The Austrian Football League (AFL) is the highest level of

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

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 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

. 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 The Vienna Vikings is an American football club based in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1983, the Vikings are known as one of Europe's most dominant clubs, having won the Eurobowl title five times (2004–2007 and 2013), as well being the runner ...

which had dominated the league for much of the preceding decade announced their intention to leave for the

European League of Football The European League of Football (ELF) is a professional sports#American football, professional American football sports league, league. The league (as of the 2023 season) consists of 17 teams located in Germany, Poland, Spain, Austria, Italy, S ...

for the upcoming 2022 season. However, unlike teams in other countries that have made this move, the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

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 The Graz Giants are an American football team in Graz, Austria founded in 1981. The Giants play in the Austrian Football League at ASKÖ Stadium in the Eggenberg district of Graz. History Inspired by a March 1981 broadcast of the first Austria ...

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. In 2010, the

Prague Panthers The Prague Black Panthers (formerly the Prague Panthers) are an American football team based in Prague, Czech Republic. The Prague Black Panthers are one of the most successful teams in Central Europe, having been named the Champions of the Czec ...

from the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

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 The Ljubljana Silverhawks are an American football team based in Ljubljana, Slovenia, founded in 2002 by a group of football fans from the Slovenian capital. It is the first team to have brought the sport in Slovenia. The team has achieved the fir ...

from Slovenia joined, and in 2018, the

Bratislava Monarchs The Bratislava Monarchs are an American football team from Bratislava, Slovakia, established in 1996. Today, the Monarchs are competing in the Austrian Football League. History Establishment The interest in American football in Slovakia grew rapi ...

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 Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

. 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 A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

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

and the

Tyrolean Raiders The Raiders Tirol (for the AFL-Teams SWARCO Raiders Tirol, formerly Papa Joe’s Tyrolean Raiders) are an American football team based in Innsbruck, Austria. Founded in 1992, the Raiders since have become one of Austria's and Europe's most domin ...

(runners up and champions, respectively) announced their intention to join the

for the upcoming 2022 season.

Teams

In 2022, the AFL will consist of: *

Swarco Raiders Tirol The Raiders Tirol (for the AFL-Teams SWARCO Raiders Tirol, formerly Papa Joe’s Tyrolean Raiders) are an American football team based in Innsbruck, Austria. Founded in 1992, the Raiders since have become one of Austria's and Europe's most domina ...

Vienna Dragons The Vienna Dragons founded in 1985 (until 1999 as Klosterneuburg Mercenaries, between 2000 and 2022 as Danube Dragons) are a 2-time AFL-champion American football club based in Vienna, Austria. History Under the name ''Klosterneuburg Mercenaries' ...

Prague Black Panthers The Prague Black Panthers (formerly the Prague Panthers) are an American football team based in Prague, Czech Republic. The Prague Black Panthers are one of the most successful teams in Central Europe, having been named the Champions of the Czec ...

* *

Salzburg Ducks Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

* * *

Telfs Patriots Telfs is a market town in the district of Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tyrol, west of Innsbruck. It is the third largest municipality in Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical regio ...

Austrian Bowl

All games

By Team

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 Eric Beavers (born October 3, 1964) is a former American football quarterback. Beavers played three seasons in the Austrian Football League for the Graz Giants in Austria. He also played one season with the Los Angeles Cobras of the Arena Footba ...

AFL League MVP, Graz Giants *

Doug Wilkerson Douglas Wilkerson (March 27, 1947 – February 21, 2021) was an was an American professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Houston Oilers and San Diego Chargers. Named to the Pro Bowl three times ...

Graz Giants player & former NFL player * Tony Hunt Former Vienna Viking player & NFL player * Darvin Lewis Former Graz Giants player & NFL player *

Todd Hendricks Todd Hendricks (born August 13, 1968) is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver, running back, and kick returner. Hendricks played professionally for several seasons in the Austrian Football League's highest lev ...

AFL League MVP, AFC Rangers * Mark Helfrich Former Vienna Viking player & Former Oregon Ducks head coach *

Thomas Smythe Sir Thomas Smythe (or Smith, c. 1558 – 4 September 1625) was an English merchant, politician and colonial administrator. He was the first governor of the East India Company and treasurer of the Virginia Company from 1609 to 1620 until envel ...

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 The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

NFL * Sean Shelton AFL League MVP, Swarco Raiders * AFL Coach of the year, Swarco Raiders * Kevin Burke (American Football) Austrian Bowl Game MVP, Vienna Vikings * 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 * Austrian Bowl Game MVP, Swarco Raiders * Swarco Raiders * D.J. Hernandez AFL offense POY, Carinthina Lions, Brother of

Aaron Hernandez Aaron Josef Hernandez (November 6, 1989 April 19, 2017) was an American football tight end. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons with the New England Patriots until his career came to an abrupt end after his arrest ...

* Luke Atwood AFL /EuroBowl Champion player, Vienna Vikings * Reece Horn Vienna Vikings player *

Geoff Stults Geoffrey Manton Stults (born December 15, 1977) is an American actor. His first regular roles on television included '' 7th Heaven'', '' October Road'', and '' Happy Town''. He went on to star as Major Walter Sherman on '' The Finder'', Sgt. Pete ...

* Jonathan Dally

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 The German Football League (GFL) is an American football league in Germany and was formed in 1979. Playing rules are based on those of the American National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA. In 1999, the league switched its name from ''Ameri ...

), 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 Ernst-Happel-Stadion (), known as Praterstadion until 1992, sometimes also called Wiener-Stadion, is a football stadium in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Austria's capital Vienna. With 50,865 seats, it is the largest stadium in Austria. It wa ...

and placed second again in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. The Vienna Vikings have won the

Eurobowl The Eurobowl was the championship final game of a tournament style playoff to determine the champion of all of the American football leagues in Europe. The tournament featured the top or champion clubs from each countries top league that was cal ...

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

External links

Official website
{{European Football Leagues American football leagues in Europe Sport in Austria 1984 establishments in Austria Sports leagues established in 1984 American football in Austria American football in Slovenia Professional sports leagues in Austria American expatriate sportspeople in Austria