The Football League of Europe (FLE) was a

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

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 ...

league. It was founded in 1994, renamed 1995 in American Football League of Europe (AFLE) and dissolved after the 1995 season because of the ongoing financial problems. The trophy given annually to the FLE champions was the

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...

Trophy.

History

The league was founded in 1994 under the leadership of the German team

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 ...

. The Blue Devils left the league after the 1994 FLE season going back to the well established German Football League for the 1995 season. After the 1994 season, three other teams also left the league. The league folded following the 1995 season.

1994 season

8 European teams competing for the first season. North Conference *

Berlin Bears ''Buddy Bears'' are painted, life-size fiberglass bear sculptures developed by German businesspeople Klaus and Eva Herlitz, in cooperation with sculptor Roman Strobl. They have become a landmark of Berlin and are considered unofficial ambassa ...

Helsinki Roosters Helsinki Roosters is an American football team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team plays in the Vaahteraliiga in Finland and their home field is the Helsinki Velodrome. History Roosters were founded in 1979 and the club is a founding member of ...

* Stockholm Nordic Vikings Central Conference * Amsterdam Crusaders *

Frankfurt Gamblers Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

Great Britain Spartans The Manchester Spartans were an American football club in Manchester, England. Founded in 1983 as the Northwich Spartans, they became Manchester Spartans in 1984, and were national champions in 1989 and 1990. They won the Eurobowl in 1990. Histo ...

Munich Thunder Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

The championship games was held in front of 18,000 spectators in Hamburg's

Volksparkstadion Volksparkstadion () is a football stadium in Hamburg, Germany, and is the home of Hamburger SV. History HSV actually have nothing to do with the origins of the stadium, even though they own the current arena. Before the club moved to the cur ...

. The Stockholm Nordic Vikings defeated the host Hamburg Blue Devils with 43:35.

1995 season

With the move of the

back into the German Football League after the 1994 season the league had lost their flagship team. Three other teams left the league now named American Football League of Europe. * Amsterdam Crusaders *

Bergamo Lions The Bergamo Lions are an American football team from Bergamo, Italy established in 1983 and playing in the Italian Football League. They won the Eurobowl in 2000, 2001 and 2002, while losing to the Vienna Vikings in the finals of 2004 and 2005 Eur ...

Frankfurt Knights Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

* Stockholm Nordic Vikings In the championship games the Stockholm Nordic Vikings beat the Bergamo Lions 14:0 to become 2 time champions.Enciclopedia del football italiano
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References

{{reflist Defunct American football leagues in Europe Sports leagues established in 1994 Sports leagues disestablished in 1995 1994 establishments in Europe 1995 disestablishments in Europe