Koningferander had been introduced to the sport by his gymnastics teacher Guus Annokkee who would go on to be the founder and inaugural chairman of the NAFF (Nederlandse American Football Federatie).
Koningferander's TV plea instigated the founding of the Netherlands' first domestic club: the Amsterdam Rams.
The first game played by an American football team from the Netherlands was on Easter Sunday in 1981 when the Amsterdam Rams faced the Herne Tigers from Germany.
[1][2] From these flames a number of Dutch clubs emerged including The Hague Raiders, Delft Dragons, Rotterdam Trojans, Zwolle Bulldogs, Alphen Eagles and Utrecht Vikings.
Eight teams in a single division would compete against each other for a place in the Dutch championship game initially called the "Super Bowl".
[4] In addition, the teams from larger cities were able to professionalise further by obtaining large sponsors, attracted by the freshness of the sport and the considerable media attention both in the TV and press, which enabled them to hire American players and coaches.
The top division of senior competition saw an enormous increase of quality, aided by the import of US players and coaches.
Conversely the sport was undergoing a renaissance in the rest of Europe, with media interest and crowds growing.
At the same time, the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europa were pulling in crowds of 12,000 for home games - many of them spectators who ten years earlier would have been supporting the teams in the Dutch competitions.