2013 enlargement of the European Union, Free movement of persons and visa policy, Visa requirements for Croatian nationals visiting third countries
Upon Croatia's accession to the European Union on 1 July 2013, several countries and territories outside the European Union aligned the visa requirements imposed on Croatian citizens with those imposed on other EU citizens. For example, on 1 July 2013, Hong Kong SAR extended the visa-free period of stay for Croatian citizens from 14 days to 90 days in line with the visa-free period of stay granted to other EU citizens, whilst New Zealand introduced a 90-day visa exemption for Croatian citizens. It is likely that these countries and territories amended their visa policy for Croatian citizens because of the European Union's visa reciprocity mechanism.


2013 enlargement of the European Union, Free movement of persons and visa policy, Membership of the Schengen Area
During June 2011 Croatia began with implementation of the projects and reforms required to join the Schengen Area by 2015. By joining the Schengen Area, border checks will be eliminated at the land border with Hungary and Slovenia, as well as at airports and ports for flights and ships to/from Schengen member states, thus facilitating the freer movement of persons between Croatia and the rest of the Schengen Area.


2013 enlargement of the European Union, Free movement of persons and visa policy, Membership of the European Economic Area
Croatia's accession to the EU obliges them to apply for membership in the European Economic Area (EEA). The Croatian government submitted their application on 13 September 2012, and membership negotiations started 15 March 2013 with the aim to enlarge both the EU and the EEA on the same date, 1 July 2013. However, this was not achieved. On 11 April 2014, the EU and its member states (including Croatia), Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein signed an agreement concerning the accession of Croatia to the EEA. It is yet to be ratified, but is provisionally applied with regards to Croatia. As of July 2021, the agreement has been ratified by 21 out of 32 parties.


2013 enlargement of the European Union, Public opinion
Croatian public opinion was divided on EU accession. Opinion polling for the EU referendum showed the population was mostly in favour of joining. Public support ranged from a high of 80% to lows of 26–38%. Political analyst Višeslav Raos cited the economic problems within the EU among the factors: "[Croatians] know that the European Union is not a remedy to all economic and social problems. So the EU itself is in a sort of crisis, and that reflects on Croatia's accession." The government announced an information campaign to reverse the drop in support.


2013 enlargement of the European Union, Public opinion
A referendum was held in Croatia on 22 January 2012 on joining the European Union, and the result was 66% approval to join, though the turnout was low at 43.51%.


2013 extreme weather events
The 2013 extreme weather events included several all-time temperature records in Northern and Southern Hemisphere. The February extent of snow cover in Eurasia and North America was above average, while the extent of Arctic ice in the same month was 4.5% below the 1981–2010 average. The Northern Hemisphere weather extremes have been linked to the melting of Arctic sea ice, which alters atmospheric circulation in a way that leads to more snow and ice.


2013 extreme weather events
By January 11, 233 weather-related deaths were reported in India. Elsewhere, particularly in Russia, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom, low temperatures affected wildlife, delaying bird breeding and disrupting the bird migration. On January 10 Bangladesh faced the lowest temperature since country's independence, at 3.0 °C (37.4 °F) in Saidpur. While Finland and most of Northern European countries got the record high, and even the highest temperatures at Europe during May and June, Western and Middle Europe faced much cooler weather and even their wettest May and June ever. During summer prolonged heat waves in the Northern Hemisphere set new record high temperatures.


2013 extreme weather events
On March 24, 2014, the secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization Michel Jarraud announced that "many of the extreme events of 2013 were consistent with what we would expect as a result of human-induced climate change".


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere
In Northern Hemisphere the weather pattern repeatedly directed cold Arctic air southward, leaving Greenland and northeastern Canada much warmer than average for March. High pressure situated over Greenland acted as a block, forcing the jet stream into a southerly flow. Observations over Greenland threatened to break the worldwide record for highest barometric pressure of 1083.3 mb, set on December 31, 1968, in Siberia, the National Centers for Environmental Prediction’s Ocean Prediction Center forecast a high pressure center of at least 1074 mb over Greenland during March. A Greenland block was also noticed during the cold weather seen in 2010.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere
The Arctic oscillation index changed from positive to negative, weakening the pressure gradient. Throughout March the west Atlantic winds, which normally kept the winters in Europe relatively mild, have been blowing chiefly from the northeast, bringing in cold Arctic air. The westerly Atlantic winds were weakened by small air pressure difference between northern and southern latitudes. In late March, the Arctic oscillation index dropped to -5.6 and much of Northern Hemisphere experienced particularly low temperatures. The low value of the Arctic oscillation was the second lowest March value on record. The British Met Office described the cold temperatures as part of a larger-scale weather pattern in the Northern Hemisphere, associated with the negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, North America, Canada
Due to expected low temperatures overnight on February 16 and 17, an extreme cold weather alert was issued in Toronto. On February 16 Environment Canada also issued a weather statement for York, Durham, Peel and Halton areas, warning of intensifying flurries.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, North America, Canada
On December 22, a severe ice storm brought snow and freezing rain to Toronto, and much of Eastern Canada. The storm caused widespread power outages and left hundreds of thousands in the dark.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, North America, United States
The cold wave in the United States was influenced by a low-pressure area called a "Clipper" which brought an Arctic cold front that caused rapidly falling temperatures and strong northwest winds with gusts of 35–50 miles per hour (56–80 km/h).


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, North America, United States
In Salt Lake City January, 2013 with the average temperature of 19.4 °F (−7.0 °C) became the coldest month on record since 1949 and the sixth-coldest January since 1874.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, North America, United States
On March 5 a record 6-inch snow depth was noted in Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, exceeding the previous 1999 record for that date by 2.2 inches. On the same day 900 flights were cancelled in O'Hare Airport, while Midway Airport reportedly cancelled 240 flights. U.S. Airways reported 350 flight cancellations for March 6.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, North America, United States
In Orlando, Florida, the temperature lowered to 41 °F (5 °C) on March 28, 2 degrees below the record of 1955. The lowest minimum temperature record of 1971 (51 °F (11 °C)) was also broken in West Palm Beach, Florida, where a temperature of 48 °F (9 °C) was recorded on March 28.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, North America, United States
On 1–3 May, a late snow storm occurred across the central United States from Arkansas to Minnesota. The storm formed from a deep upper level trough which became a cut-off low, the event was named "Achilles" by the Weather Channel. The storm broke records for depth of snow and lateness in the season, and was cited as the worst May snow since 1947.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, North America, United States
During mid- to late-May, the tornado outbreaks of May 18–21 and May 26–31 resulted in over 100 tornadoes, including an EF5 tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, and an EF3 tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma. The related storms also resulted in record-breaking rains in North Dakota, New York, and Vermont. The tornado that went through El Reno broke the record for widest tornado ever recorded, at 2.6 miles wide.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, North America, United States
The October 2013 North American storm complex was a blizzard and tornado outbreak that affected the Northwest, Rockies, and much of the Midwest.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, North America, United States
The incident trapped over 6 dozen people inside of their automobiles and harmed 15 people in suburban Iowa and Nebraska. Rapid City, the second largest city in South Dakota, was engulfed in close to two feet of snow, which exceeds the amount of snow that the city has ever recorded during any whole month of October. Furthermore, on October 4, 2013, the city received over 1.5 feet of snow, which exceeded the previous one day record in October by more than six inches.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, North America, United States
Over 20 000 people lost electricity in Black Hills, where more than a meter of watered down, dense snow had fallen. The storm system also included thunderstorms that brought iced precipitation, significant rain and over half a dozen tornadoes to Nebraska and Iowa. Over 200 km of Interstate 90 were shut down from South Dakota to Wyoming.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, North America, United States
Tens of thousands of cattle were killed in South Dakota with ranchers reporting loss of 20 to 50% of their herds. Thousands of people were without power. Three people died in a motor vehicle accident on U. S. Route 20 in Nebraska.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, North America, United States
On December 6, a daily record snowfall of 0.1 inches (2 mm) is set in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, breaking the old record of trace amounts of snow set in 1950.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, Europe
During March a cold easterly flow across northern Europe from Russia brought intense snowfalls across the continent as it met moisture filled air masses from Ukraine to Ireland.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, Europe, Czech Republic
Stopped on their annual way to the north by the cold weather, thousands of European golden plovers occupied the fields of central Moravia and southeast Bohemia. The cold weather also delayed the arrival of migratory birds that spend the summer in the Czech Republic. In Příbram the temperature on March 24 broke the 1883 record of −9.4 °C (15.1 °F), being 1.8 degrees lower.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, Europe, Finland
In Finland, a cold wave hit on the first days of March 2013. The cold wave had very sunny and dry weather for over a month-long period and brought the lowest temperatures for the 2012-13 winter season. The lowest measured temperature (-38,2 °C) was recorded on March 13 in Taivalkoski. Total rainfall was less than 50% of the average in most parts of Finland. With 2-6 °C colder temperatures from 1981 to 2010 average, March was the coldest winter month in Finland from early 2013 after a mild January and February, and also the coldest March for seven years.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, Europe, France
Northern France was hit by heavy snow beginning on March 11, with Météo-France warning of "dangerous weather of an exceptional intensity". French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault activated a crisis committee to coordinate government efforts to "guarantee security and movement of the country's citizens." Snowfall across Normandy, Brittany and Picardy was up to 40 cm deep and drifting in 100 km/h winds. Eurostar suspended its cross-channel services between Paris and London. The storm also hit the Channel Islands, producing 8 foot high drifts on Guernsey with blizzards described as the worst since 1979 according to the Jersey Met Office.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, Europe, Hungary
On March 15 tanks were deployed to reach thousands of motorists trapped in heavy snow. On March 22 the heaviest March snows in at least 400 years in Budapest canceled outdoor activities, related to commemoration of Hungarian Revolution of 1848.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, Europe, Hungary
According to OMSZ, the country's meteorological service, this spring was the second wettest since 1901.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, Europe, Germany
Mainz experienced a very cold March. The average high of 6.0 °C was 5.4 °C below the 1989-2018 mean (11.4 °C), and the coldest on record since 1917, leading to a very late onset of spring. Cherry plums took until mid-April to flower, while normally they do so in early March. Heavy snow fell on the 12th


