The Central European Football League (CEFL) is a European organization 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 ...
which hosts two international competitions, CEFL Championship and CEFL Cup. The final game of the CEFL Championship playoffs is dubbed CEFL Bowl.
Until the formation of the CEFL Cup in 2017 the name of the organization was synonymous with its flagship competition – CEFL Championship, or simply "the league". Initially named Southeast European League of American Football (SELAF) it featured teams from Serbia and Slovenia in its introductory 2006 season. The following year teams from other countries joined ranks and the name was changed to the current one before the 2008 season. First 4 seasons of the league were played during the spring and autumn, with a month-and-a-half to a three-month summer break. Starting from 2010 season the competition takes place during the spring. Over its existence, the league was played intermittently by teams from: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.
The 2022 champions are
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 ...
.
History
2006
The inaugural season featured a total of five teams:
Belgrade Vukovi
SBB Vukovi Beograd are an American football team from Belgrade, Serbia. After establishing in 2003, in just few years SBB Vukovi have become one of the best-organized and most successful American football teams in Eastern Europe. Today SBB Vukovi ...
,
Kragujevac Wild Boars
The Kragujevac Wild Boars are an American football team from Kragujevac, Serbia.
As a team, Wild Boars arose from friendly tossing on the field. Organized play began in the winter of 2002–03 and culminated with first ever game in Serbia in s ...
,
Novi Sad Dukes
Novi may refer to the following :
Places and jurisdictions
Balkans
* Novi Grad, Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Novi Sad, a city in Serbia
* the former Catholic Diocese of Novi, with see at Herceg-Novi (Castelnuovo), in Montenegro; now a Latin titu ...
and
Sirmium Legionaries from Serbia, as well as
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.
The first ever league champions were Wild Boars who beat Vukovi 23–12 in SELAF Bowl, played on FK Radnički stadium in
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
on 8 October.
2007
The second season was already a season of expansion for the league with two new teams. Joining the league were the top Hungarian team,
Budapest Wolves
The Budapest Wolves are an American football team from Budapest, Hungary. After establishing in 2004, in just few years the Wolves have become one of the best organized and most successful American football teams in Hungary. Today, the Wolves are ...
, and
CNC Gladiators, then of Austrian Division I (Austria 2nd highest level). Meanwhile, the Legionaries have left the competition. For the first time teams were split into two conferences: North and South. North Conference consisted of Gladiators, Silverhawks and Wolves and South Conference included three Serbian teams: Dukes, Vukovi and Wild Boars.
The final game was named CEFL Bowl II and took place on the
Ada Ciganlija
Ada Ciganlija ( sr-cyr, Ада Циганлија, ), colloquially shortened to Ada, is a river island that has artificially been turned into a peninsula, located in the Sava River's course through central Belgrade, Serbia. The name can also ref ...
stadium in Belgrade on 27 October, with the title won by Vukovi after beating Wolves 28–27 in a dramatic fashion.
That season was also the first in which the league made it to television: the semifinal and the bowl game were broadcast on Serbian nationally covered
TV Avala
TV Avala (full legal name: TV Avala d.o.o., Serbian Cyrillic: ТВ Авала) was a Serbian television network with national frequency. Registered as a limited liability company, the station was given a national TV frequency in Serbia in April 2 ...
.
2008
The league changed its name to Central European Football League and the third season featured three new teams from three different countries:
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,
Budapest Cowboys from Hungary and
Zagreb Thunder from Croatia, while the Wild Boars did not return. The Cowboys and Thunder joined the South Conference, also filling the vacant spot made with the departure of the Wild Boars, while the Monarchs were placed in the North Conference.
In CEFL Bowl III, CNC Gladiators from Austria's 2nd highest level league beat Vukovi 14–8 at the
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 ...
' Ravelin football center in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
on 25 October.
2009
In the 2009 season,
Cineplexx Blue Devils of Austria replaced the non-returning Monarchs. They joined a newly formed conference with Thunder, Vukovi and Wolves. The other conference consisted of 2008 champions, Gladiators, along with Cowboys, Dukes and Silverhawks.
