Central European Football League
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| sport | American football |
| abbreviation | CEFL |
| League foundation | 2006 |
| Teams | 20th |
| Country countries |
 Austria Serbia Hungary Denmark Poland Turkey Russia Italy France Switzerland Romania Sweden Spain Great Britain Formerly: Slovakia Slovenia Croatia Bosnia-Herzegovina Czech Republic
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| Title holder | Swarco Raiders Tirol |
| Record champions | Belgrade Vukovi (6) |
| TV partner | Sports club |
| Website | european-league.com |
The Central European Football League (CEFL) is a regional American football league. At the beginning, the league was held under the name Southeastern European League of American Football (SELAF) and only included teams from Serbia and Slovenia. In the following seasons teams from Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Turkey, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Russia, Italy, France, Switzerland, Romania, Sweden, Spain and Great Britain took part.
Since 2010 the games have been played in spring and summer. The first four seasons took place from spring to autumn, with an interruption in summer. The first season ended in October 2006. Since 2017, a CEFL Cup has been held parallel to the CEFL, which acts as a development league. The current titleholders are the Swarco Raiders Tirol after they beat the Calanda Broncos in the CEFL Bowl XIV in Chur on June 8, 2019 with 46:42.
history
2006
In the first season, 5 teams took part in the game: Belgrade Vukovi , Kragujevac Wild Boars , Novi Sad Dukes and Sirmium Legionaries from Serbia and Ljubljana Silverhawks from Slovenia.
The first champions were the Wild Boars, who defeated Vukovi 23:12 in the SELAF Bowl in Belgrade on October 8, 2006.
2007
In the second season the league was expanded to include two new teams: the Hungarian top team, the Budapest Wolves and the CNC Gladiators from Austrian Football Division One , while the legionaries left the league. For the first time, the teams were divided into two groups: North and South. The North Conference consisted of Gladiators, Silverhawks, and Wolves; the South Conference consisted of the three Serbian teams: Dukes, Vukovi and Wild Boars.
The final was played in Belgrade on October 27, 2007. Vukovi beat the Wolves 28:27 in a dramatic game.
This season was also the first to be seen on television: the semi-finals and the final were broadcast on Serbian television by TV Avala.
2008
The league changed its name to the Central European Football League and in the third season three new teams from three different countries were added again: Bratislava Monarchs from Slovakia, Budapest Cowboys from Hungary and Zagreb Thunder from Croatia, while the Wild Boars left the league. The Cowboys and the Thunder were divided into the South Conference and the Monarchs came into the North Conference.
In the also renamed CEFL Bowl, the Gladiators won against Vukovi 14: 8 in Vienna on October 25, 2008.
2009
In 2009 the Cineplexx Blue Devils replaced the Monarchs. They completed the new group with the Thunder, Vukovi and Wolves. The second group consisted of last year's CEFL Bowl winner, the Gladiators, along with the Cowboys, Dukes and Silverhawks.
The final took place in Belgrade again, this time on October 24th, 2009. Vukovi won the competition for the second time against the Blue Devils with 39-20.
The season was an outstanding milestone for the league as some games were shown on the trans-European channel Sport Klub .
2010
The league changed the format again in 2010 as the Turkish champions, the Istanbul Cavaliers , joined the competition and the Cowboys, Gladiators and Thunder left the league. The Cavaliers played a wild card game with the Blue Devils for a place in the playoffs.
The CEFL Bowl V was held in Ivančna Gorica in Slovenia on July 18, 2010, where Vukovi was able to defend the title with 42:20 against the Silverhawks.
2011
In 2011 two teams left the league with the Blue Devils and the Dukes. That left four teams that were all champions in their country.
Again Vukovi took the title, this time in a dramatic final against the Wolves in Budapest on July 23, 2011 with a 34:33.
2012
The Croatian top team, the Zagreb Patriots join the league and the Blue Devils will also take part again in 2012. The league changed its name to Sports Club CEFL and several games were broadcast on Sports Club's channels. The season started on March 17th with five teams from five different countries.
The CEFL Bowl VII was held in Belgrade on July 21, 2012. The Silverhawks won their first title after beating Vukovi 34:21.
2013
In 2013 the league celebrated the return of one of the founding teams, the Kragujevac Wild Boars from Serbia. The Wild Boars last played in the league in 2007 and won the CEFL in their first season in 2006. The Blue Devils and the Patriots left the league in 2013.