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, Europe, Italy
Lethal cold has been recorded in Pale di San Martino of −49.6 °C (−57.3 °F) on 10 Feb 2013.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, Europe, Norway
The northern Norwegian region of Nordland saw unusually heavy snowfall, with late March seeing falls in excess of 1 metre deep. Many places in the south mountain area like Geilo, Haukeli and Hovden have their coldest average temperature in March on record. Many places had temperatures more than 5 degrees below average.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, Europe, Russia
According to the Russian Bird Conservation Union, the cold weather in the European part of Russia stalled the bird migration, except for the rooks. The weather conditions also suspended the bird migration to Russian Far East. On March 3 thousands of snow rollers formed at the frozen surface of Sineglazovo Lake. On March 15 an all-time low temperature was recorded in Novosibirsk, surpassing the city's 1964 record by 0.5 °C. On April 1 the VVC weather station in Moscow recorded the city's highest snow cover since 1895, at 65 cm, which surpassed the previous record by 9 cm.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, Europe, Spain
Spain saw unusual late April snow, with weather warnings in 18 provinces. The event was widely attributed to a cut-off low.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, Europe, Ukraine
The Kiev State Administration declared a state of emergency in the city on March 23 "due to the deterioration of weather conditions [heavy snowfall, blizzards, snow-banks]". The government established a weather crisis center under direct supervision of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov. The weather conditions forced the authorities to make Monday, March 25, a day off for all those employed in the government sector in Kiev and Kiev Oblast, except medical services and those tackling the aftermath of the snowfall. March 23 brought heavy snow to Ukraine with the normal monthly amount of snow falling in just 24 hours. With the state of emergency declared the military used armoured personnel carriers to drag buses out of snow drifts.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, Europe, United Kingdom
The United Kingdom experienced a very severe cold spell in March–April 2013. March was the coldest in the Central England region since 1883.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, Europe, United Kingdom
The UK then went on to experience the most notable summer heatwave since 2006 with temperatures exceeding 28 °C (82 °F) somewhere for 19 consecutive days, on the 6th to the 24th and also values exceeding 30 °C on several days. The UK overall had a rather dry month compared to normal, with nearly all of the month's rain falling during the last ten days, often as thundery outbreaks. The highest temperatures was 33.5 °C (92.3 °F) at Heathrow and Northholt on the 22nd. The heat returned at the beginning of August with Heathrow recording 34.1 °C (93.4 °F)


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, Africa, Egypt
On December 13 a cold snap led to snow in such cities as Cairo, Alexandria and Madinaty for the first time in 112 years.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, Asia, China
In China the average January temperature became the coldest in 28 years. In northeast China the average temperature in January 2013 decreased to −15.3 °C (4.5 °F), the coldest in 43 years, while in northern China it dropped to a 42-year low of −7.4 °C (18.7 °F). About a thousand ships were stuck in ice in Laizhou Bay, while 10,500 square miles of ice reportedly covered the surface of the Bohai Sea. About 180,000 cattle deaths were reported in northern China by January 10. On May 2, 2013, a minimum temperature of 16.6 °C was recorded at the Hong Kong Observatory, making it the coldest May temperature since 1917. It was also the third-coldest minimum temperature in May since recorded.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, Asia, India
In January Delhi experienced night temperatures below 3 °C (37 °F), which was 4 to 5 degrees lower than the normal seasonal average. In the first week of January 2013, Delhi had a temperature of 1.9 °C (35.4 °F), the lowest in 44 years. The IFRC's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund donated 57,100 Swiss francs to support the Indian Red Cross Society in delivering immediate assistance to about 10,000 people. In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar the cold wave dropped the mercury to as low as −1 °C (30 °F) which forced closure of all schools up to grade 12 until January 12.


2013 extreme weather events, Cold spring in the Northern Hemisphere, Asia, The Levant
On January 10, Lebanese cities and especially Beirut were flooded and snow reached the sea and the coast. Israel saw its heaviest snowfall since 1992 in Jerusalem, which accumulated 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 inches) of snow in the city centre and more than that in outlying areas. The snowfall stalled the public transport and blocked a highway linking Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. A foot of snow (30 cm) fell at Safed in northern Israel. Lake Kinneret was refilling after years of drought. Much snow fell across Syria; -6 °C (22 °F) was reported in the east suburbs of Damascus and forced camping people made homeless by the Syrian civil war to desperate measures to find shelter, and caused 17 or more deaths in the Middle East.


2013 extreme weather events, Perturbed European late spring and early summer
After a cold March and early April in Finland and Scandinavia, a late, but very strong and widespread spring caused fast snow melting and flooding around Finland. Floods occurred mainly in the Province of Northern Ostrobothnia, where floods hit hardest in Pyhäjoki. In May the weather became exceptionally warm. Thermal summer began about a half-month earlier than usual throughout the country, and after mid-May Finland recorded nine heat-days (maximum temperature over 25 °C) for May 2013; whereas typically there are three heat-days in May.


2013 extreme weather events, Perturbed European late spring and early summer
The heat of May 2013 also broke records around Finland's Lapland, which got the warmest temperatures of month. The highest temperature, 30,5 °C, was recorded at May 31, 2013, in Utsjoki. It was the first time the temperature rose over 30 °C in May since 1995, when in Lapinjärvi's Ingermaninkylä was recorded Finland's highest all-time temperature of May, 31 °C. June also had exceptionally warm weather, with seventeen heat-days for the month, where eight heat-days is the norm. The highest temperature, 32,4 °C, was recorded on June 26, 2013, in Liperi.


2013 extreme weather events, Perturbed European late spring and early summer
The hot weather brought unusual numbers of thunderstorms and lightning strikes. For June, 78,000 lightning strikes were recorded; the most recorded since June 1995. The single-day record, 28,500 lightning strikes, was recorded on June 27, the highest daily count for the 2000s and 2010s. May and June 2013 were both among the warmest five Mays and Junes in Finland's history.


2013 extreme weather events, Perturbed European late spring and early summer
Germany and areas of Central Europe had their wettest ever May, followed by the severe flooding during the 2013 European floods.


2013 extreme weather events, Summer heatwaves, Southwest United States heatwave
In late June 2013, an intense heat wave struck Southwestern United States. Various places in Southern California reached up to 122 °F (50 °C). On June 30, Death Valley, California, hit 129.2 °F (54.0 °C) which is the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth during the month of June. It was five degrees shy of the highest temperature recorded in Death Valley, which was 134.6 °F (57.0 °C), recorded in July 1913.


2013 extreme weather events, Summer heatwaves, European heatwave
After six days in early July with temperatures over 40 °C (104 °F), Portugal officially entered a heat wave. Temperatures reached as high as 45 °C in some places in Alentejo and Ribatejo. Rising temperatures led to heat health warnings being issued for Southern England and the Midlands in the UK's first prolonged heatwave since 2006 on 17 July. The UK recorded its hottest day since July 2006, with 33.5 °C (92.3F) recorded at Heathrow and Northolt in west London on 22 July. This was later beaten again on 1 August, when 34.1 °C was recorded at Heathrow Airport.


2013 extreme weather events, Summer heatwaves, European heatwave
Epidemiological statisticians at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine using models developed in 2011 estimated the heatwave in England and Wales would have led to the premature deaths of 650 people. London Fire Brigade reported that it had attended on average 29 grass fires a day between 1–21 July, seven times the number of call outs for grass fires than the same period in 2012. In Hungary the July heatwave set new daily records for the 27th, 28th and 29th being the hottest day of the year with 40 °C only 2 degrees from the absolute record.


2013 extreme weather events, Summer heatwaves, European heatwave
A day earlier the 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix was the 2nd hottest in recent Grand Prix history just behind the 2005 Bahrain Grand Prix. Track temperature reached 56 °C and air temperature was 38 °C. Poland had heat waves in mid-June, late July and early August. Kraków broke its record high on August 8, 2013, when it reached 37.2 °C (98.96 °F), the 7th day in a row above 30 °C. Austria saw some of its hottest summers at a record temperature of 40.5 °C (104.9 °F) in Bad Deutsch Altenburg on 8 Aug too.


2013 extreme weather events, Summer heatwaves, Chinese heatwave
In July a heat wave struck China with alerts covering nine provinces, including Anhui, Jiangsu, Hunan, Hubei, Shanghai and Chongqing. Shanghai saw 24 days with temperatures at or above 35˚C in July. Temperatures in Shanghai reached 40.6 degrees Celsius, the highest ever temperature recorded in 140 years of weather recording in the city.


2013 extreme weather events, Summer heatwaves, Australian heatwave
The summer of 2012–2013 in Australia resulted in many heat records being broken over a 90-day period.


2013 extreme weather events, Cyclone season, Typhoon Haiyan
"With sustained wind speeds of more than 310 kilometres per hour, Haiyan was the most powerful tropical cyclone to make landfall in recorded history." "Unusually warm subsurface Pacific waters appear to have endowed Haiyan with the energy that made it the strongest typhoon ever known to make landfall."


2013 extreme weather events, Cyclone season, Storm in Nordic countries
In Nordic countries, a storm caused destruction from November 15 to November 18, 2013. In Norway the winds blew as strong as 49 metres per second (180 km/h) and the strongest average was 39 metres per second (140 km/h). In Sweden the strongest windspeed was 47 metres per second (170 km/h; 110 mph) speed, which surpassed the former record of 44 metres per second (160 km/h; 98 mph) recorded in association with Cyclone Gudrun in 2005. In Finland the storm was the third worst since 2000. Only Cyclone Janika in 2001 and Cyclone Dagmar (Tapani) in 2011 had been worse. Cyclone Hilde left about 230,000 households without electricity.


2013 horse meat scandal
The 2013 horse meat scandal was a food industry scandal in parts of Europe in which foods advertised as containing beef were found to contain undeclared or improperly declared horse meat – as much as 100% of the meat content in some cases. A smaller number of products also contained other undeclared meats, such as pork. The issue came to light on 15 January 2013, when it was reported that horse DNA had been discovered in frozen beefburgers sold in several Irish and British supermarkets.


2013 horse meat scandal
The analysis stated that 23 out of 27 samples of beef burgers also contained pig DNA. Several religious groups globally consider pork to be contrary to the dietary rules of their ancient religious texts.


