Austrian Football League
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Current season | AFL 2020 |
sport | American football |
abbreviation | AFL |
Association | American Football Federation Austria |
League foundation | 1984 |
Teams | 8th |
Country countries | Austria , Czech Republic (1 team) |
Title holder | Swarco Raiders Tirol |
Record champions | Vienna Vikings (14 titles) |
Website | football.at |
The Austrian Football League (AFL) is the top division of American football in Austria and is held under the responsibility of the American Football Association Austria (AFBÖ). The AFL, like the following divisions I , II , III and IV, will be held on an amateur basis . The league was founded in 1984. The record champions are the Vienna Vikings with 14 titles.
mode
Game mode
The current mode has existed since the 2016 season. Eight teams play in the league. Each team completes ten games in the basic round and meets every other team at least once. There is a round trip against three teams, the higher a team is, the stronger the assigned opponents are. A ranking list is determined from the basic round. First of all, the quotient of wins to games is decisive for this. If this is the same for several teams, the point difference counts first in a direct comparison and then the total point difference. To calculate the difference, the point difference per game is capped at +35 or −35.
The play-offs follow after the regular season. Here, the third and fourth placed first compete in their own stadium against the sixth and fifth placed in a wildcard round. The two winners from the games then play away against the two best teams from the regular season in the semi-finals. The winners of these pairings then compete against each other in the Austrian Bowl. The winner of the Austrian Bowl is also the Austrian national champion, provided that it is an Austrian team. If only one Austrian team reaches the Austrian Bowl, this team is automatically national champion - this has never happened before.
The last of the basic round is relegated to Division I. The Division I champion qualifies for the AFL.
A class player
The semi-finalists of the preseason may lead two A-class players on the roster of a match day and use these two on the field at the same time. All other teams are allowed to have three A-class players in the squad on a matchday, but also only play two on the field at the same time. Only one A-class player was allowed in the past two seasons. In addition to those players from America, every other player who receives a fixed salary from his club is considered a class A player .
Teams
AFL football teams (2020) |
There are currently eight teams in the AFL. Seven of the teams come from Austria, one team from the Czech Republic.
- Swarco Raiders Tirol ( Innsbruck )
- Vienna Vikings ( Vienna )
- Graz Giants ( Graz )
- Danube Dragons (Vienna)
- Mödling Rangers ( Mödling )
- Prague Black Panthers ( Prague , Czech Republic )
- Steelsharks Traun ( Traun )
- Cineplexx Blue Devils ( Hohenems )
History of the Austrian Football League
The first Austrian American football team, the Vienna Ramblocks , was founded in 1978. With the Graz Giants , another team was added in 1981, so that the first Austrian duel could take place in 1982, which went 44-0 to the Ramblocks.
In 1984 the AFL was founded by the Ramblocks, Giants and the Salzburg Lions . The champions of the first season were the Lions, who prevailed against the Giants in the final with 27:10. In the period that followed, the Graz team became the dominant team in the league. In the first eight seasons the Giants were always represented in the Austrian Bowl and emerged as winners six times. The Vienna Vikings won their first championship title in 1994 and between 1998 and 2005 set the Graz record with eight consecutive finals. During this period, the Vikings came up with six championship titles, and they even won the Austrian Bowl five times in a row from 1999 to 2003. Since 2012 the Vikings have been the Austrian record champions with 13 championship titles. The Tyrolean Raiders reached their first final in 2000, have been represented in twelve final games and celebrated their first championship title in 2004.
Up to and including the 2008 season , the AFL was played with six teams that meet once each in a round trip. Each team played 8 straight through games, after which the top two in the table played the final of the Austrian Bowl. It was the same mode that was used in NFL Europe . Before that, there was a basic round with subsequent play-offs until the 2005 season .
Due to a change of sponsors , there were some name changes after the 2008 season: the former Chrysler Vikings now play as Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna, Papa Joe's Tyrolean Raiders as Swarco Raiders Tirol and the Öko-Box Graz Giants as Turek Graz Giants. The Carinthian Falcons changed their club name to Carinthian Black Lions in 2005. Meanwhile, the Vienna Vikings and the Graz Giants play again under their original name without any sponsorship.
