of course replace the Renfrewshire Raptors following qualification through the Play In tournaments and the Moray Distillers who were automatically relegated due to conceded games. 

In 2024 Glasgow were the dominant force, being the only unbeaten team across the Premiership division, beating the Cardiff Hurricanes in the National Final. Finishing with over 850 points scored across the season and dominating teams by over 5 touchdowns per game, if they can live up to this form, who would look past them to repeat? 

The Oilcats, Outlaws and Broncos shared the spoils last season beating each other throughout the season. The Broncos will likely be disappointed on how their season played out and will be trying to come back with a bang. They’ll be joined by their stable mates in the Colts, technically the third team in the programme, who shocked everyone by taking the place of the Mustangs who were crowned division champ's last season. Unless there’s a shuffle around the Grangemouth programme can we expect a difficult season ahead for the Colts having finished 11-7 in Division 1 last season? 

Northern Premiership 

Manchester Crows (Division Champions) 

Manchester Titans (2nd) 

Newcastle Blackhawks (Div 1 North B Champions) 

Salford Scorpions (3rd) 

Sheffield Giants Steel (2nd Div 1 North B) 

Wigan Bandits (4th) 

With the newly promoted Newcastle Blackhawks and Sheffield Giants joining the ranks of the Northwestern powerhouse teams, the Premier Northern Conference is set to be electrifying in 2025. Both teams emerge from the 2024 Division 1 North B conference, showcasing impressive offences that averaged three more touchdowns per game than their opponents. It will be intriguing to see how they perform in the top league this season. 

The Manchester Crows and Manchester Titans are eager to build on their success from last year, aiming to not only qualify for the playoffs but also advance beyond the quarterfinals, where they were eliminated by southern teams in the 2024 playoffs. Both teams are brimming with talent and will certainly be ones to watch this season. 

The Salford Scorpions and Wigan Bandits finished in 3rd and 4th place, respectively, in the 2024 competition. With a noticeable gap between them and the two Manchester teams, all eyes will be on how they have adapted to challenge the other teams more vigorously in 2025. 

Southern Premiership A 

London Smoke (Division Champions) 

Reading Devils (2nd)  

Chichester Sharks (3rd) 

London Rebels (4th) 

London Fire (5th) 

London Spark (6th) 

With all teams remaining in the conference for the 2025 season, the members of this conference are well-acquainted with one another. Don't be misled by the London Fire; they are essentially a rebranding of the London Flash team, which is part of the London Smoke Program. 

When examining the 2024 standings, one might assume that London Smoke and the Reading Devils are closely matched. However, these teams faced each other three times last season, and London Smoke emerged victorious in all those encounters, including the playoff for third and fourth place.  

The Chichester Sharks also had a commendable season last year, securing 11 wins in the regular season—just three fewer than the second-place Reading Devils. Will they build on their success and challenge the Devils and Smoke this year? 

The London Rebels, London Fire (formerly Flash), and London Spark clearly have a lot of work ahead to strengthen their positions within this conference. There is a distinct divide between the top three teams and the bottom three, so the offseason will be crucial for teams aiming to break into the upper half of the standings. 

Southern Premiership B 

Cardiff Hurricanes (National Runners-up) 

Northants Titans Blue (2nd) 

Cheltenham Neptune's (3rd) 

Coventry Panthers (4th) 

Coventry Phoenix (5th) 

Swansea Hammerheads (Division 1 National Champions) 

The Southern Premiership offers an exciting lineup filled with local rivalries and is undoubtedly the conference to watch. Last year's finalists, the Cardiff Hurricanes, are eager to temper the enthusiasm of the Swansea Hammerheads and demonstrate that they remain the dominant force in Wales. Having lost only one game in the regular season, the Hurricanes boast a well-balanced team on both offence and defence. However, a key concern is whether recent changes in the coaching staff will impact their performance in the 2025 season. 

The Northants Titans Blue finished in a commendable second place, although they achieved a net points per game (NPPG) of just 6.3, suggesting their matches were fiercely contested and likely closer than they would have preferred. As they introduce a second team into Division 1 this season, it is evident that they have had a productive offseason and are well-positioned for the 2025 campaign. 

The newcomers, the Swansea Hammerheads, are determined to prove they mean business and are capable of dominating games at the top tier, just as they did in Division 1 last season, where they ultimately became the Division 1 National Champions. 

The Cheltenham Neptunes, Coventry Panthers, and Coventry Phoenix will be looking to improve upon their 2024 performances and challenge for a higher position in the standings. 