2013 horse meat scandal
While the presence of undeclared meat was not a health issue, the scandal revealed a major breakdown in the traceability of the food supply chain, and the risk that harmful ingredients could have been included as well. Sports horses, for example, could have entered the food supply chain, and with them the veterinary drug phenylbutazone which is banned in food animals. The scandal later spread to 13 other European countries, and European authorities decided to find an EU-wide solution. They initiated meat testing of about 4,000 horse meat samples for the veterinary drug.


2013 horse meat scandal, Investigations, Irish Investigations
Investigations by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) resulted in Ireland being the first EU state to report the presence of horse meat in beef and make the results public. The first positive test for equine DNA was on 10 December 2012. It carried out additional tests on 18 and 21 December. The FSAI then sent samples to the Eurofins laboratory in Germany. Professor Alan Reilly of the FSAI testified to the Oireachtas on 5 February 2013 that the results indicated the presence of equine DNA, but not the amount.


2013 horse meat scandal, Investigations, Irish Investigations
The IdentiGen Laboratory and the Eurofins Laboratory were asked to determine the amount of horse meat in the samples. On 21 December 2012, the FSAI requested that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in Ireland obtain further samples. These were sent to the Identigen laboratory on 4 January 2013.


2013 horse meat scandal, Investigations, Irish Investigations
Results were received back from Eurofins and Identigen on 11 January 2013. Professor Reilly reported on 5 February that quantitative results from Identigen were received by the FSAI late on the evening of 11 January 2013. Of the ten burger products that tested positive for equine DNA, all but one was at low levels. The quantification of the equine DNA in this one burger product gave an estimated amount of 29% equine DNA relative to the beef DNA content of the burger product. This product was manufactured by Silvercrest on behalf of Tesco.


2013 horse meat scandal, Investigations, Irish Investigations
At this point, there was no explanation for the finding of 29% equine DNA relative to beef DNA in this single sample. On 14 January 2013 the FSAI informed the Department of Health and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine of the final results. On the same day it also informed the Food Standards Agency in the United Kingdom.


2013 horse meat scandal, Investigations, Irish Investigations
The next day, 15 January 2013, the FSAI advised the five retailers concerned, Tesco, Dunnes Stores, Aldi, Lidl and Iceland, of their findings; all these firms withdrew the offending products. The media and newspapers of 16 January 2013 led with the story, focusing on the one burger which tested positive for 29% equine DNA.


2013 horse meat scandal, Investigations, Irish Investigations
Another significant investigation into the horse meat affair in Ireland by Ireland's Department of Agriculture, published its findings in March 2013. This report's investigation "concluded that there is no evidence that Silvercrest knowingly purchased horsemeat"


2013 horse meat scandal, Investigations, UK Investigations
In the UK, a House of Commons Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs report on the horse meat incident was not critical of UK or Irish producers. It expressed concern that horsemeat contamination was the result of fraud and other criminal activity across the EU. Chair of the Committee Anne McIntosh MP said:  "The evidence suggests a complex network of companies trading in and mislabeling beef or beef products which is fraudulent and illegal."


2013 horse meat scandal, Investigations, UK Investigations
The second major UK report on the horse meat incident was conducted by Professor Chris Elliott, the Director of the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen's University Belfast. In his independent report he argues that food crime was at the heart of the horse meat incident: and made a range of suggestions for how this could be tackled. "Industry, government and enforcement agencies should, as a precautionary principle, always put the needs of consumers above all other considerations, and this means giving food safety and food crime prevention – i.e. the deterrence of dishonest behavior – absolute priority over other objectives."


2013 horse meat scandal, Investigations, Test results
Of 27 beef burger products tested, 37% were positive for horse DNA, and 85% were positive for pig DNA. Of 31 beef meal products tested, 21 were positive for pig DNA but all were negative for horse DNA. 19 salami products were tested but were negative for all foreign DNA. Of the 37% of beef products tested positive for horse DNA, Tesco's inexpensive Everyday Value Beef Burgers tested at 29.1%. All other reported brands had less than 0.3% horse DNA. These products originated from Liffey Meats and Silvercrest Foods in Ireland and Dalepak Hambleton food processing plant in the United Kingdom. Trace amounts of horse DNA were also found in raw ingredients imported from Spain and the Netherlands.


2013 horse meat scandal, Investigations, Test results
Laboratory DNA investigations were requested by the authorities into possible donkey meat adulteration of minced meat products labelled as 100% beef. British company Primerdesign provided many of the tests to laboratories and companies wishing to test for contamination.


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, ABP Food Group
By 16 January 2013 four subsidiaries of ABP had been accused of supplying adulterated meat. They were Silvercrest in County Monaghan, Dalepak in North Yorkshire, Freshlink in Glasgow, ABP Nenagh in County Tipperary, Ireland and Dairy Crest, Rossington.


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, ABP Food Group
Hamburger meat from Silvercrest Foods, a subsidiary of Larry Goodman's ABP Food Group, in County Monaghan, Ireland, was found to contain 29% horse meat relative to beef. Porcine DNA was also found. Tesco dropped Silvercrest as a supplier of processed meat, but ABP said that it "welcomed their decision to continue sourcing fresh beef from other ABP companies". On 15 February 2013 Tesco said, "We will no longer work with the suppliers who fell below our very high standards."


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, ABP Food Group
The first apparent instance of fresh beef being adulterated with horse meat was reported by Asda, which removed its 500-gram own-label beef Bolognese sauce from sale. The sauce was supplied by Greencore, which said in a statement that the meat in the sauce had been supplied by ABP Food Group's Nenagh plant in County Tipperary, Ireland.


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, ABP Food Group
On 4 March 2013 Greencore announced that "multiple further tests for the presence of equine DNA on the same batch of the same product using both screening and quantitative tests (in line with FSA testing protocols) at two different, independent accredited laboratories have all produced negative results" and "an extensive programme of testing of other finished product and raw material at the Bristol facility has produced negative results for the presence of equine DNA. The investigation of the overall incident, overseen by an independent expert... included an audit of ABP Food Group's plant in Nenagh, Ireland... found no evidence of contamination in the supply chain."


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, ABP Food Group
Burger King, which had more than 500 fast food outlets in Ireland and the UK at the time, dropped Silvercrest as a supplier,using suppliers in Germany and Italy instead, after horse meat was found in their supply chain.


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, ABP Food Group
Waitrose removed beef meatballs from sale when it found that they contained pork. The meatballs were manufactured by an ABP factory in Glasgow. Waitrose, part of John Lewis, said it would be creating a new facility to supply its own beef products.


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, ABP Food Group
Tesco, the Co-operative Group, Iceland and Aldi also cancelled contracts with ABP Food Group because of the adulteration.


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, ABP Food Group
Food wholesaler Makro, supplier to the restaurant and pub industry, announced that some of its frozen burgers supplied by Silvercrest tested positive for horse DNA. A spokesman said that Makro no longer sold the product in question.


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, Spanghero
On 14 February 2013, the French government stated that French meat processing company À la Table de Spanghero knowingly sold horse meat labelled as beef, and that their licence was suspended while an inquiry took place. Spanghero imported meat from Romania and sold it on to another French company, Comigel, which made frozen ready meals at its factory in Luxembourg. French Consumer Affairs Minister Benoît Hamon said the meat had left Romania clearly and correctly labelled as horse and that it was afterwards that it was relabelled as beef by Spanghero. The investigation also said some blame may rest with Comigel, claiming the staff there should have noticed anomalies in the paperwork, and realised from the smell and look of the meat once it was defrosted that it was not beef.


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, Comigel
On 7 February 2013, Findus announced that in a sample of 18 beef lasagne products that it tested, 11 contained between 60% and 100% horse meat. It was also revealed that some of the products sold had minced meat declared as beef that was 60–100% horse meat. The source of the horse meat was third party supplier Comigel, a French-headquartered frozen ready meal producer, from its subsidiary Tavola factory in Capellen, Luxembourg.


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, Comigel
According to the FSA the company had been alerted by a third-party French supplier on 4 February 2013, and tested its beef lasagne products finding over 50% of the tested products contained horse meat. According to reports both Findus UK and the French supplier withdrew all products related to the third party supplier. The reason for the adulteration was initially stated as "highly likely" criminal activity.


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, Comigel
The president of Comigel, Erick Lehagre, told Agence France-Presse that the adulterated meat supplier was Spanghero, a firm owned by Lur Berri and founded in 1970 by Claude and Laurent Spanghero, two former France international rugby players. He said that Spanghero had told him that the meat was not from France, but came from a producer in Romania. On 11 February 2013 France's Consumer Affairs Minister Benoit Hamon warned it "will not hesitate" to take legal action if there is evidence companies had knowingly duped consumers.


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, Comigel
Hamon said an initial investigation by French safety authorities had found a French company Poujol (Spanghero's holding company) bought frozen meat from a Cypriot trader. That trader had bought it from Dutch food supplier Draap (the Dutch word for horse, Paard spelled backwards), owned by Jan Fasen, who was previously convicted for horse meat fraud in 2007. Draap, in turn, bought it from two Romanian slaughterhouses. Poujol then supplied a factory in Luxembourg, owned by Comigel, which then supplied Findus and the British supermarkets. The Romanian government has stated that there are no contracts between the Romanian abattoirs and any French, Cypriot or Dutch meat processors.


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, Comigel
On 8 February 2013, Findus announced that it would no longer accept meat from Comigel, and stopped further deliveries of the product in question. On the same day, Findus UK published a public apology on its website, also announcing that, following DNA testing, three of its products were found to contain horse tissue. These are the 320, 350 and 500 gram packages of Findus Beef Lasagne; the company offered a refund for products purchased.


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, Comigel
Findus Sverige AB also announced a recall of its 375 gram packs of ready-made single-portion lasagne (code 63957), and published a contact number for customers who had already purchased the products. On 8 February 2013 supermarket chain Aldi announced that it would withdraw from sale Today's Special Frozen Beef Lasagne and Today's Special Frozen Spaghetti Bolognese, supplied by Comigel, after tests found the meat content to be between 30 and 100% horse.