The final was again held in Belgrade on July 7, 2013. In the game, Vukovi had the upper hand with a final score of 42-0 against the Wild Boars.
2014
This season was played with four teams, the Kragujevac Wild Boars and Belgrade Vukovi from Serbia , the Ljubljana Silverhawks from Slovenia and the Docler Wolves from Hungary . The Ljubljana Silverhawks hosted against Belgrade Vukovi in CEFL Bowl IX. Vukovi won the game 27:17 and thus defended the title.
2015
In 2015 four teams played again in the CEFL. Belgrade Vukovi and the Ljubljana Silverhawks stayed in the league and two well-known teams came back into the league, the Novi Sad Dukes from Serbia and the Cineplexx Blue Devils from Austria . The Kragujevac Wild Boars and the Budapest Docler Wolves left the league. The Wolves couldn't win a single match in the previous two years. In the 10th CEFL Bowl, the Novi Sad Dukes won 25:23 against Belgrade Vukovi.
2016
In the eleventh season, the CEFL is played with a record field. A total of twelve teams, divided into three conferences, play for the CEFL Bowl XI. In the Western Conference are the Cineplexx Blue Devils and the Graz Giants from Austria, as well as the Ljubljana Silverhawks. The winner of the Western Conference goes straight to the CEFL Bowl. The Central Conference consists of the Kranj Alp Devils and the Domzale Tigers from Slovenia, as well as the Zagreb Patriots. With the Sarajevo Spartans , a team from Bosnia-Herzegovina is playing in the CEFL for the first time . Four teams from Serbia and one from Hungary play in the Eastern Conference with the Novi Sad Dukes, Belgrade Vukovi, Nis Imperatori , the Indjija Indians and the Budapest Cowbells. The winners of the Central and Eastern Conference play in a wildcard game for a place in the CEFL Bowl, which is expected to take place on July 2nd or 3rd. After the winner of the Eastern Conference, Belgrade Vukovi, beat the winner of the Central Conference in the playoff with 49: 0, the CEFL Bowl XI took place in Graz on July 3rd. The Graz Giants won the Western Conference with 52:49.
2017
This season some new teams from Central and Eastern Europe could be won for the competition, which had already been successful in the IFAF Europe Champions League :
- Western Conference: Triangle Razorbacks , Panthers Wrocław , Swarco Raiders Tirol
- Eastern Conference: Belgrade Vukovi , Kragujevac Wild Boars , Budapest Cowbells , Koç Rams
In the final between the two group winners from Austria and Serbia, the Swarco Raiders emerged victorious.
Furthermore, the CEFL Cup was launched in which the weaker teams competed against each other:
- Western Conference: Kranj Alp Devils , Sarajevo Spartans , Zagreb Patriots
- Eastern Conference: Novi Sad Dukes , Inđija Indians , Sirmium Legionaries , Belgrade Blue Dragons
The Novi Sad Dukes won the first final of the new competition very clearly.
2018
Also this season, the CEFL was played in a Western Conference consisting of the defending champion Swarco Raiders Tirol and the Prague Black Panthers and Panthers Wrocław as well as an Eastern Conference with the Koç Rams , Kragujevac Wild Boars and the Moscow Patriots . Thus 5 national champions and the current defending champion took part in the competition. As in the previous year, the Swarco Raiders prevailed in the final and won against the Koc Rams in Innsbruck with 49:20. In the European Superfinal, the CEFL Champions competed against the winner of the newly created NEFL (Northern European Football League). In the Gentofte Sports Park in Copenhagen the Swarco Raiders were able to win against the Copenhagen Towers with 45:20.
The CEFL Cup was designed a little more elitist this season. 4 teams ( Gdynia Seahawks , Budapest Cowbells , Belgrade Vukovi , Sakarya Tatankalari ) started directly with the semi-finals. In the final, Belgrade Vukovi, a Serbian team, beat the Gdynia Seahawks from Poland with 55:41.
2019
This season, too, the field of participants consisted of considerable European teams. A total of 7 teams, including 5 national champions and 2 runners-up. Newcomers from the last season left the league and 3 new teams were added. The Swarco Raiders Tirol remained in the Western Conference . Your opponents were the Thonon Black Panthers from France and the Milano Seamen from Italy. In the east the Calanda Broncos played with the well-known Koç Rams , Kragujevac Wild Boars and Panthers Wrocław . In a very exciting final game in Chur, the Swarco Raiders were able to defend their title against the Calanda Broncos. In the purely Austrian ECTC final between the Swarco Raiders and the NEFL Champions, the Vienna Vikings , the Raiders were able to win again with 35:10 and thus become the European champion.
