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 Rhein Fire were a professional football team in the NFL Europe, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Düsseldorf, Germany in 1995, the franchise resurrected the name of the former Birmingham Fire team which was active during the 1991–1992 WLAF seasons.
The Cologne Centurions were an American football team that played in NFL Europe. The Centurions began competing in the league in the 2004 season, having replaced the defunct Barcelona Dragons. They played their home games at RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne.
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.
Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium formerly known as the Estadi de Montjuïc and Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc and also known in English as the Barcelona Olympic Stadium, is a stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Originally built in 1927 for the 1929 International Exposition in the city, it was renovated in 1989 to be the main stadium for the 1992 Summer Olympics and 1992 Summer Paralympics. It is used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Barcelona since the 2023–24 season, due to the renovation of their regular ground, the Camp Nou. The stadium is named after Lluís Companys, the president of Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War.
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.
Anthony Malbrough is an American former professional football defensive back. He was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the 2000 NFL draft. He played college football for the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Michael Joseph Ruth is an American former professional football defensive tackle. He played college football for the Boston College Eagles, where he won the Outland Trophy as college football's best lineman in 1985. After two seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the New England Patriots, who drafted him in the second round of the 1986 NFL Draft, he finished his professional football career with the Barcelona Dragons of the World League of American Football (WLAF) in 1991 and 1992.
Bruce M. Clark is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end for 10 seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and National Football League (NFL) during the 1980s. Clark played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, earning All-American honors. He was the fourth pick overall in the 1980 NFL draft, but chose to play for the CFL's Toronto Argonauts before joining the NFL's New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs.
Jesús Mariano Angoy Gil is a Spanish retired association football goalkeeper, who also played as a placekicker in American football.
The 1998 Barcelona Dragons season was the sixth season for the franchise in the NFL Europe League (NFLEL). The team was led by head coach Jack Bicknell in his sixth year, and played its home games at Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. They finished the regular season in fourth place with a record of four wins and six losses.
The 2001 Barcelona Dragons season was the ninth season for the franchise in the NFL Europe League (NFLEL). The team was led by head coach Jack Bicknell in his ninth year, and played its home games at Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. They finished the regular season in first place with a record of eight wins and two losses. In World Bowl IX, Barcelona lost to the Berlin Thunder 24–17.
The 2001 Berlin Thunder season was the third season for the franchise in the NFL Europe League (NFLEL). The team was led by head coach Peter Vaas in his second year, and played its home games at Jahn-Sportpark in Berlin, Germany. They finished the regular season in second place with a record of six wins and four losses. In World Bowl IX, Berlin defeated the Barcelona Dragons 24–17. The victory marked the franchise's first World Bowl championship.
The 2002 FC Barcelona Dragons season was the tenth season for the franchise in the NFL Europe League (NFLEL). The team was led by head coach Jack Bicknell in his tenth year, and played its home games at Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc and Mini Estadi in Barcelona, Spain. They finished the regular season in sixth place with a record of two wins and eight losses.
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.
Zenret Troy Pelshak is a Nigerian-born former professional football linebacker who played two seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the St. Louis Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars. He played college football at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and attended Garinger High School in Charlotte, North Carolina. Pelshak was also a member of the Barcelona Dragons of NFL Europe. He played three seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL) with the Carolina Cobras, Columbus Destroyers and New York Dragons. He was a member of the St. Louis Rams team that won Super Bowl XXXIV over the Tennessee Titans.
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 2003 NFL Europe season was the 11th season in 13 years of the American Football league that started out as the World League of American Football. Three NFL Europe teams had new homes for 2003, Berlin Thunder at Berlin's Olympic Stadium, the F.C. Barcelona Dragons at Mini Estadi, and the Rhein Fire, at Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen.
The 2004 NFL Europe season was the 12th season in 14 years of the American Football league that started out as the World League of American Football. The Cologne Centurions replaced the FC Barcelona Dragons for the 2004 season.
The Barcelona Dragons are an American football team based in Catalonia, Spain, that plays in the European League of Football (ELF).