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, HJ Schypke
The Swiss-based company Nestlé reported on 18 February 2013 that it had found more than 1% horse DNA in two beef pasta products. It withdrew chilled pasta products, Buitoni Beef Ravioli and Beef Tortellini, in Italy and Spain. Sourced from sub-contractor HJ Schypke, itself a German sub-contractor of Belgian-based Nestlé supplier JBS Toledo, also withdrew frozen Lasagnes à la Bolognaise Gourmandes, a product for catering businesses produced in France.


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, Frigilunch
On 22 February 2013, Birds Eye revealed that DNA tests showed that horse meat was present in Birds Eye chili con carne sold in Belgium and supplied by Belgium firm Frigilunch. Birds Eye withdrew three ready meals that contained beef from sale in the UK.


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, Sodexo
All of the frozen beef products produced by Sodexo, "one of the largest private catering businesses in Britain", were withdrawn on 22 February 2013 following the discovery of horse DNA in a sample. The company supplies 2,300 institutions within the UK, including schools, old-age people homes, prisons and branches of the armed forces.


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, Kuršu Zeme
On 1 March the Department of Food and Veterinary of Lithuania announced that horse meat was found in three canned beef brands sold by Latvian company Kuršu Zeme. Canned beef made by the Latvian company was removed from sale in Lithuania.


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, Wiljo Import en Export B.V. and Vleesgroothandel Willy Selten B.V.
On 10 April 2013, it was reported that two Dutch trading companies owned by the same person who had previously been investigated by food safety officials may have supplied 50,000 metric tonnes of adulterated beef containing horse meat since January 2011.


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, Findus
On 7 February 2013, it was revealed by the Food Standards Agency that the Findus beef lasagne range in the UK, France, Norway and Sweden and the shepherd's pie and moussaka ranges in France contained horse meat without proper declaration or official scrutiny. The contamination may have gone on since summer 2012 according to a leaked document.


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, Compass Group
Compass Group was the world's biggest catering firm at the time and discovered through conducting tests that it was unknowingly supplying concealed horse meat in food products to a "small number" of schools in Northern Ireland.


2013 horse meat scandal, Companies, Whitbread
Whitbread, which was at the time Britain's biggest hotel group, also discovered through tests that it had unknowingly sold concealed horse meat in food products.


2013 horse meat scandal, Source of meat
The horse meat that was found in Comigel products originated at Doly Com, a Romanian-based slaughterhouse. An inquiry by the French government showed that "the meat had left Romania clearly and correctly labelled as horse. It was afterwards that it was relabelled as beef." Doly Com supplied the horse meat under a contract to Cyprus-based Draap Trading Ltd, a meat trader which operates in the Netherlands. It is owned by a British Virgin Islands holding company, and Jan Fasen is a director. Draap spelt backwards is paard, the Dutch word for horse.


2013 horse meat scandal, Source of meat
After having the horse meat delivered to a cold storage company in Breda, Draap then sold the frozen meat to Spanghero, who insist that it arrived at their Castelnaudary plant labelled as "Beef – originating in EU". After some processing, Spanghero then sent it to Comigel, where the end products for sale were made. According to French media reports, Spanghero falsified documents regarding the meat.


2013 horse meat scandal, Source of meat
Horse meat found in Silvercrest products is thought to have originated in Poland.


2013 horse meat scandal, Health implications
A small survey, part of the EU-funded project FoodRisC, by a team from University College Dublin and Brunel University found that health risks were not respondents' first concern, but rather that the claims made on labels did not match the contents of food products. Additional concerns included allegations that a "French plant which handled horse meat sold in Britain as beef has previously been at the centre of a major E.coli discovery".


2013 horse meat scandal, Health implications
Inquiry into horse meat sources in the UK also revealed that Aintree racecourse has a contract with a licensed slaughterhouse in West Yorkshire to remove dead Grand National race horses. It is illegal for horses euthanised by injection to be put into the human food chain. Many chemical agents used for animal euthanasia leave residues in the meat which may be harmful to humans, and have caused sickness and death in animal predators and scavengers. Aintree officials stated they were "as confident as we possibly can be that no unfit meat ever reaches the human food chain."


2013 horse meat scandal, Health implications, Phenylbutazone
In January 2013, concerns first arose about the possibility that horse meat containing traces of the veterinary drug phenylbutazone could enter the human food chain, in spite of regulations that horses treated with it cannot legally be used for human consumption. The drug, commonly known as "bute", is used as an analgesic in horses. The issue was also raised by politicians such as Labour party MP Mary Creagh.


2013 horse meat scandal, Health implications, Phenylbutazone
In response, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) initially stated that there had been only five cases of slaughtered horses in the UK which had been treated with phenylbutazone, none of which had entered the human food chain. A subsequent review of 206 horse carcasses slaughtered in the UK between 30 January and 7 February 2013 found eight were contaminated with phenylbutazone, six of which had been shipped to France. The UK's Chief Medical Officer, Sally Davies, said the level of contamination, 1.9 mg/kg, posed "very little risk to human health".


2013 horse meat scandal, Health implications, Phenylbutazone
She added that around 500–600 burgers containing 100% horse meat would need to be eaten to receive the daily human therapeutic dose. Additional tests at that time indicated than none of the products from Findus contained phenylbutazone. Another report found that between two and five percent of samples tested between 2007 and 2011 had phenylbutazone contamination, and that only 50 samples per year were tested. In 2012, 145 carcasses had been tested, and two out of the nine carcasses found positive for bute that year were not reported to the FSA for seven months.


2013 horse meat scandal, Health implications, Phenylbutazone
In April 2013, the FSA reported it had not only found more than 1% horse DNA in Asda's 340 gram tins of "Smart Price Corned Beef" but it also contained four ppb of phenylbutazone, marking the first time since the start of the scandal that bute had been detected in a meat product in the UK food chain.


2013 horse meat scandal, Health implications, Phenylbutazone
However, one problem raised was over documentation; all of the UK animals with phenylbutazone contamination tested in early 2013 possessed a "horse passport" that allowed the carcasses to be sold for human consumption. The veterinary residues committee (VRC) reminded the public in July 2012 that it had been "repeatedly expressing concern" about phenylbutazone contamination. and recent discoveries of contamination suggest that the passport system was not working.


2013 horse meat scandal, Health implications, Phenylbutazone
Phenylbutazone is used therapeutically in humans as a treatment for ankylosing spondylitis when other treatments are not suitable. The effect on humans of low-level exposure over an extended period has not been extensively formally studied. High incidences of focal necrosis were found in female rats fed low doses of 1,2-diphenylhydrazine over time. Non -steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) residues risk causing rare, but potentially fatal side-effects in humans. There is inadequate data on carcinogenicity of phenylbutazone; it is not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans.


2013 horse meat scandal, Health implications, Phenylbutazone
There is also speculation that some horse meat from the United States, where phenylbutazone is commonly used, may have entered the food chain via Mexico and then been exported to Europe. One reason for this is that Spanghero had purchased meat from a company, Draap, whose owner, Jan Fasen was previously convicted for fraud; as long ago as 2007, Draap had labelled horse meat imported from Mexico and South America as Dutch or German beef.


2013 horse meat scandal, Health implications, Phenylbutazone
The primary concern is horse meat from the United States: up to 15% of horses sent to slaughter in Canada or Mexico are former racehorses that have been given drugs during their racing career, such as phenylbutazone, which are approved for use in horses but not humans and carry the warning "Do not use in horses intended for human consumption." Further, they are given medication at levels that led a research veterinarian to call them "walking pharmacies". These animals may have meat too toxic to eat safely.


2013 horse meat scandal, Health implications, Equine infectious anaemia
Some experts and UK government officials have raised concerns that horse meat from Romania could be contaminated with equine infectious anaemia (EIA). Although EIA does not pose a risk to humans, it could be an indicator of additional health problems in horses that may stem from poor living conditions. Since 2007, the European Union has restricted export of live horses from Romania to any other EU member state unless the animals have a Coggins test for EIA prior to export. Environment secretary Owen Paterson stated that "Romanian horse meat is not allowed in", though he acknowledged that it could be a serious problem if Romanian horse meat from animals with EIA had been imported.


2013 horse meat scandal, Health implications, Equine infectious anaemia
Some news outlets referred to EIA as "Horse AIDS", even though it is not an immunodeficiency syndrome and the retrovirus that causes it is equid-specific. EIA is, however, a lentivirus, like HIV, and thus research on EIA has the potential to help research efforts with HIV/AIDS.


2013 horse meat scandal, Contributory causes
An article by Will Hutton about contamination in the UK lays much of the responsibility at the door of those who have (in the name of relaxing stifling red tape) removed much of the regulation of the meat industry, and cut the budgets and workforces—halving the number of inspectors—of those responsible for enforcing the remaining regulations. Another article points out that "Long business supply chains are corruptible and can hide a multitude of crimes if no one checks for fraud or criminal activity".


2013 horse meat scandal, Contributory causes
In Britain, the incident was a catalyst for the discussion of the validity of a self-regulated meat industry. Karen Jennings, assistant general secretary of the UNISON trades union, said that "the industry isn't fit to regulate itself".


2013 horse meat scandal, Implications for religious groups
Observant Muslims and Jews consider it sinful to eat certain types of meat, pork for both groups and also horse and many other animals for Jews, due to religious prohibitions. Professor Reilly stated "for some religious groups or people who abstain from eating pig meat, the presence of traces of pig DNA is unacceptable". On 15 March 2013 it was confirmed by a Westminster survey on health and safety that pig DNA had been found in halal chicken sausages produced for schools.


2013 horse meat scandal, Reactions
Horse meat is not normally eaten in Ireland and Britain. According to Professor Reilly, chief executive of the FSAI, "In Ireland, it is not our culture to eat horse meat and therefore, we do not expect to find it in a burger". Silvercrest, a subsidiary of ABP Foods has claimed that there is no risk to the public upon eating the foreign meat. Eleven firms, including Tesco and Asda, said they shared shoppers' "anger and outrage". Whitbread vowed to remedy the unacceptable situation. The Food Standards Agency's (FSA) chief executive, Catherine Brown also said "it is unlikely we will ever know" how many unwittingly ate horsemeat.


