Football League of Europe

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Logo of the FLE

The Football League of Europe ( FLE ) was a European semi-professional league in American football . It was founded in 1994, renamed the American Football League of Europe ( AFLE ) in 1995, and dissolved again after 1995.

The story of the (A) FLE

The foundation

In October 1993, plans became known for the first time, according to which a European league in American football should be founded in 1994. In November the time had come: the “Football League of Europe” (FLE) was born. Eight European teams came together under the leadership of the Hamburg Blue Devils and wanted to compete against each other from April 30th to September 10th, 1994.

The 1994 season

The FLE 1994 season had the following group classification:

North Conference

society Sp Points TD Diff.
1. Stockholm Nordic Vikings 10 18: 2 465: 228 +237
2. Hamburg Blue Devils 10 14: 6 339: 265 +74
3. Berlin Bears 10 4:16 278: 466 −188
4th Helsinki Roosters 9 2:16 153: 247 −94

Central Conference

society Sp Points TD Diff.
1. Munich Thunder 9 14: 4 253: 210 +43
2. Amsterdam Crusaders 10 12: 8 295: 276 +19
3. Great Britain Spartans 9 8:10 240: 262 −22
4th Frankfurt Gamblers 9 4:14 197: 274 −77
  • The games Helsinki Roosters - Frankfurt Gamblers and Munich Thunder - Great Britain Spartans were canceled and not made up.

Playoffs

In the semifinals, the Blue Devils prevailed against Munich Thunder with 29:26. The Stockholm Nordic Vikings prevailed against the Amsterdam Crusaders with 34:21.

The final for the Jim Thorpe Trophy of the 1994 season took place in front of 18,000 spectators in Hamburg 's Volkspark Stadium. The Stockholm Nordic Vikings beat the host Hamburg Blue Devil with 43:35. But despite the good audience participation in the final, the league had difficulties. The targeted average of 5,000 fans per game could only be achieved by the Blue Devils and the Spartans.

The 1995 season

In 1995 the league started under the slightly changed name "American Football League of Europe" (AFLE). Three teams from the first season dropped out after the first year: Hamburg, Berlin and Helsinki. In Frankfurt, the Frankfurt Knights succeeded the Gamblers , and in Munich the Bavarian Blue Falcons were to inherit the Thunder . New: The Bergamo Lions .

Shortly before the start of the season, however, the newly founded Bavarian Blue Falcons had to cancel their participation, so that the planned division into two groups of three teams each did not materialize. Instead, the following five teams competed:

Season course

The game operation had to struggle with some irregularities, e.g. B. The Spartans were banned from the league leadership after five games. The Bergamo Lions dominated the season, but in the final they were defeated by the Nordic Vikings 14-0, with which the Vikings were able to win both of the FLE championships.

The end

With the change of the Hamburg Blue Devils to the German Football League , the (A) FLE lost their flagship team after the 1994 season. The irregularities at the Spartans in 1995, the exit of three teams, the withdrawal of the Bavarian Blue Falcons shortly before the start of the season and the still moderate attendance figures - all of this led to the end of the (A) FLE.

Although the new league commissioner Gary Timm announced in the spring of 1996 that he would start with a new concept in 1997, it never came to that and the (A) FLE stopped playing.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Tough fight for the football zone Germany . In: Abendblatt No. 217 . September 16, 1994. Retrieved March 23, 2009 (fee required).
  2. ↑ Record in the rain . In: Abendblatt No. 219 . September 19, 1994. Retrieved March 23, 2009 (fee required).

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