After the 2008 season, dissatisfaction with the structure of the AFL increased, especially among the Carinthian Black Lions and the Cineplexx Blue Devils . These two teams no longer considered participating in the continuation of the previous mode, which led to considerable changes in the structure of Austrian football. The AFL was reduced to the four strongest clubs, Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna , Turek Graz Giants , Swarco Raiders Tirol and Danube Dragons , and a so-called interdivison was founded with the Black Lions and the Blue Devils. These two teams played games with both Division I and AFL teams.
Since the 2010 season there have again been major changes in the structure of the AFL. At that time the league was increased from four to eight teams and the interdivision, which was only founded for the 2009 season, was dissolved. In addition to the four top teams, the Carinthian Black Lions (Interdivision), the Salzburg Bulls and the Generali Invaders (both Division I), as well as the Prague Panthers from the Czech Republic entered. The Cineplexx Blue Devils, however, joined the Swiss National League A in.
In the 2011 season , the Generali Invaders got out of the league at short notice due to financial problems, so that the AFL 2011 only comprised seven teams.
Before the 2012 season , the Black Lions and Salzburg Bulls got out of the league, but the AFC Rangers , so that the AFL 2012 comprised six teams. Each team played a home and away game against the other teams. This mode was retained in the 2013 season . The AFC Rangers chose a voluntary relegation to Division 2, so that the 2014 season was completed with five remaining teams.
There were efforts to play the 2015 season with eight teams. However, since the Carinthian Lions and the Vienna Knights refused to ascend, they stayed with the well-known mode.
Austrian Bowl
In the Austrian Bowl, which was played for the first time on October 20, 1984 in Salzburg , the Austrian national champion in American football is chosen every year:
year | date | master | Runner-up | result | venue | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
I. | 1984 | Oct. 20 | Salzburg Lions | Graz Giants | 27:10 | Salzburg |
1985 | not carried out | |||||
II | 1986 | June 28th | Graz Giants | Vienna Vikings | 31:12 | Salzburg |
III | 1987 | 5th July | Graz Giants | Salzburg Lions | 20: 0 | ASKÖ Schmelz , Vienna |
IV | 1988 | 3rd of July | Graz Giants | Vienna Vikings | 33:15 | ASKÖ Schmelz, Vienna |
V | 1989 | July 1 | Salzburg Lions | Graz Giants | 34: 0 | Salzburg |
VI | 1990 | July 1 | Graz Giants | Klosterneuburg Mercenaries | 59: 7 | Linz Stadium , Linz |
VII | 1991 | 7th of July | Graz Giants | Vienna Vikings | 38: 7 | ASKÖ Eggenberg , Graz |
VIII | 1992 | 5th July | Graz Giants | Schwarzenau Rangers | 28:13 | ASKÖ Schmelz, Vienna |
IX | 1993 | July 4th | Feldkirch Oscar Dinos | Salzburg Lions | 45:10 | BSZ Südstadt , Maria Enzersdorf |
X | 1994 | July 4th | Vienna Vikings | Levi's Graz Giants | 45:23 | Rudolf-Tonn-Stadion , Schwechat-Rannersdorf |
XI | 1995 | 15th of July | Levi's Graz Giants | Vienna Vikings | 26:20 | Rudolf-Tonn-Stadion, Schwechat-Rannersdorf |
XII | 1996 | July 13th | Vienna Vikings | Levi's Graz Giants | 41:35 | Rudolf-Tonn-Stadion, Schwechat-Rannersdorf |
XIII | 1997 | July 12 | Levi's Graz Giants | Klosterneuburg Mercenaries | 53:14 | Rudolf-Tonn-Stadion, Schwechat-Rannersdorf |
XIV | 1998 | July 18th | Levi's Graz Giants | Vienna Vikings | 43: 3 | BSZ Südstadt, Maria Enzersdorf |
XV | 1999 | 20th of July | Chrysler Vikings | Levi's Graz Giants | 37:35 | Rudolf-Tonn-Stadion Schwechat-Rannersdorf |