2013 horse meat scandal, Reactions, European Union officials
European Union officials, European ministers and Commissioner (Tonio) Borg set up an urgent meeting in Brussels on 13 February 2013 on how to contain the horse meat scandal that exposed flaws in European control systems on food safety, and to formulate an action plan. Following the meeting, EU agriculture ministers announced a three-month coordinated control plan of DNA testing of processed meat across the European Union. The plan, adopted 19 February 2013, called for 2,500 random tests on processed food for horse DNA and 4,000 for phenylbutazone (bute), beginning in March 2013, with initial results announced on 15 April 2013. The Hague-based Europol would handle co-ordination of the investigations among national authorities and any raids on premises as well as arrests on suspicion of criminal conspiracy to defraud.


2013 horse meat scandal, Reactions, Sales drop
On 26 February 2013 it was announced that sales of frozen hamburgers had fallen by 43% and frozen ready meals by 13% from levels before the scandal. The study took place 21 January – 17 February. Sales of bona fide horse meat, on the other hand, increased in those EU countries where it is moderately common.


2013 horse meat scandal, Arrests
On 23 May 2013, a Dutch meat wholesaler, Willy Selten, was arrested for allegedly selling 300 tonnes of horsemeat as beef. Selten, who owns the meat wholesaler Willy Selten BV, was arrested together with the company's interim director. In October Barry Gardiner MP, the UK shadow Environment minister criticised the lack of prosecutions of leading players ten months after David Cameron promised that everything possible would be done to deal with a  "very shocking" crime. Gardiner said "The extraordinary thing is that because of its clout, industry has been able to commit what appears to be a criminal offence – selling the public horsemeat falsely labelled as beef – and just say they are sorry and didn't know."


2013 horse meat scandal, Arrests
On 26 August 2016, Andronicos Sideras, owner of Dinos and Sons Ltd, was charged with conspiring with Ulrich Nielsen and Alex Ostler-Beech, of Flexi Foods, to sell horsemeat as beef between 1 January 2012 – 31 October 2012 by the City of London Police. On 2 August 2017 Sideras was jailed for four years and six months and Nielsen for three years and six months, while Ostler-Beech was given an 18-month suspended sentence and a 120 hour-community service order.


2013 horse meat scandal, December seizures
In December 2013 consignments of horse meat were seized and arrests made. 21 people were arrested on Monday 16 December in various parts of the South of France. This meat was from horses that had been kept on a farm attached to a scientific laboratory, and was not certified as fit for human consumption. A dealer from Narbonne was helping police with enquiries.


2013 horse meat scandal, Timeline
FSAI receives Semi-quantitative results from the Eurofins laboratory (Germany) that corroborates the initial results from the Identigen laboratory. Quantitative results from Identigen lab indicates that only 1 of 10 burgers tests showed an estimated low 29% level of equine (horse) DNA. This product was manufactured by Silvercrest on behalf of Tesco.


2013 horse meat scandal, Timeline
(The Identigen and Eurofin laboratories are both accredited to the European Standard EN ISO/IEC 17025:2005.)


2013 in AFC
The year 2013 is the 4th year in the history of Australian Fighting Championship (AFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in Australia. In 2013 AFC held 3 events.


2013 in AFC, AFC 7
AFC 7 was an event held on December 14, 2013, at Melbourne Pavilion in Melbourne, Australia.


2013 in AFC, AFC 6
AFC 6 was an event held on August 24, 2013, at Melbourne Pavilion in Melbourne, Australia.


2013 in AFC, AFC 5
AFC 5 was an event held on May 10, 2013, at Melbourne Pavilion in Melbourne, Australia.


2013 in Afghanistan
The following lists events that happened in 2013 in Afghanistan.


2013 in Albania
The following lists events that happened during 2013 in the Republic of Albania.


2013 in American football, College football, NCAA Division I FBS
The 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season began on Thursday, August 31 at 6:00 p.m. EDT, with both the kickoff of a game between North Carolina and South Carolina and a game between Kent State and FCS member Liberty. The Alabama Crimson Tide were voted as the preseason No. 1, receiving 58 of the 60 allotted first-place votes.


2013 in American football, College football, NCAA Division I FBS
As part of the 2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment, the Western Athletic Conference discontinued football and the Big East Conference went through a massive change in membership that saw the conference discontinue football and many of the original members rebrand as the American Athletic Conference, which began play in 2013.


2013 in American football, College football, NCAA Division I FBS
On September 7, the contest between Michigan and Notre Dame at Michigan Stadium set a new NCAA record for attendance at a college football game, with 115,109 people in attendance. This record would not be broken until the Battle at Bristol in 2016.


2013 in American football, College football, NCAA Division I FBS
On November 30, in the Iron Bowl game between Auburn and Alabama at Jordan–Hare Stadium, Alabama attempted a game-winning 57-yard field goal as time expired; however, the kick was short and was returned 109 yards for a walk-off Auburn touchdown, dubbed the "Kick Six". This came just two weeks after the so-called "Prayer at Jordan–Hare", in which Auburn defeated Georgia after a deep pass on 4th down late in the game was tipped by 3 Georgia defenders and fell into the hands of receiver Ricardo Louis, who then ran into the end zone for what would be the game-winning touchdown.


2013 in American football, College football, NCAA Division I FBS
UCF and Baylor were named champions of the American Athletic and Big 12 Conferences, respectively, based on their superior conference records. Arkansas State and Louisiana–Lafayette were named co-champions of the Sun Belt, though Louisiana–Lafayette would later vacate this championship along with eight of their nine wins from the season. In the first of the conference championship games to be played, Bowling Green defeated Northern Illinois to win the MAC Championship. Other teams who won their conference championship games included Florida State (ACC), Michigan State (Big Ten), Rice (Conference USA), Fresno State (Mountain West), Stanford (Pac-12), and Auburn (SEC).


2013 in American football, College football, NCAA Division I FBS
On December 14, Florida State freshman quarterback Jameis Winston was announced as the winner of the 79th Heisman Trophy, defeating Alabama senior quarterback A. J. McCarron and Northern Illinois senior quarterback Jordan Lynch, who finished second and third, respectively. Winston was the second consecutive freshman to win the award.


2013 in American football, College football, NCAA Division I FBS
The bowl game season kicked off with the New Mexico Bowl on December 21, and concluded with the 2014 BCS National Championship Game on January 6. The National Championship, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, saw the No. 1 Florida State Seminoles defeat the No. 2 Auburn Tigers, 34–31, to win the school's third national championship. This year was the last of the BCS era, as the College Football Playoff system would be introduced the following season.


2013 in American football, College football, NCAA Division I FCS
Similarly to the FBS, the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season began on Thursday, August 31 at 6:00 p.m. EDT, as Liberty kicked off against Kent State. The first matchup between two FCS teams began an hour later, with the start of a contest between Robert Morris and Eastern Kentucky at Roy Kidd Stadium. As the back-to-back defending national champions, North Dakota State received the preseason No. 1 ranking, along with 127 of the 134 first-place votes.


2013 in American football, College football, NCAA Division I FCS
The 2013 season saw the debuts of two new football programs, Charlotte and Houston Baptist, as well as the fielding of a football team at Mercer for the first time since 1941 and at Stetson for the first time since 1956.


2013 in American football, College football, NCAA Division I FCS
On August 31, No. 4 Eastern Washington defeated FBS opponent Oregon State, who was ranked No. 25 in the AP Poll at the time of the game. This marked only the third time that an FCS team had defeated a ranked FBS opponent, after Appalachian State in 2007 (def. No. 5 Michigan) and James Madison in 2010 (def. No . 13 Virginia Tech).


2013 in American football, College football, NCAA Division I FCS
Three more Power Five teams were upset by FCS opponents: Kansas State fell to No. 1 North Dakota State the day before the Eastern Washington–Oregon State game, August 30, and later on August 31 Iowa State was defeated by No. 17 Northern Iowa. The fourth and final instance came much later in the season, on November 23, when Georgia Southern upset Florida, extending the Gators' losing streak to six games.


2013 in American football, College football, NCAA Division I FCS
On December 16, Eastern Illinois senior quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was announced as the winner of the 27th Walter Payton Award, the award for the most outstanding player in Division I FCS football.


2013 in American football, College football, NCAA Division I FCS
The top eight seeds in the FCS Playoffs were given to, in order, North Dakota State, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Washington, Southeastern Louisiana, Maine, McNeese State, Towson, and Montana. No. 5 Maine, No. 6 McNeese State, and No. 8 Montana were the only three seeded teams to lose in their first playoff game. The national semifinals consisted of No. 1 North Dakota State, No. 3 Eastern Washington, No. 7 Towson, and unseeded New Hampshire. NDSU and Towson won their respective semifinal matchups, and the season ended on January 4, 2014, with the 2014 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, which saw No. 1 North Dakota State defeat No. 7 Towson, 35–7, to win their third consecutive national championship.


2013 in American football, College football, NCAA Division II
The 2013 NCAA Division II football season began on August 31, 2013. Defending national champions Valdosta State received the preseason No. 1 ranking for the third time in school history.


2013 in American football, College football, NCAA Division II
Division II saw the loss of two programs to the Division I FCS ranks, Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word, but also saw the debuts of two new programs in Alderson Broaddus and Florida Tech.


2013 in American football, College football, NCAA Division II
On December 20, Bloomsburg running back Franklyn Quiteh was announced as the winner of the 28th Harlon Hill Trophy, the award for the best player in Division II football.


2013 in American football, College football, NCAA Division II
The NCAA Playoffs were divided into four super regions, each of which contained six teams seeded 1–6. Shepherd, Lenoir–Rhyne, Northwest Missouri State, and CSU–Pueblo received the four No. 1 seeds. CSU–Pueblo was upset by No. 4 seed Grand Valley State in its first game, and Shepherd was defeated by No. 3 seed West Chester in its second game; both lower-seeded teams made the semifinals. The 2013 NCAA Division II Football Championship Game, played on December 21 at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, saw No. 1 seed Northwest Missouri State defeat No. 1 seed Lenoir–Rhyne, 43–28, to win the school's fifth national championship.


2013 in American football, College football, NCAA Division III
The 2013 NCAA Division III football season began on August 31, and the regular season concluded on November 16. The following Saturday, November 23, the playoffs began, with opening round games played at campus sites.