The CEFL Cup was again increased to 8 participants. It now consisted of the Italian club Bozen Giants , the Russian champions Moscow Spartans , the Romanian champions Bucharest Rebels and the Istanbul Hornets . With the Wolves and Cowbells from Budapest as well as the Moscow Patriots and Belgrade Vukovi, the cup was completed by well-known teams. In the third final of the competition, the Moscow Patriots won 15:14 against the Bozen Giants.
CEFL bowls
| Final date | winner | finalist | result | venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SELAF Bowl I | October 8, 2006 |
Kragujevac Wild Boars
|
Belgrade Vukovi
|
23:12 |
Belgrade
|
| SELAF Bowl II | October 27, 2007 |
Belgrade Vukovi
|
Budapest Wolves
|
28:27 |
Belgrade
|
| CEFL Bowl III | October 25, 2008 |
CNC gladiators
|
Belgrade Vukovi |
14: 8 |
Vienna
|
| CEFL Bowl IV | October 24, 2009 |
Belgrade Vukovi
|
Cineplexx Blue Devils
|
39:20 |
Belgrade
|
| CEFL Bowl V. | July 18, 2010 |
Belgrade Vukovi
|
Ljubljana Silverhawks
|
42:20 |
Ivančna Gorica
|
| CEFL Bowl VI | July 23, 2011 |
Belgrade Vukovi
|
Budapest Wolves |
34:33 |
Budapest
|
| CEFL Bowl VII | July 21, 2012 |
Ljubljana Silverhawks
|
Belgrade Vukovi |
34:21 |
Belgrade
|
| CEFL Bowl VIII | July 7, 2013 |
Belgrade Vukovi
|
Kragujevac Wild Boars |
42-0 |
Belgrade
|
| CEFL Bowl IX | 20th July 2014 |
Belgrade Vukovi
|
Ljubljana Silverhawks |
27:17 |
Ivančna Gorica
|
| CEFL Bowl X | 5th July 2015 |
Novi Sad Dukes
|
Belgrade Vukovi |
25:23 |
Novi Sad
|
| CEFL Bowl XI | 3rd July, 2016 |
Graz Giants
|
Belgrade Vukovi |
52:49 |
Graz
|
| CEFL Bowl XII | June 10, 2017 |
Swarco Raiders Tirol
|
Kragujevac Wild Boars |
55:20 |
innsbruck
|
| CEFL Bowl XIII | June 9, 2018 |
Swarco Raiders Tirol
|
Koç Rams Istanbul
|
49:20 |
innsbruck
|
| CEFL Bowl XIV | June 8, 2019 |
Swarco Raiders Tirol
|
Calanda Broncos
|
46:42 |
Chur
|
European Superfinal
From 2018, the winner of the CEFL Bowl will play a final for the European title against the winner of the NEFL
| Final date | winner | finalist | result | venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I. | June 30, 2018 |
Swarco Raiders Tirol
|
Copenhagen Towers
|
45:20 |
Gentofte Sports Park , Copenhagen
|
| II | June 29, 2019 |
Swarco Raiders Tirol
|
Vienna Vikings
|
35:10 |
Tivoli Stadium Tirol , Innsbruck
|
CEFL Cup Finals
| Final date | winner | finalist | result | venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CEFL Cup I. | June 10, 2017 |
Novi Sad Dukes
|
Kranj Alp Devils
|
59: 0 |
Kranj
|
| CEFL Cup II | June 10, 2018 |
Belgrade Vukovi
|
Gdynia Seahawks
|
55:41 |
Belgrade
|
| CEFL Cup III | June 9, 2019 |
Moscow Spartans
|
Bolzano Giants
|
15:14 |
Bolzano
|
Attendees
Individual evidence
- ↑ CEFL welcomes back the Wild Boars
- ^ Fifth championship for Vukovi
- ↑ SBB Vukovi raise the trophy again
- ↑ A dream decade
- ↑ CEFL 2016 Outlook
- ↑ Giant win
- ↑ Top european teams joining CEFL