XVI | 2000 | 22nd of July | Chrysler Vikings | Papa Joe's Tyrolean Raiders | 34:28 | Hohe Warte stadium , Vienna |
XVII | 2001 | 21 July | Chrysler Vikings | Papa Joe's Tyrolean Raiders | 24:14 | Lindenstadion , Eisenstadt |
XVIII | 2002 | 20th of July | Chrysler Vikings | Eco-Box Graz Giants | 52:21 | Hohe Warte stadium, Vienna |
XIX | 2003 | July 12 | Chrysler Vikings | Eco-Box Graz Giants | 56:42 | Hohe Warte stadium, Vienna |
XX | 2004 | 17th July | Papa Joe's Tyrolean Raiders | Chrysler Vikings | 28:20 | EM stadium Wals-Siezenheim , Wals |
XXI | 2005 | 16th of July | Chrysler Vikings | Papa Joe's Tyrolean Raiders | 43:14 | BSZ Südstadt, Maria Enzersdorf |
XXII | 2006 | 15th of July | Swarco Raiders Tirol | Dodge Vikings Vienna | 43:19 | Hohe Warte stadium, Vienna |
XXIII | 2007 | July 14th | Dodge Vikings Vienna | Turek Graz Giants | 42:14 | Hohe Warte stadium, Vienna |
XXIV | 2008 | June 27th | Turek Graz Giants | Swarco Raiders Tirol | 31:21 | Sports stadium , Wolfsberg |
XXV | 2009 | July 18th | Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna | Turek Graz Giants | 22:19 | ASKÖ Stadium Eggenberg, Graz |
XXVI | 2010 | July 9 | Danube Dragons | Swarco Raiders Tirol | 28:21 | Tivoli-Neu , Innsbruck |
XXVII | 2011 | 23rd June | Swarco Raiders Tirol | Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna | 23:13 | Ernst Happel Stadium , Vienna |
XXVIII | 2012 | July 28th | Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna | Swarco Raiders Tirol | 48:34 | Hohe Warte stadium, Vienna |
XXIX | 2013 | July 27th | Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna | Swarco Raiders Tirol | 48:31 | NV Arena , St. Pölten |
XXX | 2014 | July 26th | Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna | Swarco Raiders Tirol | 24:17 | NV Arena, St. Pölten |
XXXI | 2015 | July 11th | Swarco Raiders Tirol | Vienna Vikings | 38: 0 | Wörthersee Stadium , Klagenfurt |
XXXII | 2016 | July 23 | Swarco Raiders Tirol | Graz Giants | 51: 7 | Wörthersee Stadium, Klagenfurt |
XXXIII | 2017 | 29th of July | Dacia Vikings Vienna | Swarco Raiders Tirol | 45:26 | Wörthersee Stadium, Klagenfurt |
XXXIV | 2018 | 21 July | Swarco Raiders Tirol | Dacia Vikings Vienna | 51:48 | NV Arena, St. Pölten |
XXXV | 2019 | July 27th | Swarco Raiders Tirol | Dacia Vikings Vienna | 42:34 | NV Arena, St. Pölten |
Ranking by teams
team | title | Participation | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Vienna Vikings | 14th | 25th |
2 | Turek Graz Giants | 10 | 20th |
3 | Swarco Raiders Tirol | 7th | 16 |
4th | Salzburg Lions | 2 | 4th |
5 | Danube Dragons | 1 | 3 a |
6th | Feldkirch Oscar Dinos | 1 | 1 |
7th | Schwarzenau Rangers | 0 | 1 |
See also
- European national championships in American football
- Austrian Football Division Ladies
- American football in Austria
Individual evidence, comment
- ↑ Increase in AFL 2016 ( Memento from December 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) AFBÖ ; As of December 1, 2015.
- ^ A b Elisabeth Kollreider: American Football Kicks Off in Austria. June 9, 2011, accessed June 5, 2018 .
- ^ Hall of Fame - Players - AFBÖ. Retrieved June 6, 2018 .
- ↑ In contrast to Germany and Switzerland, where proper names in bowl games are always male, the female form is more common in Austria.
- ^ Hall of Fame - AFL Champions. In: football.at. AFBÖ , accessed on May 30, 2018 .
Web links
- AFBÖ American Football Association Austria
- Football Austria Austria's largest football portal with the latest news, videos, photo galleries, statistics and LIVE ticker.