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 Germany 40-0 Badalona Dracs Spain 2,104 Garrett Andrews (KBH)
II 2015 June 27, 2015[5] Kiel, Germany Kiel Baltic Hurricanes Germany 49-28 Allgäu Comets Germany 1,752

Records and statistics

By club

Club Won Runner-up Years won Years runner-up
Austria Vikings Vienna55 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2013 2001, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2012
Austria Swarco Raiders Tirol31 2008, 2009, 2011 2013
Italy Bergamo Lions33 2000, 2001, 2002 1994, 2004, 2005
Germany Hamburg Blue Devils32 1996, 1997, 1998 1999, 2000
Netherlands Amsterdam Crusaders23 1991, 1992 1988, 1989, 1993
Germany Braunschweig Lions21 1999, 2003 2002
United Kingdom London Olympians21 1993, 1994 1995
Germany Kiel Baltic Hurricanes20 2014, 2015
Germany Berlin Adler12 2010 1991, 2011
Italy Legnano Frogs11 1989 1990
Switzerland Calanda Broncos10 2012
Germany Düsseldorf Panther10 1995
United Kingdom Manchester Spartans10 1990
Finland Helsinki Roosters10 1988
Finland Taft Vantaa10 1986
France La Courneuve Flash03 1998, 2006, 2009

by country

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

See also

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

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