The bowl game was again played on the Ada Ciganlija stadium in Belgrade on 24 October, with Vukovi reclaiming the title after beating Blue Devils 39–20.
The season was also a considerable milestone for the league, as multiple league games have been televised on a trans-European channel
Sport Klub
Sportklub is a subscription sports television service which has been broadcast in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia since 2006, Croatia from 2007 and in North Macedonia from 2011. A different version of the channel has ...
.
2010
The league changed format again in 2010, with the Turkish national champion
Istanbul Cavaliers joining the league and Cowboys, Gladiators and Thunder not returning. Cavaliers were scheduled to play Blue Devils in the newly formed wild card cup, with the winner taking the final playoff spot.
The bowl game was played in
Ivančna Gorica
Ivančna Gorica (; in older sources also ''Vanjčina Gorica'') is a settlement in central Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Ivančna Gorica. It is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Central Sl ...
, Slovenia on 18 July, where Vukovi beat Silverhawks 42–20 to become the league champions once again.
2011
In the 2011 season the league saw the departure of Blue Devils and Dukes. Competition consisted of four teams, which were all national champions of their respective countries.
The title was again claimed by the Vukovi who beat the Wolves 34–33 in yet another dramatic bowl game between these two teams played on
Margaret Island
Margaret Island ( hu, Margitsziget ; german: Margareteninsel; tr, Kızadası) is a long island, wide, ( in area) in the middle of the Danube in central Budapest, Hungary. The island is mostly covered by landscape parks, and is a popular recrea ...
Athletic Center in Budapest on 23 July.
2012
Croatian top team
Zagreb Patriots joined the league and Blue Devils rejoined, while Cavaliers departed. The league was renamed to Sport Klub CEFL after its main sponsor and had multiple league games broadcast on Sport Klub television channels.
CEFL Bowl VII was played on Ada Ciganlija stadium in Belgrade on 21 July, where the Silverhawks won their first title after beating the Vukovi 34–21.
2013
In 2013, the league has seen the return of one of its original teams, Kragujevac Wild Boars. Blue Devils and Patriots have left the league.
The bowl game was again played on Ada Ciganlija stadium in Belgrade on 7 July, with Vukovi reclaiming the title after the most convincing bowl game win over Wild Boars 42–0.
2014
The 2014 season was again played with the same four teams: Budapest Wolves from Hungary, Belgrade Vukovi and Kragujevac Wild Boars from Serbia, and Ljubljana Silverhawks from Slovenia.
CEFL Bowl IX was played in Ivančna Gorica on 20 July, where Vukovi won the title beating Silverhawks 27–17.
2015
The 2015 season was once again played with four teams. Belgrade Vukovi and Ljubljana Silverhawks have extended their membership, accompanied by two returning teams
Novi Sad Dukes
Novi may refer to the following :
Places and jurisdictions
Balkans
* Novi Grad, Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Novi Sad, a city in Serbia
* the former Catholic Diocese of Novi, with see at Herceg-Novi (Castelnuovo), in Montenegro; now a Latin titu ...
from Serbia and the
Cineplexx Blue Devils from Austria. Kragujevac Wild Boars and Budapest Docler Wolves have left the league.
CEFL Bowl X was played on FK Kabel stadium in Novi Sad on 5 July, where Dukes took their first trophy by beating Vukovi in a nailbiter 25–23.
2016
The 2016 season marked the expansion of the CEFL with 12 teams. Member teams from last year were joined by new additions
Budapest Cowbells
The Budapest Cowbells are an American football team from Budapest, Hungary. The team was founded in December 2013 by merger of ''Budapest Cowboys'' and ''Újbuda Rebels''. The Cowbells are two-time champions of Hungarian Football League.
