NFL Europe League was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally founded in 1989 as the World League of American Football, the league was envisioned as a transatlantic league encompassing teams from both North America and Europe. Initially, the WLAF consisted of seven teams in North America and three in Europe. It began play in 1991 and lasted for two seasons before suspending operations; while the league had been "wildly popular" in Europe, it failed to achieve success in North America. After a two-year hiatus, it returned as a six-team European league, with teams based in England, Germany, the Netherlands, Scotland, and Spain. NFL Europa was dissolved in 2007 due to its continued unprofitability and the NFL's decision to shift its focus towards hosting regular-season games in Europe; at the time of its closure, the league consisted of five German teams and one team based in the Netherlands.
The Scottish Claymores, known in shorthand as Scotland, were an American football team based in Scotland. The franchise played in the World League of American Football between 1995 and 2004, initially playing all home games at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh and latterly sharing home games with Hampden Park, Glasgow. In ten seasons of NFL Europe play, the Claymores reached the World Bowl on two occasions, with victory in World Bowl '96 but defeat in World Bowl 2000. Their name derives from that of the Claymore, a double-edged sword historically used in Scottish clan warfare. One notable player was Gavin Hastings, a Scottish rugby international who was used as a place kicker in 1996.
The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league, the World League of American Football (WLAF). The Monarchs played their final season in 1998 as the England Monarchs. In 1999, they were replaced by the new Berlin Thunder.
The Amsterdam Admirals were a professional American football team based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, playing in the NFL Europe.
The Frankfurt Galaxy were a professional American football team that originally played in the World League of American Football and later in the resurrected NFL Europe. The team was based in Frankfurt, Germany and played in the Commerzbank-Arena, formerly called Waldstadion. The Galaxy was the only team in the league to have remained in operation and in the same city throughout the league's existence.
The Barcelona Dragons were an American football team that was a part of the World League of American Football and later in the resurrected NFL Europe. Their home field in Barcelona was the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuic, the 1992 Olympic Stadium, and later the Mini Estadi.
The Hamburg Sea Devils were an American football team that played in NFL Europe from 2005 to 2007. They played their home games at Hamburg's Volksparkstadion. They played their first game on 2 April 2005 losing 24–23 to the Cologne Centurions. The Sea Devils' first win came in Week 3 of the 2005 season, with a 31–24 home victory over the then-struggling Rhein Fire.
The Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks were an American football team headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina that played for one season in 1991 in the World League of American Football (WLAF). The name was inspired by the Wright brothers' flights on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The three jet-trails and three planes in flight, as well as the triangle design in the logo, represented the three points of the Research Triangle area. The team's cheerleaders were known as the "Kittyhawks."
The Sacramento Surge was a professional American football team that played in the World League of American Football (WLAF) in 1991 and 1992. The team played its first season at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, and the second season in Hornet Stadium on the Sacramento State University campus. It was owned by Managing General Partner Fred Anderson and the General Manager was Michael F. Keller. In charge of Special Projects was Jack Youngblood, who also partnered with Joe Starkey and Ronnie Lott on Surge radio broadcasts on Sacramento radio station KRAK.
Wilbert Lemon Brown is a former American football guard and center in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Diego Chargers, Washington Redskins, and New England Patriots. He played college football at the University of Houston.
The 1998 Rhein Fire season was the fourth season for the franchise in the NFL Europe League (NFLEL). The team was led by head coach Galen Hall in his fourth year, and played its home games at Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf, Germany. They finished the regular season in second place with a record of seven wins and three losses. Rhein won the first championship in team history by defeating the Frankfurt Galaxy 34–10 in World Bowl '98.
The 1997 London Monarchs season was the fifth season for the franchise in the World League of American Football (WLAF). The team was led by head coach Lionel Taylor in his second year, and played its home games at Stamford Bridge in London, England. They finished the regular season in sixth place with a record of four wins and six losses.
Dorian Brew is a former professional American football player who played from 1996 to 2002.
James Arellanes is a former professional American football player who was a quarterback in the NFL Europe League (NFLEL), the Arena Football League (AFL), and the XFL. He played for the Rhein Fire of the NFLEL, the Carolina Cobras and Florida Bobcats of the AFL, and the Orlando Rage of the XFL. Arellanes played collegiately at Los Angeles Valley College before transferring to Fresno State.
The 1995 World League of American Football season was the third season of the professional American football league organized by the NFL. It was the league's first season with six teams based only in Europe.
The 1997 World League of American Football season was the fifth campaign of the WLAF professional American football league, and the third under its six-team Europe-only format. World Bowl '97 was won by the Barcelona Dragons, whose quarterback was Jon Kitna, then on the roster of the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL.
The 2007 NFL Europa season was the 15th season in 17 years of the American Football league that started out as the World League of American Football. 2007 was the first season the league was known as NFL Europa after being called NFL Europe since 1998. The NFL folded the league after the 2007 season.
The 1999 NFL Europe season was the seventh season in 9 years of the American Football league that started out as the World League of American Football. The Berlin Thunder replaced the England Monarchs for the 1999 season.
The 2000 NFL Europe season was the eighth season in 10 years of the American Football league that started out as the World League of American Football.
Sandro Platzgummer is an Austrian professional American football running back who is currently playing for the Frankfurt Galaxy in the European League of Football. He previously played for the New York Giants in the NFL. In Europe he originally played for the AFL team of the Swarco Raiders Tirol and the Austria national American football team.