2013 in American football, College football, NCAA Division III
In the first round, which consisted of sixteen games, only three home teams lost: Centennial Conference champions Johns Hopkins were defeated by Wesley, Illinois Wesleyan lost to IIAC champions Wartburg, and John Carroll fell to St. John Fisher. St. John Fisher was the only away team to win in the second round, as they upset Liberty League champions Hobart. The third round again saw only one away team prevail, CCIW champions North Central defeated MIAC champions Bethel on the road.


2013 in American football, College football, NCAA Division III
This set up the semifinals, which consisted of OAC champions No. 3 Mount Union, CCIW champions No. 5 North Central, WIAC champions No. 1 Wisconsin–Whitewater, and ASC champions No. 2 Mary Hardin–Baylor. In one semifinal, Mount Union defeated North Central at home, 41–40, after a passing touchdown gave the Purple Raiders the lead with just 1:26 left in the game. The other semifinal saw Wisconsin–Whitewater edge Mary Hardin–Baylor on the road, 16–15, despite a scoreless fourth quarter from the Warhawks.


2013 in American football, College football, NCAA Division III
This set up the national championship game, played on December 20 at Salem Stadium in Salem, Virginia, between No. 3 Mount Union and No. 1 Wisconsin–Whitewater. Two days prior, on December 18, Mount Union quarterback Kevin Burke was named the winner of the 21st Gagliardi Trophy, the award for the most outstanding player in NCAA Division III football. The championship game, unlike the semifinals, was not a close matchup; the Warhawks defeated the Purple Raiders 52–14 to win the national championship, Wisconsin–Whitewater's fourth.


2013 in American football, College football, NAIA
The 2013 NAIA football season began with the Morningside (IA) Mustangs holding the No. 1 spot in the NAIA Coaches' Poll, despite only receiving four of the thirteen first-place votes, eight of which went to No. 2 Marian (IN). A Marian loss to No. 4 Saint Xavier (IL) on September 7 dropped them to No. 16, and the Knights would drop out of the poll entirely after another loss the following week to Wisconsin–Oshkosh, ranked No. 10 in the NCAA Division III polls.


2013 in American football, College football, NAIA
Morningside would retain the No. 1 spot until they lost on November 9 to No. 19 Northwestern (IA) and dropped to No. 5, opening the door for the Cumberlands (KY) Patriots to take the top spot in the November 11 poll. In the final poll before the NAIA Playoffs began, released on November 17, Cumberlands (KY) retained the top spot, followed by No. 2 Grand View (IA), No. 3 Carroll (MT), No. 4 Baker (KS), and No. 5 Morningside (IA).


2013 in American football, College football, NAIA
The opening round of the NAIA Championship tournament was played on November 23, with sixteen teams earning tournament berths. No. 8 Benedictine (KS) was the only team to be upset in the first round, as they lost 13–14 at the hands of No. 11 Tabor (KS). No. 5 Morningside provided the only upset of the quarterfinals, as they knocked off No. 4 Baker by a score of 36–28. The semifinals of the tournament saw No. 1 Cumberlands defeat No. 3 Carroll 34–27 in overtime, and No. 2 Grand View dismantle No. 5 Morningside 35–0.


2013 in American football, College football, NAIA
This set up a national championship matchup on December 21 at Barron Stadium in Rome, Georgia, between the top-ranked Cumberlands Patriots and the second-ranked Grand View Vikings, both a perfect 13–0 entering the contest. The Vikings jumped out to an early 14–3 lead, and had a 21–17 advantage at halftime. A scoreless third quarter kept the lead with Grand View going into the final quarter.


2013 in American football, College football, NAIA
The Vikings extended their lead to 28–17, and Cumberlands responded with six points of their own; however, Grand View scored one final time and the contest finished with the Grand View Vikings improving their record to 14–0 and being crowned national champions, by a score of 35–23, for the first time in school history.


2013 in American football, NFL
The 2013 NFL Draft took place from April 25–27, 2013, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Central Michigan offensive tackle Eric Fisher was selected first overall by the Kansas City Chiefs, followed by Texas A&M offensive tackle Luke Joeckel (Jacksonville Jaguars), Oregon defensive end Dion Jordan (Miami Dolphins), Oklahoma offensive tackle Lane Johnson (Philadelphia Eagles), and BYU defensive tackle Ezekiel Ansah (Detroit Lions). West Virginia wide receiver Tavon Austin was the first skill player drafted, taken eighth overall by the St. Louis Rams.


2013 in American football, NFL
Other notable selections included Desmond Trufant (22nd, Falcons), DeAndre Hopkins (27th, Texans), Cordarrelle Patterson (29th, Vikings), Zach Ertz (35th, Eagles), Le'Veon Bell (48th, Steelers), Eddie Lacy (61st, Packers), Travis Kelce (63rd, Chiefs), and Tyrann Mathieu (69th, Cardinals), among others. South Carolina tight end Justice Cunningham was selected last by the Indianapolis Colts, making him the 2013 Mr. Irrelevant.


2013 in American football, NFL
The 2013 NFL season commenced with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, played on August 4 at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio. In the game, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins, 24–20. The preseason schedule, which consisted of 65 games in total (no less than four for each team), concluded on August 29.


2013 in American football, NFL
The regular season began with the NFL Kickoff Game on September 5, between the Denver Broncos and defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens at the Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver. This game saw the Broncos, led by Peyton Manning's 7 touchdown performance, defeat Baltimore 49–27. Throughout the regular season, three games were played outside the United States: two International Series games were held at Wembley Stadium in London in September, between Minnesota and Pittsburgh, and October, between San Francisco and Jacksonville. In December, a game was played between Buffalo and Atlanta at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.


2013 in American football, NFL
At the conclusion of the regular season, the Denver Broncos (13–3) topped the AFC West and the AFC as a whole, capturing the top AFC seed in the playoffs. The No. 2 seed went to the New England Patriots (12–4), who topped the AFC East. The Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts (both 11–5) captured the North and South divisional titles and took the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, respectively. The Kansas City Chiefs (11–5) and San Diego Chargers (9–7), both from the AFC West, captured the wild card spots and took the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds. The defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens finished 8–8 and placed third in the AFC North, failing to make the playoffs.


2013 in American football, NFL
In the NFC, the Seattle Seahawks (13–3) of the NFC West took the conference regular season crown and the top seed. The Carolina Panthers (12–4) topped the South division and took the No. 2 seed, while the Philadelphia Eagles (10–6) took the East division crown and captured the No. 3 seed. The No. 4 seed went to the Green Bay Packers (8–7–1), champions of the NFC North. The NFC's wild card spots went to the San Francisco 49ers (12–4) and the New Orleans Saints (11–5), from the West and South divisions.


2013 in American football, NFL
The playoffs began on January 4, 2014, with two of the four scheduled Wild Card games. A late-game touchdown capping the second-largest comeback in NFL playoffs history propelled the Colts over the Chiefs, 45–44, and a Shayne Graham field goal as time expired sent the Saints past the Eagles on the road, 26–24. The next day saw the other two Wild Card contests, in which the Chargers soundly defeated the Bengals, 27–10, and the 49ers snuck by the Packers, 23–20, by virtue of a Phil Dawson game-winning field goal.


2013 in American football, NFL
The divisional round of the playoffs kicked off on January 11, with a matchup between the NFC's top-seeded Seattle Seahawks and the Wild Card victor New Orleans Saints. The Seahawks' Legion of Boom defense kept New Orleans scoreless until the fourth quarter, and running back Marshawn Lynch found the end zone twice to help Seattle to victory, 23–15. The following AFC game was far less competitive, as running back LeGarrette Blount scored three times before halftime and added a fourth in the final quarter in the Patriots' 43–22 rout of the Colts.


2013 in American football, NFL
On January 12, the divisional round wrapped up with two more games: the NFC's game saw the 49ers upset the Cam Newton-led Panthers, who only managed to find the scoreboard in the second quarter and ultimately fell 10–23. The AFC's contest saw the top-seed Broncos take a 17–0 lead into the fourth quarter against the Chargers, and advance by virtue of a 24–17 victory despite a valiant San Diego comeback.


2013 in American football, NFL
The divisional rounds now complete, the conference championship games were set to be contested on January 19. First up was the AFC title game, between the top-seed Broncos and the No. 2 seed Patriots. Slow starts from both teams meant that the only points on the board after one quarter were from the boot of Matt Prater, though a couple more Denver scores and a field goal from New England put the halftime score at 13–3 Denver.


2013 in American football, NFL
The Broncos extended their lead in the third quarter and took a 17-point advantage into the fourth, where they fended off a potential comeback bid and took home the victory and Super Bowl berth by a final score of 26–16. The NFC Championship followed, played between No. 1 Seattle and No. 5 San Francisco. The 49ers capitalized on a Russell Wilson fumble on the Seahawks' first drive and jumped out to an early 3–0 lead; San Francisco maintained the lead and took a 10–3 advantage into the break.


2013 in American football, NFL
Touchdowns from both teams and a Seattle field goal put the score at 17–13 in favor of the 49ers, but the Seahawks pass just over a minute into the final quarter put Seattle in the lead for the first time. After a field goal extended the Seahawks' lead to 23–17, the 49ers had possession and were seeking to drive to win the game. On a pass into the end zone from Colin Kaepernick to Michael Crabtree, safety Richard Sherman tipped the pass to teammate Malcolm Smith, who caught it for the game-sealing interception. This play was dubbed the "Immaculate Deflection", or "The Tip", and the game also became notable for Sherman's postgame interview with Erin Andrews.


2013 in American football, NFL
This set up a matchup between the two No. 1 seeds, the Broncos and the Seahawks, in Super Bowl XLVIII, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The game was met with cold weather, with kickoff temperatures measuring in the 50s, though they were expected to be up to 10 or 15 degrees colder. The Broncos entered the game as two-point favorites, but faltered as soon as the first play when a shotgun snap went over Peyton Manning's head and was downed in the end zone for a safety, giving the Seahawks an immediate 2–0 advantage.


