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The Berlin Rebels are an
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 ...
team from
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. The team is 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 ...
, the highest level of American football in Germany. In the most recent seasons the Rebels managed to qualify for the play-offs. At junior level, the club had more success, having taken out the
German Junior Bowl The German Junior Bowl, usually only referred to as ''Junior Bowl'', is the annual national championship game for junior teams in the sport of American football in Germany. It is contested by the two best teams of the GFL Juniors. It is the seco ...
on three occasions, in 1992, 1996 and 2000.


History

The club was formed in 1987, as the American Football department of the
SC Charlottenburg SCC Berlin is a German sports club based in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin and founded in 1902 as ''Charlottenburger Sport-Club 1902''. In 1911, they merged with ''Sport-Club Westen 05'' and changed their club colors from yellow and blue ...
. The ''Rebels'' entered league football in 1988, playing for a season in the third tier Verbandsliga Nord before entering the 2nd American Football Bundesliga, now the GFL 2, in the following year. The club spent three seasons there until a division championship, won without dropping a game, earned it promotion to Germany's highest league. Four seasons in the GFL followed in which the team never finished better than fifth in its division and consequently missed out on the post season each time. In 1995 it finished sixth in its division and was relegated back to the second tier. The ''Rebels'' were a strong side at this level again, taking out division championships in 1996 and 1998. In 1998, it took part in the promotion round to the GFL but missed out to
Paderborn Dolphins The Paderborn Dolphins are an American football team from Paderborn, Germany. The club's greatest success has been promotion, in 1997, to the American football Bundesliga, now the German Football League, where it played for two seasons until 1999 ...
. After this, the club decided to withdraw from league football altogether and took a two-year break. The ''Rebels'' returned in 2001, now playing in the fourth division Oberliga Ost. A championship there earned the side promotion to the Regionalliga Ost, where it spent another two years before making a return to the 2nd Bundesliga. The first season there went well for the club, coming second in the northern division but after that three average seasons followed with fifth and sixth places. In 2009, the club won another division championship and moved up to the GFL once more. It was to be a short visit, the ''Rebels'' came last and were forced to play the
Düsseldorf Panther The Düsseldorf Panther are an American football team from Düsseldorf, Germany. The club is the oldest extant American football club in Europe, having been formed on 1 May 1978.Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
34–33. Nevertheless, this was not enough, the ''Rebels'' were relegated on aggregate score by a point. The 2011 season provided an opportunity for easier promotion from the GFL 2 as the GFL was to be enlarged from 14 to 16 teams and, consequently, the division champions were promoted directly and the runners-up had the right to play the last placed GFL teams. The ''Rebels'' came second in the northern division, behind the
Hamburg Blue Devils The Hamburg Blue Devils are an American football team in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded in 1992. The Blue Devils are one of the most successful American football clubs in Germany, having won four German Bowls as well as three Eurobowls. Durin ...
but were spared the promotion round when the last placed GFL team, the
Assindia Cardinals The Assindia Cardinals are an American football team from Essen, Germany. Assindia is the Latin name for Essen. As its greatest success, the club has finished in third place in the northern division of the '' American Football Bundesliga'' in 1 ...
, decided to withdraw from the league to the GFL 2 for financial reasons. In 2012, the club came fifth in the northern division of the GFL and failed to qualify for the play-off, a result repeated in 2013. It missed out on the play-offs in 2014 and 2015, too after coming sixth and fifth in the league. In
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
, the Rebels finished their division on a fourth rank and qualified for the play-offs. In the quarter finals they lost against the
Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns The Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns are an American football team from Schwäbisch Hall, Germany. The club's greatest successes were winning the southern division title in the German Football League in 2009 and in every season played since 2011 (as of ...
. The following season was a perfect copy. Again the Rebels finished fourth and lost their quarter final in Schwäbisch Hall, but this time the Unicorns needed an overtime. In 2018 the Rebels played their most successful season. Only a half win short to division champs
New Yorker Lions The New Yorker Lions are an American Football team from Braunschweig, Germany. Until late 2010, the team was known as the Braunschweig Lions.
and runners-up
Dresden Monarchs The Dresden Monarchs are an American football team from Dresden, Germany. They have been a member of the first tier German Football League since 2002 and play in its Northern Division. They are the reigning champion after having won German Bowl XL ...
they finished third. Their third consecutive quarter finals appearance they lost against
Frankfurt Universe The Frankfurt Universe are a German American football team from Frankfurt, Hesse. The club, formed in 2007, won promotion to the German Football League 2, the second tier of league football in Germany, in 2011. The team rebranded itself as "Fran ...
.


Honours

* GFL ** Play-off qualification: (4) 2016–2019 ** League membership: (15) 1992–1995, 2010, 2012–present * GFL2 ** Northern Division champions: (4) 1991, 1996, 1998, 2009 * Junior Bowl ** Champions: 1992, 1996, 2000


Recent seasons

Recent seasons of the club:Football History
Historic American football tables from Germany, accessed: 16 December 2011
GFL 2010
www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 16 December 2011
GFL 2 2011
www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 11 December 2011
* RR = Relegation round * QF = Quarter finals * In 2006, the home game against the
Kiel Baltic Hurricanes The Kiel Baltic Hurricanes are an American football team based in Kiel, Germany. The club has been, of recent, a strong force in the sport in Germany, playing in five consecutive German Bowls from 2008 to 2012, losing the first two, winning the t ...
was not played, therefore only 11 games. * In 2007, the home game against the
Langenfeld Longhorns Langenfeld may refer to the following places in Germany: * Langenfeld, Bavaria, in the Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim district of Mittelfranken, Bavaria * Langenfeld, Mayen-Koblenz, in the Mayen-Koblenz district of Rhineland-Palatinate * Langenf ...
was not played, therefore only 13 games.


References


External links

*
Official website
*
German Football League official website
*
Football History
Historic American football tables from Germany {{German Football League clubs American football teams in Germany German Football League teams American football teams established in 1987 Sport in Berlin 1987 establishments in West Germany