The Vienna Vikings is 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 ...

club based 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 ...

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 ...

. Founded in 1983, the Vikings are known as one of Europe's most dominant clubs, having won the

Eurobowl The Eurobowl was the championship final game of a tournament style playoff to determine the champion of all of the American football leagues in Europe. The tournament featured the top or champion clubs from each countries top league that was cal ...

title five times (2004–2007 and 2013), as well being the runner-up five times (2001, 2003, 2008, 2010 and 2012). In the national championship the Vikings are holding the record of 15

Austrian Bowl The Austrian Football League (AFL) is the highest level of American football in Austria founded in 1984. The Austrian Football League (AFL) has always been considered among the best and strongest leagues in Europe. The league plays by rules based ...

victories. Since the 2022 season they are member of the

European League of Football The European League of Football (ELF) is a professional sports#American football, professional American football sports league, league. The league (as of the 2023 season) consists of 17 teams located in Germany, Poland, Spain, Austria, Italy, S ...

and under the name Dacia Vienna Vikings they are also still part of the

Austrian Football League The Austrian Football League (AFL) is the highest level of American football in Austria founded in 1984. The Austrian Football League (AFL) has always been considered among the best and strongest leagues in Europe. The league plays by rules based ...

(AFL).

History

The Vikings were founded in 1983. Three years later, the Vikings made it to the

, the Austrian championship game, where they fell short against the

Graz Giants The Graz Giants are an American football team in Graz, Austria founded in 1981. The Giants play in the Austrian Football League at ASKÖ Stadium in the Eggenberg district of Graz. History Inspired by a March 1981 broadcast of the first Austrian ...

. In 1994, the Vikings won their first national championship and repeated the victory two years later. In 1999, the Vikings played their eighth Austrian Bowl, all of them against the Giants, and gained their third title. It was also their first of five consecutive Austrian Bowl wins. Until 2007 the Vikings made it always to the Austrian Bowl and collected two more national titles becoming the team with the record number of 10 Austrian Bowl wins. From 2012 to 2017 the Vikings won four more national titles. From 2014 to 2016, the team took part in a new European competition, the

BIG6 European Football League The BIG6 European Football League (BIG6) was a European Cup style tournament for European American football teams. Originally organized by the EFAF (European Federation of American Football), the tournament had been run by the German Football L ...

Naming rights

*1983–1998: Vienna Vikings *1999–2005: Chrysler Vikings *2006–2007: Dodge Vikings Vienna *2008–2014: Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna *2015–2016: Vienna Vikings *2017– Dacia Vienna Vikings

European League of Football

On September 25, 2021 the Vienna Vikings announced their that their first team will compete in the

2022 European League of Football season The 2022 ELF season is the second season of the European League of Football, a professional American football league based in Europe. Twelve teams from five different countries will participate. The 2022 season started on June 4, 2022, and will c ...

together with their league rival

Tyrolean Raiders 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 domin ...

The coaching staff of the former AFL team will continue coaching the ELF team. The franchise, now being a private corporation as a GesmbH, is owned by the

Voluntary association A voluntary group or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, common-interest association, association, or society) is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement, usually as volunteering, volunteers, to form a body (or organ ...

. Together with its rivals

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 ...

the Vikings play in the Central Conference of the ELF. The participation allows the signing of up to 8 European foreign players and 4 US-American, Canadian, Mexican or Japanese players. At the start of the 2022 season, business lawyer and long-time

quarterback

Robin Lumsden Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest rob ...

joined as co-owner and investor. On February 17, 2022 the organisations announced that all home games in the ELF season will be played at the Generali Arena Vienna.

Roster

Staff

Honours

** Champions:

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

** Champions: (5) 2004–2007, 2013 ** Runners-up: (5) 2001, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2012 *

** Champions: (15) 1994, 1996, 1999–2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012–2014, 2017, 2020 ** Runners-up: (13) 1986, 1988, 1991, 1995, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2011, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022

References

External links

Official website
{{Vienna Vikings American football teams in Austria American football teams established in 1983 1983 establishments in Austria Viking Age in popular culture Sport in Vienna European League of Football teams Vienna Vikings