2013 in American football, NFL
The Seahawks converted two field goals in addition to the safety in the first quarter, which put the score at 8–0 at the quarter's end. Seattle further extended their lead with a pair of second quarter touchdowns, including a Malcolm Smith pick-six, to make the score 22–0 going into halftime. The situation worsened for the Broncos as the third quarter kicked off, as Seattle's lead extended to 29 by virtue of a Percy Harvin kickoff return for a touchdown. Denver managed to score only once in the game, and the contest ended with the Seahawks winning 43–8 and achieving the largest margin of victory by any underdog in a Super Bowl. This was also the Seahawks' first-ever Super Bowl title.


2013 in American football, Other domestic leagues, Arena Football League
The 2013 Arena Football League season, the league's twenty-sixth, began on March 23, 2013. The league played with fourteen teams, down from seventeen the year prior, as the Kansas City Command and Georgia Force folded and the Milwaukee Mustangs suspended their operations for the 2013 season. The regular season's last game was played July 27, and the Jacksonville Sharks and Arizona Rattlers finished as the champions of the American and National conferences, respectively.


2013 in American football, Other domestic leagues, Arena Football League
The Philadelphia Soul and Chicago Rush nabbed the No. 2 seed in their respective conferences, and the remaining 3 and 4 spots went to the two remaining teams in each conference with the best record – in the American conference, the Predators and Storm, in the National conference, the Shock and the SaberCats.


2013 in American football, Other domestic leagues, Arena Football League
The playoffs commenced on August 1, with a National conference semifinal between No. 2 Chicago and No. 3 Spokane. The game was held in Spokane, despite being originally scheduled for the higher seed's home venue in Chicago, due to what were described as "arena conflicts". Spokane emerged the winner, 67–49. A doubleheader on August 3 saw two teams keep their seasons alive: No. 1 Jacksonville, who defeated No. 4 Tampa Bay by just a touchdown after scoring twice in the game's final eight seconds, and No. 2 Philadelphia, who took down No. 3 Orlando by four points. The final conference semifinal to be played took place on August 4, when No. 1 Arizona defeated No. 4 San Jose by ten.


2013 in American football, Other domestic leagues, Arena Football League
On August 10, the conference championship games were played. The American conference title game saw No. 2 Philadelphia upset No. 1 Jacksonville, thanks to a 75-point offensive performance, and book their spot in ArenaBowl XXVI. Their opponent was determined shortly thereafter, as the National conference championship saw the top-seeded Rattlers outlast the Spokane Shock, setting up a Soul–Rattlers contest for the ArenaBowl. The 26th edition of the ArenaBowl was won by the Arizona Rattlers, led by All-Arena first team quarterback Nick Davila, by a final score of 48–39. This was the team's fourth championship victory.


2013 in American football, Other domestic leagues, Indoor Football League
The 2013 Indoor Football League season began on February 15, 2013, and the regular season came to a close on June 15. The league played with nine teams, down from sixteen the previous year. The Sioux Falls Storm, the defending IFL champions, finished the regular season with a 10–4 record, and finished champions of the United Conference, while the Intense Conference title went to the 10–4 Nebraska Danger. The runners-up from each conference also made the playoffs, meaning that the Colorado Ice and the Cedar Rapids Titans (both 9–5) made the playoffs as well. The Tri-Cities Fever, who made the 2012 United Bowl and finished as the league's runners-up, finished the regular season at 6–8 and failed to make the postseason.


2013 in American football, Other domestic leagues, Indoor Football League
In the semifinals, both top seeds prevailed; Nebraska defeated Colorado 55–50, and Sioux Falls beat Cedar Rapids 44–20, to set up a 2013 United Bowl matchup between the two conference champions. In the title game, the Danger, led by league MVP Jameel Sewell at quarterback, fell to the Storm by a slim three point margin, giving Sioux Falls their third consecutive IFL title and their seventh league championship in the team's history, dating back to their four consecutive United Indoor Football championships from 2005–08.


2013 in American football, Other domestic leagues, American Indoor Football
The 2013 American Indoor Football season was the league's eighth. Five teams competed, down from twelve members that competed during the 2012 season. The Cape Fear Heroes and Harrisburg Stampede were the only two teams to return in their same name and location for 2013, with the Virginia Badgers returning as the West Virginia Badgers. Two new teams, the York Capitals and the Washington Eagles, joined the league as well.


2013 in American football, Other domestic leagues, American Indoor Football
The Cape Fear Heroes, who finished the 2012 campaign with a perfect 9–0 record and a league championship, returned to dominance, finishing the regular season with a 7–1 mark and the league regular season title. The Harrisburg Stampede finished in a close second, clinching the Wild Card No. 2 seed with a 6–2 record. The final playoff spot went to the York Capitals, who finished 5–3. The Washington Eagles and the West Virginia Badgers both finished the season without a win: the former 0–8 and the latter 0–4, due to their status as a travel-only team.


2013 in American football, Other domestic leagues, American Indoor Football
The playoff structure saw the top-seeded Heroes earn an automatic championship game berth, and the Stampede and Capitals play in a Wild Card game to determine who would face the Heroes. The Stampede, led by Offensive Player of the Year quarterback E. J. Nemeth, defeated York 51–41 and advanced to the championship. Harrisburg kept up the good form in the championship game and defeated Cape Fear to win AIF Championship Bowl VI, by a score of 57–42. This was the team's first championship.


2013 in American football, Other domestic leagues, Champions Professional Indoor Football League
The 2013 season was the first of an eventual two for the Champions Professional Indoor Football League. Founded the year prior, the league began its inaugural season on March 9, 2013 with ten teams from throughout the midwestern United States. The winners of the inaugural game, the Wichita Wild, would go on to finish the season with a 10–2 record, as did the Sioux City Bandits and Omaha Beef. The final playoff team was the Salina Bombers, who finished the regular season 9–3. Wichita defeated Omaha, 31–25, and Salina defeated Sioux Falls, 29–26, in the semifinals. The league championship game, dubbed the Champions Bowl, was played on June 22 at Wichita's home arena, Hartman Arena, in Park City, Kansas. In the championship game, the Wild, led by Champions Bowl MVP Rocky Hinds, defeated the Bombers, 47–34, to win the title.


2013 in American football, Other domestic leagues, Continental Indoor Football League
The 2013 Continental Indoor Football League season was the league's eighth. The regular season lasted from February 8 to April 23. The defending champions, the Saginaw Sting, finished the regular season third with a record of 8–2. They were bested by the top-seed Erie Explosion, who took the league regular season championship with a perfect 10–0 record, which included a season-closing 95–0 shutout over the Flint Fury, a semi-pro team. The No. 2 seed was claimed by the Dayton Sharks, who also finished 8–2, and the final playoff spot went to the 7–3 Kentucky Xtreme. Incidentally, the four playoff teams were the only four that finished the season with winning records; the Detroit Thunder and the Port Huron Patriots both finished one game below .500 at 4–6.


2013 in American football, Other domestic leagues, Continental Indoor Football League
In the playoffs, the Explosion faced the Extreme and easily advanced to the title game with a 55–6 win, while the No. 3 Sting upset the No. 2 Sharks to return to the championship game by a mere three points, 66–63. This set up a championship matchup between Erie, making their first title game appearance, and Saginaw, defending champions making their third appearance, also having won in 2008. After falling behind early, Saginaw led the contest at halftime, 22–17.


2013 in American football, Other domestic leagues, Continental Indoor Football League
Erie started the third quarter with a pair of scores to take the lead, 30–22, but Saginaw answered with two scores of their own to retake the lead. Only with under two minutes to play did Erie retake the lead for the final time, as running back Richard Stokes found the end zone to give Erie the championship, 37–36.


2013 in American football, Other domestic leagues, Professional Indoor Football League
The 2013 PIFL season, the second in the league's history, began on March 8, 2013. The league played with seven teams, up from six from its inaugural season, with the addition of the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks. On May 25, just fifteen days before the end of the regular season, the Louisiana Swashbucklers declared bankruptcy, citing low ticket sales. Louisiana's home game the next day against Alabama was cancelled, and the Swashbucklers played their last three games, all away, before formally folding.


2013 in American football, Other domestic leagues, Professional Indoor Football League
The top spot in the PIFL playoffs went to the Alabama Hammers, who finished 9–2, an improvement from their three-win season in 2012. The Lehigh Valley Steelhawks, the league's newcomers, nabbed the second-place spot with a 7–5 season. The defending champion Richmond Raiders, coming off of a ten-win regular season the year prior, ended the regular season just 7–5 in 2013, capturing the third spot, and the fourth spot also went to a 7–5 team, the Albany Panthers. Louisiana (5–6), Columbus (4–8), and Knoxville (2–10) all missed the playoffs.


2013 in American football, Other domestic leagues, Professional Indoor Football League
In the semifinals, the No. 1 Hammers took down No. 4 Albany, 61–46, and No. 3 Richmond pulled the upset over No. 2 Lehigh Valley to book a return to the title game, 44–40. The league championship, dubbed PIFL Cup II, was played on July 8 at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The Hammers managed to fend off the challenge from the Raiders, and took home the championship, by a score of 70–44.


2013 in American football, Other domestic leagues, LFL US
The 2013 LFL US season was the fifth in the league's history, but the first under the name "Legends Football League". Twelve teams competed, split into two conferences (Eastern and Western) each containing two divisions (Southeastern and Northeastern; Midwestern and Pacific). Each team played a four-game regular season, against all but one of the teams in their conference. The regular season began on March 30, with a contest between the Atlanta Steam and the Jacksonville Breeze, and concluded on August 10 with a game between the Chicago Bliss and the Green Bay Chill.


2013 in American football, Other domestic leagues, LFL US
At the regular season's conclusion, the Baltimore Charm sat atop the Eastern Conference with a 3–1 record, while the Seattle Mist won the Western Conference title at 4–0. Those two teams automatically qualified for the playoff semifinals, while their opponents were to be decided in the divisional round. The Atlanta Steam and the Philadelphia Passion (both 2–1–1) made the divisional round from the Eastern Conference, while the Chicago Bliss (3–1) and the Los Angeles Temptation (2–1–1) qualified from the Western Conference.


2013 in American football, Other domestic leagues, LFL US
The playoffs began on August 17 with the divisional round, which saw Philadelphia beat Atlanta, 28–20, and Chicago defeat Los Angeles, 19–12. Philadelphia and Chicago then advanced to the conference championships, to be played on August 24. In the semifinals, Philadelphia upset Baltimore by a point, and Chicago defeated Seattle by 17, putting the Passion and the Bliss in the championship game, the Legends Cup. The league championship was played on September 1, at Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada, and saw Chicago defeat Philadelphia, 38–14, to win the league for the first time in team history.


