Austrian Football League
| Sport | American football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1984 |
| No. of teams | 10 |
| Country | Austria Czech Republic |
| Most recent champion(s) | Danube Dragons |
| Most titles | Vienna Vikings (15) |
| Official website | [1] |
The Austrian Football League (AFL) is the highest level of American football in Austria founded in 1984.
The Austrian Football League (AFL) has always been considered among the best and strongest leagues in Europe. The league plays by rules based on those of the NCAA.
The Austrian Football League is the highest tier level and below that is a tier system consisting of teams playing in divisions I through division IV. Winners of each division move up to the next level of play. The Tyrol Raiders and Vienna Vikings which had dominated the league for much of the preceding decade announced their intention to leave for the European League of Football for the upcoming 2022 season. However, unlike teams in other countries that have made this move, the reserve team of both will remain a participant in the Austrian Football League.
History
The AFL was founded in 1984 by the teams such as the Salzburg Lions, Graz Giants and Vienna Ramblocks.
The AFL is commonly considered as one of the best American football leagues in Europe. This was especially so in the period from 2004 to 2011, when the EFL was won seven out of eight times by an AFL team.[1]
In 2010, the Prague Panthers from the Czech Republic joined the league as the first team from outside of Austria. The Panthers were a member of the AFL until the 2016 season. In 2016, the Ljubljana Silverhawks from Slovenia joined, and in 2018, the Bratislava Monarchs from Slovakia entered the league.
The regular season currently consists of ten games and starts in mid-March; the playoffs continue through July. The final game, the Austrian Bowl, was held for the first time in 1984 in Salzburg, Austria. Because homegrown players are one of the main focus points of the league, there are rule limitations for the numbers of foreigners. The rule has changed several times over the years and currently each roster can have a maximum of 6 American, Canadian, Mexican or Japanese professional import players, with two allowed on the field at the same time.
After the 2021 season, the participants of that year's Austrian Bowl the Vienna Vikings and the Tyrolean Raiders (runners up and champions, respectively) announced their intention to join the European League of Football for the upcoming 2022 season.
Teams
In 2022, the AFL will consist of:
- Vienna Vikings
- Graz Giants
- Swarco Raiders Tirol
- Vienna Dragons
- Prague Black Panthers
- AFC Rangers
- Salzburg Ducks
- Steelsharks Traun
- Znojmo Knights
- Telfs Patriots
Austrian Bowl
All games
| Bowl | Date | Champions | Runners-Up | Score | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | October 20, 1984 | Salzburg Lions | Graz Giants | 27–10 | Salzburg |
| II | June 28, 1986 | Graz Giants | Vienna Vikings | 31–12 | Salzburg |
| III | July 5, 1987 | Graz Giants | Salzburg Lions | 20–0 | ASKÖ Schmelz, Vienna |
| IV | July 3, 1988 | Graz Giants | Vienna Vikings | 33–15 | ASKÖ Schmelz, Vienna |
| V | July 1, 1989 | Salzburg Lions | Graz Giants | 34–0 | Salzburg |
| VI | July 1, 1990 | Graz Giants | Klosterneuburg Mercenaries | 59–7 | Linz |
| VII | July 7, 1991 | Graz Giants | Vienna Vikings | 38–7 | ASKÖ Eggenberg, Graz |