Brief ...
from Hungary and
Projekt Spielberg Graz Giants from Austria, while
Zagreb Patriots from Croatia returned to the fold. Former
Alpe Adria Football League teams joined as well. Those were:
Domžale Tigers and
Kranj
Kranj (, german: Krainburg) is the third-largest city in Slovenia, with a population of 37,941 (2020). It is located approximately northwest of Ljubljana. The centre of the City Municipality of Kranj and of the traditional region of Upper Carniol ...
Alp Devils
The Alp Devils were an American football team based in Visoko, Šenčur, Slovenia. They reached the inaugural Slovenian Bowl in 2010, where they lost to the Ljubljana Silverhawks.
History
The Alp Devils were founded in 2008, together with the Mar ...
from Slovenia,
Niš Imperatori and
Inđija Indians from Serbia, and
Sarajevo Spartans from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
CEFL Bowl XI was played on ASKÖ Stadium in Graz on 3 July, where Giants won the trophy by outgunning Vukovi 52–49 in another cliffhanger.
2017
CEFL Championship continued to gain traction. Problems with
IFAF
The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) is the international governing body of gridiron associations. The IFAF oversees the IFAF World Championship of American Football, which is held every four years. The IFAF became a prov ...
leadership which started the year before lead to the discontinuation of
IFAF Europe Champions League
The IFAF Europe Champions League was a European Cup-inspired tournament for European Gridiron teams affiliated to IFAF Europe. It has been held annually between 2014 and 2016.
History
In 2014, the IFAF Europe Champions League was formed in the ...
competition. Some of its team members joined CEFL Championship, while others formed Northern European Football League (NEFL). CEFL Championship was composed of two conferences:
* Western Conference:
Triangle Razorbacks,
Panthers Wrocław
The Panthers Wroclaw are an American football team in Wrocław, Poland, which was merged from Giants Wrocław and Devils Wrocław (both founded in 2005). They currently play in the newly formed European League of Football since 2021.
In the past ...
,
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 ...
* Eastern Conference: SBB Vukovi Beograd, Kragujevac Wild Boars, Budapest Cowbells,
Koç Rams
This year the league also introduced CEFL Cup, played in two conferences as a developmental competition:
* Western Conference: Kranj Alp Devils, Sarajevo Spartans, Zagreb Patriots
* Eastern Conference: Novi Sad GAT Dukes, Inđija Indians, Sirmium Legionaries,
Belgrade Blue Dragons
The Belgrade Blue Dragons are an American football team from Belgrade, Serbia.
History
Blue Dragons was founded in July 2003 in Belgrade. Together with six other clubs, they founded the Association of American Football of Serbia.
We played ou ...
CEFL Bowl XII was played at the Tivoli stadium in Innsbruck on 10 June, where Swarco Raiders overpowered Kragujevac Wild Boars 55-20. CEFL Cup finals were played the same day in Kranj, the home of Alp Devils who were shutout by Novi Sad Gat Dukes 0–59.
2018
Most prominent season in organization's existence. CEFL Championship was played by 6 champions: 5 national and a returning CEFL Bowl XII winner. It was made possible by two new additions,
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 ...
from Czechia in the Western Conference and
Moscow Patriots
The Moscow Patriots are a professional American football team based in Moscow, Russia. The Patriots compete in the Eastern European Super League (EESL) as a member club of the Super League. Home games were played at Sapsan Arena.
History
The team ...
from Russia in the Eastern, while Cowbells, Razorbacks and Vukovi exited.
CEFL Cup was transformed into a cup competition for high-level teams and featured four participants. Vukovi, who left the Championship and Cowbells, Hungarian champions, were former CEFL members. Two national vice-champion teams were added to membership:
Seahawks Gdynia
The Seahawks Gdynia are an American football team based in Gdynia, Poland. They play in the Liga Futbolu Amerykańskiego.
History
The team was founded in October 2005 as the Pomorze Seahawks. In 2006 the Seahawks was one of four founders of th ...
from Poland and Sakarya Tatankalari from Turkey.
CEFL Bowl XIII was again played on the Tivoli stadium in Innsbruck on 9 June, where Swarco Raiders defended the title by beating Koç Rams 49–20. CEFL Cup finals took place the following day on the BASK stadium in Belgrade, where Vukovi beat Seahawks 55–41.
