JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s national football team won its first official international game, defeating Spain.

The Israelis’28-20 victory on Sunday in Madrid advanced their bid to qualify for the International Federation of American Football’s B-Group International Tournament in 2016. All the players on the Israeli club compete in the nine-team Israel Football League.

With the help of New England Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft, there has been a major push in recent years to develop American football  in Israel.

The International Federation of American Football is made up of teams from more than 70 countries worldwide, including Middle Eastern lands such as Egypt, Turkey and Kuwait.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.