| VIII | July 5, 1992 | Graz Giants | Schwarzenau Rangers | 28–13 | ASKÖ Schmelz, Vienna |
| IX | July 4, 1993 | Feldkirch Oscar Dinos | Salzburg Bulls | 45–10 | BSZ Südstadt, Maria Enzersdorf |
| X | July 4, 1994 | Vienna Vikings | Levi's Graz Giants | 45–23 | Schwechat-Rannersdorf |
| XI | July 15, 1995 | Levi's Graz Giants | Vienna Vikings | 26–20 | Schwechat-Rannersdorf |
| XII | July 13, 1996 | Vienna Vikings | Levi's Graz Giants | 41–35 | Schwechat-Rannersdorf |
| XIII | July 12, 1997 | Levi's Graz Giants | Klosterneuburg Mercenaries | 35–14 | Schwechat-Rannersdorf |
| XIV | July 18, 1998 | Levi's Graz Giants | Vienna Vikings | 43–3 | BSZ Südstadt, Maria Enzersdorf |
| XV | July 20, 1999 | Chrysler Vikings | Levi's Graz Giants | 37–35 | Schwechat-Rannersdorf |
| XVI | July 22, 2000 | Chrysler Vikings | Papa Joe's Tyrolean Raiders | 34–28 | Casino Stadion Hohe Warte, Vienna |
| XVII | July 21, 2001 | Chrysler Vikings | Papa Joe's Tyrolean Raiders | 24–14 | Lindenstadion, Eisenstadt |
| XVIII | July 20, 2002 | Chrysler Vikings | Öko-Box Graz Giants | 52–21 | Casino Stadion Hohe Warte, Vienna |
| XIX | July 12, 2003 | Chrysler Vikings | Öko-Box Graz Giants | 56–42 | Casino Stadion Hohe Warte, Vienna |
| XX | July 17, 2004 | Papa Joe's Tyrolean Raiders | Chrysler Vikings | 28–20 | EM-Stadion Wals-Siezenheim, Salzburg |
| XXI | July 16, 2005 | Chrysler Vikings | Papa Joe's Tyrolean Raiders | 43–14 | Südstadt, Maria Enzersdorf |
| XXII | July 14, 2006 | Swarco Raiders Tirol | Dodge Vikings | 43–19 | Hohe Warte, Vienna |
| XXIII | July 14, 2007 | Dodge Vikings | Turek Graz Giants | 42–14 | Hohe Warte, Vienna |
| XXIV | June 27, 2008 | Turek Graz Giants | Swarco Raiders Tirol | 31–21 | Wolfsberg |
| XXV | July 18, 2009 | Raiffeisen Vikings | Turek Graz Giants | 22–19 | Graz |
| XXVI | July 9, 2010 | Danube Dragons | Swarco Raiders Tirol | 28–21 | Tivoli-Neu, Innsbruck |
| XXVII | June 23, 2011 | Swarco Raiders Tirol | Raiffeisen Vikings | 23–13 | Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna |
| XXVIII | July 28, 2012 | Raiffeisen Vikings | Swarco Raiders Tirol | 48–34 | Hohe Warte, Vienna |
| XXIX | July 27, 2013 | Raiffeisen Vikings | Swarco Raiders Tirol | 48–31 | NV Arena, Sankt Pölten |
| XXX | July 26, 2014 | Raiffeisen Vikings | Swarco Raiders Tirol | 24–17 | NV Arena, Sankt Pölten |
| XXXI | July 11, 2015 | Swarco Raiders Tirol | Vienna Vikings | 38–0 | Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt |
| XXXII | July 23, 2016 | Swarco Raiders Tirol | Graz Giants | 51–7 | Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt |
| XXXIII | July 29, 2017 | Dacia Vienna Vikings | Swarco Raiders Tirol | 45–26 | Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt |
| XXXIV | July 21, 2018 | Swarco Raiders Tirol | Dacia Vienna Vikings | 51–48 | NV Arena, Sankt Pölten |
| XXXV | July 27, 2019 | Swarco Raiders Tirol | Dacia Vienna Vikings | 42–34 | NV Arena, Sankt Pölten |
| – | September, 2020 | Dacia Vienna Vikings | Graz Giants | 3–0[a] | ASKÖ Eggenberg, Graz Footballzentrum Ravelin, Wien |
| XXXVI | July 31, 2021 | Swarco Raiders Tirol | Dacia Vienna Vikings | 35–14 | Tivoli Stadion Tirol, Innsbruck |
| XXXVII | July 30, 2022 | Danube Dragons | Vienna Vikings | 51–29 | NV Arena, Sankt Pölten |
- ^ Due to the coronavirus pandemic the Vikings and the Giants were the only teams entering the competition. Instead of a bowl game, the two teams played a best of five series.