Division 1 Highlands 

Aberdeen Silvercats (4th) 

Clyde Comets (6th) 

Edinburgh Gunslingers (7th) 

Glasgow Killer Bees (5th) 

Grangemouth Mustangs (Division Champions) 

Moray Distillers (6th Prem Highlands) 

Renfrewshire Raptors (5th Prem Highlands) 

The Division 1 Highlands see some big shakeups for the 2025 season with two 2024 Prem teams looking to bounce back this season. Those teams are the Moray Distillers, who were automatically relegated because they missed a gameday, and the Renfrewshire Raptors who lost out in the Play-In tournament. The Raptors secured 4 wins in the Prem last season so would expect to do well this season in Division 1. 

All eyes will be on the Mustangs, who clinched the division title last season with an impressive .917 record. However, they fell short in the Play-In tournament, which unexpectedly kept them in Division 1 for an additional season. This raises the question: who will emerge as the playoff team from this division? Could it be the Silvercats, who finished with a record of 9-9-1 last season and maintained a balanced .500 performance, along with a Net Points of 11 and a Net Points Per Game of 0.6? Depending on the quality of teams entering from the Premier Division, they may have a strong chance. Then there are the Killer Bees—what advantage can they gain from their counterparts, the Hornets? While it’s a challenging task to improve by 5-6 wins in a single season, it is certainly not impossible. 

No doubt the Comets and Gunslingers will be looking for year-on-year improvements, but if Clyde can fulfil all their games this season, they could be a threat to those with playoff aspirations. Let’s not forget that there is no cross-conference this year for this division. 

Division 1 Northern A 

Border City Centurions (2nd) 

Lancashire Bombers (New team for 2025) 

Manchester Ravens (3rd) 

Salford Scorpions Stingers (6th) 

Warrington Revolution (6th Prem North) 

West Lancashire Serpents (Division Champions) 

Wirral Vikings (5th) 

The best of last season’s bunch are back together for 2025 as seedings kept this division out of the Play-In tournaments. The Serpents, Centurions and Ravens are now joined by the Warrington Revolution from the Prem who had a difficult season in 2024. Where will they slot in the pack? 

The Titans Tridents have been relocated to the Northern B and Chorley Buccaneers have not fielded a team this season. New to the competition are the Lancashire Bombers who have seemingly benefited from their work with Youth Flag Football and field a senior team this year. 

You would expect the Serpents and Centurions to maintain their records of over 0.750, but they will need to improve their cross-conference records to improve on that and give themselves a chance with a Play-In spot. For both teams, two of their three losses came from cross-conference games, and they tied their head-to-head 1-1. The Ravens will surely have something to say this season. Their season was interrupted by storms, missing out on two games which they would have been confident in winning, but they will face tough opponents in the aforementioned “top two”. 

The Vikings showed they were no slouches and were only three wins away from playoff football last season. It seems a reasonable goal for them to set, and they’ll be looking at how they can improve against their division rivals because they’re quite good at facing the Scottish sides (5-3 in cross-conference last season). Lastly, for the Stingers, they’ll be looking to improve on last season to climb up the table in 2025. They started last season poorly and finished it with a dip after having a great middle chapter to the season, so they have areas to focus on if they have playoff aspirations. 

Division 1 Northern B 

Calderdale Locomotives (7th) 

Manchester Titans Bees (5th Prem North) 

Manchester Titans Tridents (4th Div 1 Northern A) 

Newcastle Shadowhawks (New team for 2025) 

Sheffield Giants Iron (6th) 

Steel River Stingrays (5th) 

West Yorkshire Warthogs (4th) 

Quite a lot of change in this division for 2025. The Leeds Samurai dropped out of the competition, and we see the introduction of the Newcastle Shadowhawks following the success of the Blackhawks promotion. We also see the Titans Bees drop down from the Prem, and they’re joined by their stable mates, the Tridents, who come over from Northern A. 

It’s reasonable to say that this division is up for grabs! With Blackhawks, Giants (Blue last year, now Steel) as well as Leeds that's 47 wins ready to be shared out with those remaining. 

Titans Bees are probably early favourites, having acquired four victories in the Prem last year; they’ll be looking to position themselves in a Play-In position this season to jump straight back up. Obviously, the unknown is the Shadowhawks, but for a new team, it is always difficult, so what about the Warthogs and Tridents? They both missed out on the playoffs by a couple of wins, so a slight improvement could see them in post-season action. Warthogs showed they can score plenty, but they’ll need to improve on defence to tighten up the points allowed. 

The Stingrays could be waiting in the shallow ready to jump on slipups from the playoff contenders as they were only three wins off the playoffs last season but they’ll need to score a few more points to make the postseason (scored 374 last season). The Giants Iron will be looking to make improvements, and all eyes will be on the Locomotives to see if they can secure that missing win! 

