The Mönchengladbach Mavericks were 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 wi ...

team from

Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach (, li, Jlabbach ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border. Geography Municipal subdivisions Since 2009, the territory of Mönchengladbac ...

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 club won promotion to 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 NCAA. In 1999, the league switched its name from ''American-Football-Bundesliga'' to ''German Foot ...

in 2010, and qualified for the semi finals of the play-offs the following year, its greatest success. Confronted with a debt of Euro 350,000, the club had its GFL licence withdrawn on 23 December 2011. The club's board consequently resigned and the Mavericks became defunct.Mavericks - Ende eines Football-Märchens
''

Westdeutsche Zeitung The ''Westdeutsche Zeitung'' (''WZ'') ( en, West German Newspaper) is one of the largest regional newspaper in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Its headquarters is in Wuppertal with additional offices in Düsseldorf and Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; ...

'', published: 23 December 2011, accessed: 8 January 2012

History

The Mönchengladbach Mavericks were formed in 1989. The ''Mavericks'' spent the first twenty years of their history in the local league system of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

, never rising above the third tier.Vereinsgeschichte
Mönchengladbach Mavericks website - Club history, accessed: 19 January 2011 The club's fortunes changed from 2007 onwards, when it introduced a new concept and new players, playing in the tier-four ''Oberliga NRW''. After promotion from this league in 2008, the club also won the ''Regionalliga West'' in 2009, winning all ten league games, and overcame 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 ...

in two promotion games. The ''Mavericks'' entered the

German Football League 2 The German Football League 2 (GFL2) is the second tier 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 ...

, the second tier of the league system, for 2010. Achieving another unbeaten season in this league, the team was directly promoted to the GFL for 2011, the league having expanded from 12 to 14 teams. The team followed up its 2010 success with an excellent 2011 season, finishing second in the GFL North and qualifying for the play-offs, where they were knocked out in the semi finals by

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 ...

after defeating the Stuttgart Scorpions in the quarter finals.

Honours

* GFL ** League membership : 2011 ** Play-off qualification : (1) 2011 * GFL2 ** Northern Division champions: 2010

Recent seasons

Recent seasons of the club:Football History
Historic American football tables from Germany, accessed: 18 January 2010GFL 2011
www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 18 September 2011 * PR = Promotion round. * RR = Relegation round. * QF = Quarter finals. * SF = Semi finals. * GB = German Bowl

References

External links

*
Official website
*
German Football League official website
*
Football History
Historic American football tables from Germany {{DEFAULTSORT:Monchengladbach Mavericks Defunct American football teams in Germany German Football League teams American football teams established in 1989 Sport in North Rhine-Westphalia Sport in Mönchengladbach 1989 establishments in West Germany American football teams disestablished in 2011 2011 disestablishments in Germany