The Rhein-Neckar Bandits are 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 ...

team from

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

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's greatest success came in 2011, when it earned 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 National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA. In 1999, the league switched its name from ''Ameri ...

, followed by a second-place finish in the southern division of the GFL in 2012. The current name is since end of 2017 Mannheim Bandits.

History

The club was formed in 2003 in a merger of two local sides, the Hockenheim Renegades and the Heidelberg Toreros. The club is not related to the Rhein-Main Razorbacks, a team from Rüsselsheim, which folded in early 2004. The club's first league season, in 2004, was spent in the tier four Oberliga Baden Württemberg, which it finished in first place, winning all ten season games. Four seasons in the tier three

Regionalliga Mitte The Austrian Regional League Central (german: Regionalliga Mitte) is a third-tier division of Austrian football, established in the 1994–95 season. It covers the Austrian states of Carinthia (with East Tyrol), Styria and Upper Austria and is on ...

followed, with a second place in 2008 as its best result, a place that also allowed it to be promoted to the

German Football League 2 The German Football League 2 (GFL2) is the second tier of American football in Germany, below the German Football League. Until 2007, the league was known as the ''2. Bundesliga''. League structure The ''GFL2'', formerly the ''2. Bundesliga'', wh ...

via the promotion round, where they defeated Bavarian champions Aschaffenburg Stallions. The ''Bandits'' spend the next three seasons in the GFL 2, gradually improving their results, coming fifth, fourth and second. The second place in 2011 allowed the team to take part in the promotion round to an enlarged GFL. However, when the

Plattling Black Hawks The Plattling Black Hawks are an American football team from Plattling, Germany. The club was, until 2004, known as the Deggendorf Black Hawks. The club's greatest success was earning a promotion to the German Football League in 2008 and qualifyi ...

, last placed n the GFL South, declared that they would withdraw their team to the third division Regionalliga the ''Bandits'' were granted direct promotion to the highest football league in Germany. The season however had been a tight affair, with the ''Bandits'' finishing on equal points with the Holzgerlingen Twister and

Darmstadt Diamonds The Darmstadt Diamonds are an American football team from Darmstadt, Germany. The club has spent six seasons in the German Football League, the GFL, from 1990 to 1992 and again from 2006 to 2008, reaching the play-offs on two occasions. The ''Dia ...

in second place behind champions

Franken Knights The Franken Knights are an American football team from Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany. Between 1995 and 1996 the club played in Würzburg for two seasons but returned to Rothenburg again the following year. The club, originally formed as the R ...

. The final placings in the league had to be decided by the games played between the three clubs, in which the ''Bandits'' had the best record. In 2012, the club came second in the southern division of the GFL and qualified for the play-off where it was knocked out by

Dresden Monarchs The Dresden Monarchs are an American football team from Dresden, Germany. They have been a member of the first tier German Football League since 2002 and play in its Northern Division. They are the reigning champion after having won German Bowl XL ...

in the quarter finals. The side qualified for the play-offs once more in 2013 but was once again knocked out in the quarter finals, this time by the

Braunschweig Lions The New Yorker Lions are an American Football team from Braunschweig, Germany. Until late 2010, the team was known as the Braunschweig Lions.

. The 2014 and 2015 seasons saw the club finish only seventh in the southern division of the GFL and miss out on the play-offs. In 2016, the club lost all his games and descented. The team disintegrated and started 2017 in the lowest division, the county league BaWü. The season ended with second place in nine wins and one defeat. After the end of the 2017 season the Teams changed its name to Mannheim Bandits.

Honours

* GFL ** League membership: (5) 2012–2016 ** Play-off qualification : (2) 2012, 2013

Recent seasons

Recent seasons of the club:Football History
Historic American football tables from Germany, accessed: 16 December 2011GFL 2 2010
www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 16 December 2011GFL 2 2011
www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 11 December 2011 * RR = Relegation round * PR = Promotion 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 {{Former German Football League clubs American football teams in Germany German Football League teams American football teams established in 2003 Sport in Baden-Württemberg 2003 establishments in Germany Sport in Mannheim