Early scrimmages reportedly taking place as far back as 1971 at Kelston Boys High school and run by "The Godfather" of NZ football, George O'Scanlon.
This was the start of a long affiliation of cheer squads formed by teams to support the game of American football in NZ.
Much later competition was started in Wellington and other clubs were formed in places like Whangarei, Tauranga, Hamilton, Wanganui, Palmerston North and Levin.
Joe Hapi[10] from the Hawkes Bay area appears on the BYU Cougars football team as an offensive lineman.
1964 saw exhibition football played in Gisborne[11] as elders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints put on a game complete with full equipment for the locals.
[12] Riki's presence in the NFL would help promote the game to NZers and prove that Kiwis could make it in professional American Football.
[13] During the late 80's NZ Football received unprecedented media coverage when TV3 began to broadcast NFL highlights packages and Sky Sports would televise the Super Bowl live.
The then NZGFA sports information director Ed Mason's work, especially in the newspaper print media was essential to spreading the word that American Football had now well and truly arrived in NZ.
1989 saw former NZAFL founder George O'Scanlon establish the ISSI for athletes in Australia, which would go on to introduce the Down Under Bowl concept in the Southern Hemisphere.
Down Under Bowl directors George O'Scanlon and former Utah State University head coach and BYU special teams coach Chris Pella[16] were instrumental in bringing numerous football programs to NZ in the 1980s and creating countless pathways for NZ football players who wanted pursue the game further in the US.
[18] Likewise, there has also been a number of athletes appearing on NFL rosters in last few years with NZ roots including Stephen Paea[19] (Bears, Redskins, Browns),[20] Tevita Finau (Jets, Texans),[21] Kona Schwenke[22] (Seahawks), Rhett Ellison (Vikings) BYU rugby convert Paul Lasike (Cardinals, Bears).
[32] Former Toa Samoa and NZ Warriors rugby league player Shannon Stowers also attended Utah State University.
Initially heavily influenced by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who supplied coaching and local players.
Former Tongan RWC player Joe Tuineau[37] who attended SE Missouri University spent time on the NY Jets roster.
George O'Scanlon reportedly ran a football team at Kelston Boys High School back in the 1970s but failed to find any opposition.
O'Scanlon continued to organize games and scrimmages through the late '70s that lead to the formation of both the Henderson Rangers and Metro Lions clubs.
Former Manu Samoa and Auckland rugby star Timo Tagaloa was the first NZ athlete to receive a full football scholarship to Utah State University.
Essentially it was based out of Long Bay College where an American teacher Wes Edwards put together a very good team.
Star players included Joe Fepuleai, David Woods and Nick Leger, both of whom would go on to play for the Roskill Rams and Mt Albert Mustangs.
Roskill Rams: The first of the expansion clubs founded by Tony Andrews with the assistance of Mark Nua and Wayne Wright and was made up mainly of former Metro Lions players.
Was very successful in their first season taking out the league championship, continued as a strong club until the late 1980s when players left en-masse to form the Mount Albert Mustangs.
Brothers Ritch and Chris Tia attended Snow College in Utah, before returning to play for the Metro Lions after the Rams folded.
Manurewa Miners: Returning home from the states, ex-college linebacker Eddie Tavae established the South Auckland Club with huge support from his parents, sons and partner.
Dave Dixon, the Pukekohe born played for the Miners...moved to the US on a scholarship...drafted by the National Football League New England Patriots.
Assisting Coach Tavae were two former Metro Lions players Ray Coulson and Ray Hinkes...the key to why the team was established was to create a club to bring the talents known in the south an opportunity to be seem...the club worked on sponsorships and fundraisers to alleviate the stresses on players for fees and acquired equipment from colleges in the states who donated and sent it to the NZ based club...Miners Football team played on for five seasons Team colours were Bottle Green Jerseys with gold numbers and Gold pants with green white green stripes.
Papatoetoe Wildcats: [42] Originally formed as part of the NZAFL expansion by Pose Tafa and known then as the Central Pirates.The initial squad was a mixture of Roskill Rams and Metro Lions players who went back to their old clubs when the NZGFA competition restarted.
Mount Albert Mustangs: Formed in the late 1980s with a large number of members from the Roskill Rams and immediately started a 7-year dynasty where they reigned as champions.
A strong family emphasis was the key to the club's success with a great line up of athletes including the Fepuleai's, Rawhiti's, Opetaia's, Legers, Seumanu's, Amiatu's amongst many others.
To provide a top level of coaching to all of these teams, the first 10 years of the Lightning also featured a number of international imports from around the world – The United States, Canada, Italy, Switzerland and Austria to name a few.
2001 saw North Harbour Pride importing American player / Head Coach Joe Ashfield and receiver Matt Wegge, both from Minneapolis.