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 San Antonio Texans were a Canadian Football League (CFL) team that played in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, in the 1995 CFL season. They had relocated from Sacramento, California, where the team had been called the Sacramento Gold Miners. After relocating, the team still had the same ownership in Fred Anderson and the same staff, including President Tom Bass and Head Coach/General Manager Kay Stephenson. The Gold Miners/Texans franchise played three seasons before folding in 1995. They were the southernmost team in CFL history and the only team in CFL history to have ever officially relocated from another market.
The Sacramento Gold Miners were a Canadian football team based in Sacramento, California. The franchise was the first American team in the Canadian Football League. The Gold Miners inherited a home stadium, front office staff and much of the roster of the Sacramento Surge from the defunct World League of American Football. The team played its home games at Hornet Stadium.
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 Montreal Machine were the sole Canadian team in the World League of American Football (WLAF), a springtime developmental professional league set up by the National Football League (NFL) that played in 1991 and 1992. There were also three European teams and six North America-based teams. Like all WLAF teams, the Machine played American rules football, 11 players per side on a 120-yard long/53 1/3-yard wide field, rather than Canadian rules football of 12 players per side on a 150-yard long/65-yard wide field.
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 Birmingham Fire were a professional American football team based in Birmingham, Alabama. They were a member of the North American West division of the World League of American Football (WLAF) and played their home games at Legion Field. The club was a charter member of the WLAF, and was under the ownership of Gavin Maloof. Led by head coach Chan Gailey, the Fire saw moderate success as they compiled an overall record of twelve wins, nine losses and one tie (12–9–1) and made the playoffs in both seasons they competed. The franchise folded in September 1992 when the NFL placed the league on an indefinite hiatus.
The San Antonio Riders were a professional American football team that played in the WLAF in 1991 and 1992. The team played at Alamo Stadium in San Antonio in 1991 and then were forced to move to Bobcat Stadium on the campus of Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, 45 miles (72 km) northeast of San Antonio, for the 1992 season after the San Antonio Independent School District refused to allow the sale of beer at WLAF games or the display of beer advertising at Alamo Stadium. In return, Riders ownership scrapped plans to fund $235,000 in renovations to the Stadium. In June 1991, SAISD officials announced plans for a rent increase on the Riders for the 1992 season. The relationship would last for only one season.
Stanley Morris Gelbaugh is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills, Phoenix Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks. He attained his greatest success in the World League of American Football (WLAF) with the London Monarchs, where he was the league's Offensive Most Valuable Player in its inaugural season. He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins.
The Stuttgart Scorpions are an American football team from Stuttgart, Germany. The club's greatest success came in 2007, when it reached the German Bowl but lost to the Braunschweig Lions.
The 1991 Barcelona Dragons season was the inaugural season for the franchise in the newly created World League of American Football (WLAF). The team was led by head coach Jack Bicknell, and played its home games at Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The three European teams had dominated the North American ones, and in week 9, Barcelona had lost to Frankfurt Galaxy, which had both teams tied at 7-2 for the wild card spot, with Frankfurt having the tie breaker advantage, and Barcelona still having to face the unbeaten London Monarchs. Galaxy lost their last game, though, which gave Barcelona the chance to win the wildcard by beating the Monarchs in Wembley. Which they did, to the surprise of Frankfurt, less so to the surprise of London.
The 1991 London Monarchs season was the inaugural season for the franchise in the newly created World League of American Football (WLAF). The team was led by head coach Larry Kennan and played its home games at Wembley Stadium in London, England. They finished the regular season in first place of the European Division with a league-best record of nine wins and one loss, which came in the last regular season game against the Barcelona Dragons. The unexpected loss eliminated the third European team, Frankfurt Galaxy, from the play-offs.
The 1992 Barcelona Dragons season was the second season for the franchise in the World League of American Football (WLAF). The team was led by head coach Jack Bicknell in his second year, and played its home games at Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc in Barcelona, Spain. They finished the regular season in first place of the European Division with a record of five wins and five losses. In the WLAF semifinals, the Dragons lost to the Sacramento Surge 17–15.
The 1992 Frankfurt Galaxy season was the second season for the team in the World League of American Football (WLAF). The team was led by head coach Jack Elway in his second year, and played its home games at Waldstadion in Frankfurt, Germany. They finished the season in second place of the European Division with a record of three wins and seven losses.
The 1991 Birmingham Fire season was the first for the franchise in the inaugural season for the World League of American Football (WLAF). The team was led by head coach Chan Gailey, and played their home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished the season with an overall record of five wins and six losses (5–6), as the North America West division champions and with a loss against the Barcelona Dragons in the WLAF semifinals.
The 1992 Birmingham Fire season was the second and final season for the franchise in the World League of American Football (WLAF). The team was led by head coach Chan Gailey in his second year, and played their home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of seven wins, three losses and one tie (7–3–1) and with a loss against the Orlando Thunder in the WLAF semifinals as a wild card.
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 European League of Football (ELF) is a professional American football league based in Europe, continuing some team names and logos of the former NFL Europe. The ELF played its first season in 2021, and in the 2023 season had 17 teams located in Germany, Poland, Spain, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and France, with plans to expand.
The Stuttgart Surge are an American football team based in Stuttgart, Germany. They play in the European League of Football (ELF) as part of the league's South division. The team plays its home games at the Waldau-Stadion which is currently the oldest sports stadium in Germany still in use.