Division 1 Midlands 

Leicester Huntsmen (3rd) 

Leicester Huntsmen B (New team for 2025) 

Lincolnshire Longhorns Orange (4th) 

Lincolnshire Longhorns Black (New team for 2025) 

Northants Titans White (New team for 2025) 

Norwich Nomads (New team for 2025) 

Nottingham Bears (5th) 

Nottingham Honey Badgers (2nd) 

South Yorkshire Roosters (7th) 

Waveney Wolves (Division Champions) 

Yikes! This is a huge division so analysis is going to be difficult. No Panthers B team this season but this one team are replaced by FOUR new teams. Of course, such a big division won’t be playing cross-conference this season. 

Last season, Waveney were dominant, winning games by over three touchdowns per game on average, only to miss out on promotion by point differential in the Play-In tournament, so all expectations will be on them to push for Prem football again. The Honey Badgers will be right on their heels also, winning eight of their last nine games, the Division 1 Plate winners will be looking to use the momentum to push the Wolves this season. Both teams had the third and fourth-best defences in Division 1, respectively, so they will be a force in this monster of a division. 

The thing is, with this division last season, there were no “bad” teams. The Roosters who sat at the foot of the table still won 5 games. You then had the Huntsmen, Longhorns and Bears who shared wins and losses between each other. Each team had success in the cross-conference with last year’s Northern B so what impact will that have this season? 

Division 1 Southern East 

Buckinghamshire Wolves (Division Champions) 

Buckinghamshire Wolfpack (5th) 

Surrey Stingers (New team for 2025) 

Kent Exiles (New team for 2025) 

London Rebels B (New team for 2025) 

Victoria Park Panthers (2nd) 

Is this going to be the Wolves / VPP show again in 2025? Both were pre-season favourites last season, with two of their five losses coming against the unbeaten Swansea Hammerheads and VPP losing twice to the Wolves. Both teams showed they can score points, and they had some of the stingiest defences last season.

They will be joined by three new teams. It’s great to see the Rebels’ programme expanding and to see a stalwart of British American Football, the Exiles, enter the Flag realms. How will their contact experience translate into Flag Football? Could the three new teams allow the Wolfpack to use their experience to cement themselves as the third-best in this division? 

Unfortunately, we see the Berkshire Renegades leave the competition – they only played three games last season – and the Chichester Sharks B team will be cross-conference foes for this division as they have moved to a new Southern Central Division. 

Division 1 Southern Central 

Chichester Tiger Sharks (3rd) 

Chichester Mako Sharks (New team for 2025) 

Isle of Wight Raptors (New team for 2025) 

Reading Diablos (New team for 2025) 

Salisbury City Marauders (4th) 

Solent Red Storm (New team for 2025) 

Unfortunately, there’s not going to be much we can say about this division, as it’s completely new and full of new teams. Nonetheless, it is a reflection on the growth of flag football, with our domestic league now stretching offshore onto the Isle of Wight and another Solent side entering domestic competition. Reading and Chichester are clearly doing things right with both expanding their programmes this season. Chichester now has three sides, and Reading is doubling their participation in the NFFL. 

So, is this division ready for the taking by Chichester’s “B” team, now called Tiger Sharks? Last year, they finished third in a difficult division with a record above 0.500. Salisbury City will need to make leaping improvements on last year to be within a shout, as they only secured two victories last season. Impossible to predict, so we will need to wait till the 12th of April to get some idea of how this season will pan out for this new division. They will, of course, play cross-conference with the Southern East, which won’t be an easy task. 

Division 1 Southern West 

Cardiff Bay Coyotes (4th) 

Cardiff Storm (New team for 2025) 

Exeter Falcons (3rd) 

Gwent Gators (2nd) 

Keynsham Kings (6th Prem South West) 

Plymouth Bolts (New team for 2025) 

Somerset Wyverns (New team for 2025) 

Swansea Frenzy (6th) 

Another division that won’t be participating in cross-conference play this season is the Southern West division, as they have a 14-game season ahead of them (5 less than the Northern divisions). Nonetheless, it was another open division without the presence of the Swansea Hammerheads. The teams left behind are joined by three new teams: a “B” team from Cardiff and two new to the competition in the Bolts and Wyverns. 

For those watching from afar, the Gwent Gators were a conundrum. They qualified for the playoffs with the least points scored, 90 of the next worst, the Exeter Falcons. At their best, they beat the Buckinghamshire Wolves but would also go on to share victories with the Exeter Falcons and Cardiff Bay Coyotes. You would expect the top of the division to come from either Gwent or Exeter based on last season's form, but Cardiff Bay will only need a slight improvement from 0.500 to be in contention for the postseason. 

No doubt the Kings will have something to say. Their second team falling out of the competition could strengthen the Kings, who managed two wins in the Prem last season and have the potential to push for post-season football. For the Swansea Frenzy, the same question as we had for the Glasgow Hornets: how can they capitalise on their Division 1 title to grow the programme and find improvements in their form?