THE SIDELINES : International Football Kicks Off

A 12-week schedule with the emphasis on divisional play was announced today by the International League of American Football for its first season next spring.

The season will open with three games on Saturday, April 14--Amsterdam at Munich, Milan at London and Barcelona at Helsinki. The fourth game of the opening weekend, Birmingham, England, at Rome, will be played on Monday afternoon, April 16.

The top two teams in each division will play July 7 for berths in the league championship game the next week.

The league is being formed by a group of financiers headed by Carroll Huntress, a former New York Jets assistant coach who is the league’s commissioner. Each team will have 12 U.S. players and 24 locals. Games will be played under American collegiate rules, with some modifications aimed at speeding up play.