By Team
| Rank | Teams | Champions | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vienna Vikings | 15 | 13 |
| 2 | Graz Giants | 10 | 11 |
| 3 | Tirol Raiders | 8 | 9 |
| 4 | Salzburg Bulls | 2 | 2 |
| 5 | Danube Dragons[1] | 2 | 2 |
| 6 | Feldkirch Oscar Dinos | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | AFC Rangers | 0 | 1 |
^ 1: Formerly known as Klosterneuburg Mercenaries
Notable Import Players & Coaches
- Anthony Thompson 1993 AFL MVP, Played in NFL for Denver Broncos. Played for Bulls & Mercenaries in AFL 93-95
- Eric Beavers AFL League MVP, Graz Giants
- Doug Wilkerson Graz Giants player & former NFL player
- Tony Hunt Former Vienna Viking player & NFL player
- Darvin Lewis Former Graz Giants player & NFL player
- Todd Hendricks AFL League MVP, AFC Rangers
- Mark Helfrich Former Vienna Viking player & Former Oregon Ducks head coach
- Thomas Smythe AFL Coach of the year, Vienna Vikings
- Hugh Mendez AFL Coach of the year, Feldkich Dinos, also coach of the Mercenaries
- Rick Rhoades AFL Coach of the year, Graz Giants
- Emmanuel Moody Vienna Viking player, Florida Gators
- Chris Gunn AFL League MVP, Graz Giants
- George Paton Former player for Vienna Vikings. Current GM for Denver Broncos NFL
- Sean Shelton AFL League MVP, Swarco Raiders
- Shuan Fatah AFL Coach of the year, Swarco Raiders
- Kevin Burke (American Football) Austrian Bowl Game MVP, Vienna Vikings
- Chris Calaycay AFL Coach of year & Former Vienna Viking player
- Cameron Frickey AFL League MVP, Vienna Vikings & Woman's National team coach
- Clinton Graham AFL Offense POY, Vienna Vikings, Model
- Eric Marty Austrian Bowl game MVP, Danube Dragons
- Germaine Race AFL Offense POY, St. Polten Invaders. Former NFL player
- Kyle Newhall-Caballero AFL League MVP, Prague Panthers & NFL player, Scout
- Darius Robinson Swarco Raiders player & formerly NFL player, Clemson Tiger
- Chris Rosier AFL League MVP, Swarco Raiders
- Lance Gustafson AFL League MVP, Vienna Vikings
- Paul Kujawa AFL League MVP, Graz Giants, Iowa Hawkeyes
- Talib Wise Austrian Bowl Game MVP, Swarco Raiders
- Kyle Callahan Swarco Raiders
- D.J. Hernandez AFL offense POY, Carinthina Lions, Brother of Aaron Hernandez
- Luke Atwood AFL /EuroBowl Champion player, Vienna Vikings
- Reece Horn Vienna Vikings player
- Geoff Stults
Austrian teams in international competitions
Despite the relatively small size of Austria, both the Austrian national American Football team and individual club teams of the AFL have enjoyed remarkable success in European competitions. The national team, whose players mostly play in the AFL (with a few also playing in the German Football League), has placed third at the 1995 European Championship of American football (hosted in Austria) and third at the 2010 European Championship, second at the 2014 European Championship (hosted in Austria), losing the final in double overtime to Germany in front of 27000 spectators at Vienna's Ernst-Happel-Stadion[2] and placed second again in 2018. The Vienna Vikings have won the Eurobowl five times and reached the final ten times overall while the Tyrol Raiders have won it three times in five appearances in the final. Furthermore the Central European Football League has been won five times by Austrian teams both before and after it became a premier European competition.
References
- ^ "Eurobowl.info".
- ^ "American Football EM Finale 2014 - Bittersweet Glory". 22 June 2014.
External links
- Official website (in German)