Austrian Football League

Last updated
Austrian Football League
Austrian Football League logo.png
Sport American football
Founded1982;42 years ago (1982)
First season1982
No. of teams8 in top league AFL
CountryAustria
Czech Republic
Most recent
champion(s)		 Prague Black Panthers
Most titles Vienna Vikings (15)
QualificationPyramid Tier
TV partner(s)ORF Sport
Official website football.at

The Austrian Football League (AFL) is the highest level of American football in Austria founded in 1982. The AFL has always been considered among the best and strongest leagues in Europe. The league plays by rules based on those of the NCAA.

Contents

The AFL is the highest tier level and below that is a tier pyramid 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 1982 by the teams such as the Salzburg Lions, Graz Giants, Vienna Ducks and Vienna Ramblocks. The first Austrian Bowl was held in 1984 in Salzburg.

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 European Football League final game the Eurobowl, was won seven out of eight times by an Austrian league 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.

Foreign Import rules and format

In the mid to late 1980's with the increase in talent and professionalism throughout the league, a more formalized mechanism was put in place to recruit and fly in former college and free agent football players to play in Austria for pay (salary) as well as room and board. Because homegrown players are one of the main focus points of the league, there are specific rule limitations for the numbers of foreigners. The rule has changed several times over the years. 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.

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.

Teams

"Blue River Bowl III": Danube Dragons vs. Vikings at Rattenfangerstadion [de] in Korneuburg, 2010 2010-06-12 dra-vik snap.jpg
"Blue River Bowl III": Danube Dragons vs. Vikings at Rattenfängerstadion  [ de ] in Korneuburg, 2010

In 2024, the AFL will consist of:

Austrian Bowl

All games

BowlDateChampionsRunners-upScoreLocation
IOctober 20, 1984Salzburg Lions Graz Giants 27–10 Salzburg
IIJune 28, 1986Graz Giants Vienna Vikings 31–12Salzburg
IIIJuly 5, 1987Graz GiantsSalzburg Lions20–0ASKÖ Schmelz, Vienna
IVJuly 3, 1988Graz GiantsVienna Vikings33–15ASKÖ Schmelz, Vienna
VJuly 1, 1989Salzburg LionsGraz Giants34–0Salzburg
VIJuly 1, 1990Graz Giants Klosterneuburg Mercenaries 59–7 Linzer Stadion, Linz
VIIJuly 7, 1991Graz GiantsVienna Vikings38–7ASKÖ Stadium Eggenberg, Graz
VIIIJuly 5, 1992Graz GiantsAFC Rangers Schwarzenau28–13ASKÖ Schmelz, Vienna
IXJuly 4, 1993Feldkirch Oscar DinosSalzburg Bulls45–10BSZ Südstadt, Maria Enzersdorf
XJuly 4, 1994Vienna VikingsLevi's Graz Giants45–23 Rudolf-Tonn-Stadion, Schwechat
XIJuly 15, 1995Levi's Graz GiantsVienna Vikings26–20Rudolf-Tonn-Stadion
XIIJuly 13, 1996Vienna VikingsLevi's Graz Giants41–35Rudolf-Tonn-Stadion
XIIIJuly 12, 1997Levi's Graz GiantsKlosterneuburg Mercenaries35–14Rudolf-Tonn-Stadion
XIVJuly 18, 1998Levi's Graz GiantsVienna Vikings43–3BSZ Südstadt, Maria Enzersdorf
XVJuly 20, 1999Chrysler VikingsLevi's Graz Giants37–35Rudolf-Tonn-Stadion
XVIJuly 22, 2000Chrysler Vikings Papa Joe's Tyrolean Raiders 34–28 Hohe Warte Stadium, Vienna
XVIIJuly 21, 2001Chrysler VikingsPapa Joe's Tyrolean Raiders24–14Lindenstadion, Eisenstadt
XVIIIJuly 20, 2002Chrysler VikingsÖko-Box Graz Giants52–21Hohe Warte Stadium, Vienna
XIXJuly 12, 2003Chrysler VikingsÖko-Box Graz Giants56–42Hohe Warte Stadium, Vienna
XXJuly 17, 2004Papa Joe's Tyrolean RaidersChrysler Vikings28–20EM-Stadion Wals-Siezenheim, Salzburg
XXIJuly 16, 2005Chrysler VikingsPapa Joe's Tyrolean Raiders43–14Südstadt, Maria Enzersdorf
XXIIJuly 14, 2006Swarco Raiders TirolDodge Vikings43–19Hohe Warte, Vienna
XXIIIJuly 14, 2007Dodge VikingsTurek Graz Giants42–14Hohe Warte, Vienna
XXIVJune 27, 2008Turek Graz GiantsSwarco Raiders Tirol31–21 Lavanttal-Arena, Wolfsberg
XXVJuly 18, 2009Raiffeisen VikingsTurek Graz Giants22–19Asko Stadium Eggenberg, Graz
XXVIJuly 9, 2010 Danube Dragons Swarco Raiders Tirol28–21 Tivoli-Neu, Innsbruck
XXVIIJune 23, 2011Swarco Raiders TirolRaiffeisen Vikings23–13 Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna
XXVIIIJuly 28, 2012Raiffeisen VikingsSwarco Raiders Tirol48–34Hohe Warte, Vienna
XXIXJuly 27, 2013Raiffeisen VikingsSwarco Raiders Tirol48–31 NV Arena, Sankt Pölten
XXXJuly 26, 2014Raiffeisen VikingsSwarco Raiders Tirol24–17NV Arena, Sankt Pölten
XXXIJuly 11, 2015Swarco Raiders TirolVienna Vikings38–0 Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt
XXXIIJuly 23, 2016Swarco Raiders TirolGraz Giants51–7Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt
XXXIIIJuly 29, 2017Dacia Vienna VikingsSwarco Raiders Tirol45–26Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt
XXXIVJuly 21, 2018Swarco Raiders TirolDacia Vienna Vikings51–48NV Arena, Sankt Pölten
XXXVJuly 27, 2019Swarco Raiders TirolDacia Vienna Vikings42–34NV Arena, Sankt Pölten
–September, 2020Dacia Vienna VikingsGraz Giants3–0 [a] ASKÖ Eggenberg, Graz
Footballzentrum Ravelin, Wien
XXXVIJuly 31, 2021Swarco Raiders TirolDacia Vienna Vikings35–14 Tivoli Stadion Tirol, Innsbruck
XXXVIIJuly 30, 2022Danube DragonsVienna Vikings51–29NV Arena, Sankt Pölten
XXXVIIIJuly 29, 2023Danube DragonsVienna Vikings14–13NV Arena, Sankt Pölten
XXXIXJuly 28, 2024 Prague Black Panthers Vienna Vikings20–14 Wiener Neustadt Arena
  1. ↑ 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

RankTeamsChampionsRunners-up
1Vienna Vikings1515
2Graz Giants1011
3Tirol Raiders89
4Danube Dragons [1] 32
5Salzburg Bulls22
6Feldkirch Oscar Dinos10
Prague Black Panthers10
7AFC Rangers01

^  1: Formerly known as Klosterneuburg Mercenaries

Notable Players & Coaches

(criteria= won major (AFL) award or NFL experience)

Austrian teams in international competitions

Austrian Bowl XXX Austrian Bowl XXX - 032.JPG
Austrian Bowl XXX

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 Austrian national team, whose players mostly play in the AFL (with a few also playing in the German Football League), won the final 28-0 over team Finland 2023 European Championship of American football to win the championship title. The National team also has placed third at the 1995 European Championship of American football (hosted in Austria), third place 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.

The AFL Graz Giants own the first known European victory against a US college team in 1991. The Giants won the exhibition game 32–23 against Albany State University. The game was played in the United States on August 31, 1991.

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References

  1. ↑ "Eurobowl.info".
  2. ↑ "American Football EM Finale 2014 - Bittersweet Glory". 22 June 2014.
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