American football in Austria
American football has been practiced as a sport in Austria since 1981. The highest league in which the Austrian Bowl is playedevery yearis the Austrian Football League . It is organized by the American Football Association Austria (AFBÖ) .
The best-known clubs from the very beginning were the Graz Giants (founded in 1981), the Salzburg Bulls (1982) and the Vienna Vikings (1983).
Austrian clubs are successfully represented in the European leagues. The Dodge Vikings Vienna won the Eurobowl in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 , the highest title in European amateur football, which the Swarco Raiders Tirol achieved in 2008, 2009 and 2011. The second highest title in Europe, the EFAF Cup , was won by the Graz Giants in 2002, 2006 and 2007, as was the Swarco Raiders Tirol in 2004.
Since the end of 2005, Austria has again provided a men's national team after a long time , which is led by Rick Rhoades .
From July 8th to 16th, 2011 the 4th American Football World Championship took place in Austria. The venues are Innsbruck, Graz and Vienna. The final took place in Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium on July 16, 2011. In 2014 the European Football Championship took place in Graz, St. Pölten and Vienna, where Austria advanced to the finals in the Ernst Happel Stadium, but was defeated by Germany in double overtime in front of over 30,000 spectators.
