Welcome to the February edition of the Tournament Director Blog, your go-to spot for everything related to NAF tournaments. We’re here to keep you updated on the latest developments behind the scenes, share valuable content, preview upcoming events, and highlight exciting tournament recaps.
In this edition, we’ll be reviewing recent events and sharing the latest news.
As always, if you want to contribute any content to this blog (e.g. a report of a recent tournament you visited or ran), reach out! Contact info are available on our NAF staff site.
Content
- NAF Chatter
1.1 Malta Hosts the World Cup 2027
1.2 NAF Report 2024
1.3 Sportsperson of the Year 2024
1.4 League Director Election - Outlook
1. NAF Chatter
1.1. Malta Hosts the World Cup 2027
The vote is in! And we’re thrilled to announce that Malta has won the bid to host the NAF World Cup 2027!
A heartfelt thank you goes out to all four bidding teams from Dallas, Dijon, Malta, and Oamaru (New Zealand) for their outstanding proposals. Each bid reflected incredible dedication, creativity, and passion. Putting together a World Cup bid is a monumental task, requiring months of planning, coordination, and vision—and every team delivered just that.
We also extend our sincere thanks to the members of the Selection Committee, who took the time to carefully review the bids, discuss them in depth, and cast their votes. Their work ensured a fair and balanced process, reflecting the diversity and global nature of the NAF.
Regardless of the outcome, this process has been a testament to the strength of our community and the shared excitement for what lies ahead. The World Cup is a celebration of everything we love about this game, and we’re already looking forward to what promises to be an unforgettable event in Malta.
You can find the full voting results on the rcv123.org website.
1.2 NAF Report 2024
Each year, our resident data goblin and stats wizard Mike (sann0638) dives deep into the numbers to bring us a comprehensive look at the state of tournament Blood Bowl. The NAF Report 2024 is now live!
Packed with data, insights, and trends, the report shows how 2024 set a new high-water mark for tournament activity across the globe… though 2025 already looks poised to raise the bar even higher.
You can read the full report here (PDF), or head over to the NAF Report site to explore the numbers interactively with the Tableau tool. Filter by region, year, or coach and relive the rise of Blood Bowl as told through stats.
1.3 Sportsperson of the Year 2024
At the start of the year, we invited the community to submit nominations for the NAF Sportsperson of the Year—an award that recognises exceptional contributions to our hobby beyond the tabletop. Thank you for the many heartfelt nominations. It’s incredible to see the impact Blood Bowl has in communities around the world, on both large and local scales.
While every nominee made a valuable contribution, one story stood out:
In October 2024, a devastating storm and flood struck the Valencia region in Spain, destroying homes, infrastructure, and livelihoods. Amid the chaos, the Blood Bowl community rallied—donating money and supplies, offering emotional support, and even travelling to help with recovery efforts.
At the centre of these efforts was Coach Joanet (#7690), who coordinated volunteers, reached out to other communities, and provided tireless support over weeks of rebuilding. In recognition of his leadership and compassion, we are proud to name Joanet the NAF Sportsperson of the Year 2024.
We also want to recognise several coaches with honourable mentions for their contributions throughout the year:
Chicaork, TrevCraig, Lord_Chelmsford, Overgone5, Taurenbeast, seanh1986, Lonewolfjackson, thewalleh, and TimDaBoss. You all helped make our community better—thank you.
Read the full story and more about the award here.
1.4 League Director Election
The NAF League Director election has concluded, and Megamind (Brandon Alderman) has been re-elected for another two-year term.
Brandon has been a strong advocate for league play within the NAF and brings both experience and passion to the role. We look forward to seeing what new initiatives he will develop to support league commissioners and local communities.
If you have suggestions or ideas to improve NAF League support, feel free to reach out to him at megamind@thenaf.net.
For those interested, both candidates’ Q&A threads are still available on the forum:
2. Outlook
March is upon us with an insane number of 139 tournaments in 34 different countries!
The NAF is expanding far East (or West depending on your point of view), with the first NAF approved tournament ever in Singapore, the Kopi Cup. Ukraine is continuing their run of tournaments with BowlMania.
Two Nationals are taking place as well in March, Mulligan’s in Scotland and The Dungeonbowl in Germany. And Valdric is going all out at Adepticon, turning legendary Stupor Bowl in a four-day four-tournament event, with a Sevens, Dungeonbowl and two regular one-day tournaments.
As for me, I’ll be heading to Hannover for the Death Zone tournament and attend the German Kraken Bowl (not to be mistaken with the same name, same day French Kraken Bowl).