2013 in American football, Other domestic leagues, Ultimate Indoor Football League
The 2013 UIFL season was the third in league history. Six teams contested the 2013 season, down from ten the year prior. The regular season began on March 8, and concluded on June 4 with the defending league runners-up, the Florida Tarpons, leading the league at 5–1 and capturing the first of three available playoff spots. The second spot was won by the Corpus Christi Fury, an expansion team that finished 6–1, and the third went to the Lakeland Raiders, who finished 6–3. The Missouri Monsters (5–5) and the Georgia Rampage (3–5) both missed the playoffs, as did the Sarasota Thunder, who finished the season having only played three games, all of which ended in shutout losses; their other four scheduled games were cancelled.


2013 in American football, Other domestic leagues, Ultimate Indoor Football League
The UIFL's three-team playoff began with the semifinal game on June 2, between the Lakeland Raiders and the Corpus Christi Fury. The Fury defeated the Raiders, 58–48, and advanced to the league championship. The title game, dubbed Ultimate Bowl III, was played on June 8 between the No. 1 Florida Tarpons and the No. 2 Corpus Christi Fury at the Germain Arena at Estero, Florida. The Tarpons won the game, 40–32, to capture their first league championship in team history.


2013 in American football, International leagues, Belgian Football League
The 2013 BFL season was the twenty-seventh in the history of the league, the top flight American football league in Belgium. Fifteen teams competed, and were divided into two conferences, the Flemish American Football League (FAFL) and the Ligue Francophone de Football Americain de Belgique (LFFAB). The top three seeds in each conference gained playoff berths; those teams were determined upon the conclusion of the regular season. In the FFL, the Brussels Bulls repeated as conference champions, finishing the regular season 6–0.


2013 in American football, International leagues, Belgian Football League
The Brussels Black Angels finished runners-up at 5–1, and the Puurs Titans claimed the final spot with a 3–2 record. In the LFFAB, the BFL's defending champions, the Brussels Tigers (7–0) took the top spot, winning their fourth consecutive conference championship. The Louvain-la-Neuve Fighting Turtles (6–1) and the Liège Monarchs (4–3) also earned playoff berths, as the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, respectively.


2013 in American football, International leagues, Belgian Football League
The playoffs began with the quarterfinal round on May 12. The FFL's quarterfinal saw the Black Angels defeat the Monarchs, while the LFFAB's quarterfinal finished with a 24–2 win for Louvain-la-Neuve over Puurs. The semifinals took place on May 19; Both top seeds prevailed, with the Brussels Bulls setting up a title defense by virtue of a 50–14 victory of Louvain-la-Neuve, and the Brussels Tigers defeating the Brussels Black Angels 37–7 to book their place in the title game. The league championship, Belgian Bowl XXVI, was played on June 2, in Izegem, between the two conference champions. The Brussels Tigers successfully defended their title, as they defeated the Bulls 9–0.


2013 in American football, International leagues, German Football League
The 2013 German Football League was the competition's thirty-fifth edition. Sixteen teams contested the GFL, the top-flight American football league in Germany, while an additional sixteen contested the second-flight GFL 2. The league's regular season began on May 5 and ran through September 15. At the end of the regular season, the GFL North was led by the New Yorker Lions, while the South was led by the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns. The top four teams in each conference qualified for the playoffs, meaning that berths from the North also went to the Dresden Monarchs, the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes, and the Berlin Adler, while the South qualified the Marburg Mercenaries, the Munich Cowboys, and the Rhein-Neckar Bandits.


2013 in American football, International leagues, German Football League
The playoffs began on September 21. In the quarterfinal round, all four of the GFL South teams suffered defeats, which guaranteed a title to a GFL North team. New Yorker and Dresden, the top two seeds from the North, advanced past the semifinals and earned berths in the championship game. German Bowl XXXV was held on October 12 at Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark in Berlin and saw the Lions defeat the Monarchs, 35–34, to win their thirteenth league title.


2013 in American football, International leagues, German Football League
The GFL operates with a promotion and relegation system, meaning the last-place team from each conference faces the champions of the respective GFL 2 conference to determine who will play in the top flight the following season. In the GFL North relegation playoff, the last-place Cologne Falcons defeated the GFL 2 North champion Bielefield Bulldogs by a single point on aggregate to keep their place in the GFL. The GFL south last-place finishers, the Wiesbaden Phantoms, were defeated by the GFL 2 South champion Allgäu Comets on aggregate, and were therefore relegated.


2013 in American football, International leagues, LFL Canada
The 2013 LFL Canada season was planned to have been the second season of the Legends Football League in Canada. Four teams were scheduled to contest the season: the BC Angels, the Calgary Fillies, the Regina Rage, and the Saskatoon Sirens. The season was scheduled to begin on September 13, and the regular season was planned to run through November 9, with the top two teams in the league standings automatically qualifying for the LFL Canada Legends Cup on November 16, held at the Stampede Corral in Calgary. Ultimately, the season was never played; three new coaching staffs from the previous season, a short timeframe for teams to prepare, and safety concerns prompted the cancellation of the season.


2013 in American music
The following is a list of notable events and releases that happened in 2013 in music in the United States.


2013 in American music, Top hits on record
Billboard Hot 100 Hits – Singles which have ranked within Top 20


2013 in American soccer
The 2013 season is the 101st season of competitive soccer in the United States.


2013 in American soccer, American club leagues, Major League Soccer
The Major League Soccer season began on March 2, 2013, following preseason events in Tucson, Arizona, Orlando, Florida, and Charleston, South Carolina. The regular season ended on October 27, 2013.


2013 in American soccer, American club leagues, Major League Soccer, Conference tables
(SS) = Supporters Shield winner; (E1) = Eastern Conference champion


2013 in American soccer, American club leagues, Major League Soccer, Overall table
(SS) = Supporters Shield winner; (E1) = Eastern Conference champion; (W1) = Western Conference champion


2013 in American soccer, American club leagues, North American Soccer League
The North American Soccer League has been split into spring and fall tournaments for the 2013 season, similar to the Apertura and Clausura league system commonly found in Mexican and Central American soccer leagues. The winner of the Spring season will host the winner of the Fall season in the 2013 Soccer Bowl championship. The Spring season will begin on April 6, 2013. The Fall season will begin on August 3, 2013.


2013 in American soccer, American club leagues, North American Soccer League, Fall Season
The New York Cosmos will join the league during the Fall season. Puerto Rico Islanders, originally planned to take part in this season, announced taking one year off due to restructuring.


2013 in American soccer, American club leagues, North American Soccer League, Soccer Bowl 2013
Soccer Bowl 2013 was contested by the winners of the spring and fall seasons. The game was hosted by the winner of the spring season.


2013 in American soccer, American club leagues, USL Pro
For the first time, all USL Pro teams will play every other team in a home-and-away arrangement, like most European leagues. The only exception will be Antigua Barracuda FC, which will play all their matches on the road, giving every other team 13 home matches against other USL Pro teams.


2013 in American soccer, American club leagues, USL Pro
On January 23, 2013, USL Pro announced an alliance with Major League Soccer. For the 2013 season, four MLS teams will affiliate with USL Pro teams in lieu of participating in the MLS Reserve League system. These MLS clubs will loan at least four of their reserve players to their USL Pro affiliate club for development purposes.


2013 in American soccer, American club leagues, USL Pro
All USL Pro teams will play two matches each with the remaining MLS Reserve League teams. Those matches will count toward USL Pro standings, giving each team a total of 26 games.


2013 in American soccer, American club leagues, USL Pro
USL Pro teams will play MLS Reserve teams as listed below. Except for Antigua Barracuda FC (who will play two MLS reserve teams on the road), each set will be a home-and-away arrangement.


2013 in American soccer, American club leagues, USL Pro
The USL Pro season will begin on March 23, 2013. The first matches with MLS Reserve League teams will take place on April 7, 2013.


2013 in American soccer, American club leagues, National Women's Soccer League
The inaugural NWSL season began on April 13 and concluded on August 18. The Portland Thorns won the first NWSL Championship, defeating NWSL Shield winner Western New York Flash 2–0 on August 31.


2013 in American soccer, US Open Cup
The 100th edition of the annual national championship, the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, ran from May 7 through October 2. Sporting Kansas City, the defending champions, were eliminated in the fourth round (round of 16) by USL Pro side Orlando City.


2013 in American soccer, US Open Cup
D.C. United defeated Real Salt Lake 1–0 in the final to qualify for the 2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage.


2013 in American television
The following is a list of events affecting American television in 2013. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, and cancellations; channel launches, closures, and rebrandings; stations changing or adding their network affiliations; and information about changes of ownership of channels or stations, controversies and carriage disputes.


2013 in American television, Television programs, Entering syndication in 2013
A list of programs (current or canceled) that have accumulated enough episodes (between 65 and 100) or seasons (3 or more) to be eligible for off-network syndication and/or basic cable runs.


2013 in American television, Television programs, Network changes
The following shows will air new episodes on a different network than previous first-run episodes.


2013 in American television, Television programs, Programs returning in 2013
The following shows will return with new episodes after being canceled or ended their run previously:


2013 in American television, Television stations, Network affiliation changes
The following is a list of television stations that have made or will make noteworthy network affiliation changes in 2013.


2013 in Angola
Events in the year 2013 in Angola. The country had a population of 19,183,590.


2013 in Armenia
The following lists events that happened during 2013 in Armenia.


2013 in Australia
The following lists events that happened during 2013 in Australia.


2013 in Australian literature
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2013.


2013 in Australian music
The following is a list of notable events that have happened in 2013 in music in Australia.


2013 in Australian music, 2013 Australian music charts, 2013 AIR charts
Winners below for the 2013 Carlton Dry Independent music awards:


2013 in Australian television
This is a list of Australian television events and premieres which occurred, or were scheduled to occur, in 2013, the 58th year of continuous operation of television in Australia.


2013 in Australian television, Digital television transition, Analogue switch-off
The switch-off of analogue television was completed in 2013, with the following areas being the last to be switched off: