European Football League

European Football League

Sport	Gridiron football
Founded	1986
No. of teams	6
Most recent champion(s)	Kiel Baltic Hurricanes
Most titles	Vienna Vikings (5)
Official website	Eurobowl.info

The European Football League (EFL) is a tournament for the top European American Football teams affiliated to EFAF (European Federation of American Football). The final game of the EFL is called the Eurobowl, which has been held annually since 1986.

EFL

Under the governance of EFAF, the best American Football teams in Europe participate in an annual competition. EFAF determine the relative strength of each of its 17 affiliate leagues and allocates teams to the 4 divisions accordingly, thus not all nations take part. National League Champions, runners-up or teams with International success are eligible for the EFL. Teams from 'weaker' leagues may take part in the EFAF Cup. The final game of the EFL was the Eurobowl, which has been held annually since 1986.

In 2014, the BIG6 European Football League was introduced as the new top-tier competition of American football in Europe.^[1] The EFL continued to be played as a second-tier competition, with its teams playing for the newly created EFL Bowl trophy.^[2] The inaugural EFL Bowl was won by the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes of Germany against Spain's Badalona Dracs on 20 July 2014.^[3]

Format

Until 2013, Teams were split into 4 divisions of 3 or 2 teams. In a division of 3, teams played 2 matches; once at home to one opponent and the other away to the other opponent. In a division of 2 teams, each team played each other home and away. The division winners then advanced to the play-offs.

The play-off format was changed for the 2008 season. The tournament was expanded to an eight-team competition. The two finalists from the 2007 season, Vienna Vikings and Marburg Mercenaries, earned automatic berths for the next season and the two semi-finalists, Eidsvoll 1814's from Norway and Tirol Raiders from Austria, earned a spot for the national champions of their respective countries. In quarterfinals these teams faced the four winners of the divisional round. In semi-finals teams were be paired by the Eurobowl seeding system, with the best-seeded team facing the worst and the second-best facing the second-worst. Winners then advanced to the Eurobowl.

With the start of the Big6 in 2014, the format of the EFL changed again. Six teams played in two divisions of three teams. The winners of the groups advanced to the EFL Bowl.

EFL Bowls

For a list of champions by year before 2014, see Eurobowl.

Game	Year	Date	City	Winners	Score	Runners-up	Attendance	MVP
I	2014	July 19, 2014[4]	Kiel, Germany	Kiel Baltic Hurricanes	40-0	Badalona Dracs	2,104	Garrett Andrews (KBH)
II	2015	June 27, 2015[5]	Kiel, Germany	Kiel Baltic Hurricanes	49-28	Allgäu Comets	1,752

Records and statistics

By club

Club	Won	Runner-up	Years won^†	Years runner-up^†
Vikings Vienna	5	5	2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2013	2001, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2012
Swarco Raiders Tirol	3	1	2008, 2009, 2011	2013
Bergamo Lions	3	3	2000, 2001, 2002	1994, 2004, 2005
Hamburg Blue Devils	3	2	1996, 1997, 1998	1999, 2000
Amsterdam Crusaders	2	3	1991, 1992	1988, 1989, 1993
Braunschweig Lions	2	1	1999, 2003	2002
London Olympians	2	1	1993, 1994	1995
Kiel Baltic Hurricanes	2	0	2014, 2015
Berlin Adler	1	2	2010	1991, 2011
Legnano Frogs	1	1	1989	1990
Calanda Broncos	1	0	2012
Düsseldorf Panther	1	0	1995
Manchester Spartans	1	0	1990
Helsinki Roosters	1	0	1988
Taft Vantaa	1	0	1986
La Courneuve Flash	0	3		1998, 2006, 2009

• ^† Listed are Eurobowls from 1986 to 2013 and EFL Bowls from 2014 on.

by country

Championships	Country	Year
9	Germany	1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2010, 2014, 2015
8	Austria	2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013
4	Italy	1989, 2000, 2001, 2002
3	United Kingdom	1990, 1993, 1994
2	Netherlands	1991, 1992
2	Finland	1986, 1988
1	Switzerland	2012

See also

• Eurobowl
• EFAF

References

1. BIG6 European Football League starts 2014 www.eurobowl.com, published: 20 November 2013, accessed: 5 December 2013
2. EFL 2014 teams announced www.efaf.info, published: 11 February 2014, accessed: 8 July 2014
3. Kiel Baltic Hurricanes win EFL Bowl I! www.efaf.info, published: 20 July 2014, accessed: 14 October 2014
4. EFL Bowl I am 19.07.2014 in Kiel (German) www.efaf.info, published: 6 July 2014, accessed: 8 July 2014
5. EFL Bowl II on June 27, 2015 at Kiel www.efaf.info, published: 3 June 2015, accessed: 21 June 2015

External links

• European Football League