The Dutch Lions is the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

national

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. The team represents the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in international competition and is made up entirely of

national players, typically but not exclusively playing in the AFBN and GFL competitions.

History

The Lions first competed internationally in 1986. After failing to progress further than the first qualification round in 1987 (in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

) and 1989 (in

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 ...

), they achieved a 3rd-place finish in the 1991 European Championship in

. However, after failing to qualify for the tournament in 1993, combined with upheaval at home within the Dutch governing bodies, the Dutch National Team was to face a long absence from international competition. Nine years after their previous incarnation, the Dutch returned to the international American Football scene in 2002 under the name Dutch Lions, finishing 5th in the 2003 EFAF C Group European Championship in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

after losses to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Two more losses, this time to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

in the 2007 EFAF C Group European Championship, led to another 5th place. Five years later, under new head coach Winston Ronde, the Lions improved on those results by finishing 3rd in the 2012 EFAF C Group Championship, this time in

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 ...

, with a close loss to

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

and a win over

. In 2013 and 2014, the Lions played a series of practice games against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

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 ...

and

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

, losing only the game against

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. In 2015, Head Coach Winston Ronde resigned, and was replaced by Reyhan Agaoglu. After an away loss in a practice game against

, the Dutch Lions succeeded in qualifying for the 2016 European Championship Qualifying Tournament by defeating rivals

Waalwijk Waalwijk () is a municipality and a city in the southern Netherlands. It had a population of in and is located near the motorways A59 and N261. The villages of Capelle, Vrijhoeve-Capelle, Sprang (the former municipality of Sprang-Capelle) and ...

. The Lions played host to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in their first ever international practice game, again in

, in 2016 as a warm up to the upcoming tournament in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The Lions were comfortably ahead 20-0 when the game was abandoned early in the third quarter due to lightning. In September 2016 the Dutch Lions travelled to

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

to compete in the qualifying tournament for the 2018 European Championship. Despite leading 13-0 at half time, an injury to Quarterback Richard Bouthoorn contributed to a heartbreaking 20-13 loss in the semi-final, thereby ending the dreams of competing in the 2018 finals. The

bounced back in the bronze medal game to defeat

17-6. The Lions ended the 2016 season by taking a makeshift squad to face

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...

in an exhibition game, losing comprehensively 42-14. In August 2017, it was revealed by the Belgian American Football Federation that

American Football Bond Nederland The American Football Bond Nederland (AFBN) is the governing body for American Football in the Netherlands. The AFBN was founded 1984 and refounded in 2001 after the merger of the rival leagues Nederlandse American Football Federatie (NAFF) and A ...

had made the decision to put the Dutch Lions programme on hold until 2018. After the resignation of head coach Reyhan Agaoglu, the federation planned to announce a new head coach after the summer of 2017. The Dutch Lions have never qualified for the

IFAF World Championship The IFAF World Championship of American Football (also known as the IFAF World Cup) is an international gridiron competition held every four years and contested by teams representing member nations. The competition is run by the International Fe ...

Most Recent Playing Squad (2016)

Most recent Coaching Staff (2016)

Most recent Support Staff (2016)

All time results

References

External links

Dutch National American Football Team Official WebsiteAmerican Football Bond Nederland Website
{{National men's American football teams Men's national American football teams

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 ...

American football teams in the Netherlands 1987 establishments in the Netherlands American football teams established in 1987