The Superfinal game between CEFL and NEFL champions was played on 30 June at
Gentofte Sportspark
Gentofte Sportspark (formerly Gentofte Stadion) is a multi-purpose stadium in Gentofte near Copenhagen, Denmark. The stadium holds 15,000 people. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Hellerup IK. Other sport ...
in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, where Swarco Raiders beat
Copenhagen Towers
The Copenhagen Towers are an American football team from Gentofte, Denmark. The club was founded in 1990, and have since competed in the National Ligaen, the highest division of American football in Denmark.
The Copenhagen Towers are members of ...
45–20 to claim the title.
2019
This year the organization has surpassed all of its previous seasons. CEFL Championship participants hailed from 7 countries. Five of them were national champions, including the current standing two-time CEFL Bowl winners, and the other 2 were vice-champions. Newcomers from previous season have exited the Championship, and there were 3 new additions.
Thonon Black Panthers
The Black Panthers of Thonon is a French American football club based in Thonon-les-Bains (Haute-Savoie) and founded in 1987 by Benoît Sirouet, Nicolas Schpoliansky and Frederic Mériguet.
Jérôme Garnier quickly joined the three founding membe ...
and
Milan Seamen formed the Western Conference together with Swarco Raiders.
Calanda Broncos
The Calanda Broncos are an American football team from Landquart, Switzerland. The club, formed in 1991 as the Landquart Broncos, changed its name in late 2008 after the Calanda mountain to show the club's desire to represent a larger region of ...
reinforced the Eastern Conference with Kragujevac Wild Boars and Koç Rams, and Panthers Wrocław were relocated to it.
CEFL Cup doubled its membership to eight top-level teams. Previous season's additions have departed, and the newcomers were Italian league finalists
Bolzano Giants
Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...
, Russian champions
Moscow Spartans
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, Romanian champions
Bucharest Rebels
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
, and Turkish Istanbul İTÜ Hornets, while Hungarian champions Budapest Wolves and Russian runners-up Moscow Patriots returned to CEFL flock.
CEFL Bowl XIV was played in Chur, Switzerland on 8 June between Calanda Broncos and Swarco Raiders. This very exciting duel went to Swarco Raiders in the final seconds, and they triumphed by 46–42. Another excitement followed a day later in Bolzano Italy, where Moscow Spartans outlasted Bolzano Giants 15–14.
ECTC finals, a successor of the Superfinals, were played at the Tivoli stadium in Innsbruck, where Swarco Raiders conquered
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 ...
with a 35–10 score.
2020
In 2020, 12 teams (10 national champions and 2 vice-champions) should have participated in the 15th CEFL season: Swarco Raiders, Vienna Vikings, Calanda Broncos, Wroclaw Panthers, Thonon Black Panthers, Milan Seamen, Copenhagen Towers, Badalona Dracs, Stockholm Mean Machines, Kragujevac Wild Boars, Koc Rams, and Moscow Spartans. The season was ultimately cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
2021
After taking 2020 off due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, CEFL announced its return for 2021, with a tournament that, for the first time ever, will feature a team from 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 tournament was initially supposed to feature 11 teams from 10 countries, including 8 national champions. However, some of the extended
pandemic
A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...
lockdowns have forced some teams to withdraw, and CEFL decided to start the tournament with only 8 teams. 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 ...
won the title in the first year they participated with a last second victory over the
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 ...
.
Source
european-league.com
Notes
2022
On 22 December 2021, the CEFL announced that the 2022 season would expand the cup tournament format to four rounds. Thirteen teams were invited, with nine national champions among the invitations, along with the defending CEFL Champions.
The Unicorns defended their title.
CEFL Bowls
Champions
Membership of CEFL Championship
*Note: teams whose names are in bold are current participants.
References
External links
Central European Football League
{{European Football Leagues
American football leagues in Europe
2005 establishments in Europe
Sports leagues established in 2005