Austrian Football League

The Austrian Football League (AFL) is the elite league of American football in Austria. The league was founded in 1984 and plays by the rules of the NCAA.

This article is about American football. For association football, see Austrian Football Bundesliga.
Austrian Football League
SportAmerican football
Founded1984 (1984)
No. of teams8
CountryAustria
Czech Republic
Most recent
champion(s)		Vienna Vikings
Most titlesVienna Vikings (15)
Official website

History

The AFL was founded in 1984 by the teams Salzburg Lions, Graz Giants and Vienna Ramblocks.

The AFL is commonly considered as one of the best American football leagues in Europe. Especially in the period from 2004 to 2011, when the EFL was won seven of eight times by an AFL team.[1]

In 2010, the Prague Panthers from the Czech Republic joined the league as first team outside of Austria. The Panthers were member of the AFL until the 2016 season. In 2016, the Ljubljana Silverhawks from Slovenia and in 2018, the Bratislava Monarchs from Slovakia entered the AFL.

The regular season consists of ten games and starts in mid March and the playoffs continue through July. The final game is called the Austrian Bowl and was held for the first time in 1984 in Salzburg, Austria.

Teams
"Blue River Bowl III": Danube Dragons vs. Vikings at Rattenfängerstadion in Korneuburg, 2010

In 2021, the AFL will consist of:

Austrian Bowl

All games
BowlDateChampionsRunners-UpScoreLocation
IOctober 20, 1984 Salzburg LionsGraz Giants27–10Salzburg
IIJune 28, 1986 Graz GiantsVienna Vikings31–12Salzburg
IIIJuly 5, 1987 Graz GiantsSalzburg Lions20–00ASKÖ Schmelz, Vienna
IVJuly 3, 1988 Graz GiantsVienna Vikings33–15ASKÖ Schmelz, Vienna
VJuly 1, 1989 Salzburg LionsGraz Giants34–00Salzburg
VIJuly 1, 1990 Graz GiantsKlosterneuburg Mercenaries59–70Linz
VIIJuly 7, 1991 Graz GiantsVienna Vikings38–70ASKÖ Eggenberg, Graz
VIIIJuly 5, 1992 Graz GiantsSchwarzenau Rangers28–13ASKÖ Schmelz, Vienna
IXJuly 4, 1993 Feldkirch Oscar DinosSalzburg Bulls45–10BSZ Südstadt, Maria Enzersdorf
XJuly 4, 1994 Vienna VikingsLevi's Graz Giants45–23Schwechat-Rannersdorf
XIJuly 15, 1995 Levi's Graz GiantsVienna Vikings26–20Schwechat-Rannersdorf
XIIJuly 13, 1996 Vienna VikingsLevi's Graz Giants41–35Schwechat-Rannersdorf
XIIIJuly 12, 1997 Levi's Graz GiantsKlosterneuburg Mercenaries35–14Schwechat-Rannersdorf
XIVJuly 18, 1998 Levi's Graz GiantsVienna Vikings43–30BSZ Südstadt, Maria Enzersdorf
XVJuly 20, 1999 Chrysler VikingsLevi's Graz Giants37–35Schwechat-Rannersdorf
XVIJuly 22, 2000 Chrysler VikingsPapa Joe's Tyrolean Raiders34–28Casino Stadion Hohe Warte, Vienna
XVIIJuly 21, 2001 Chrysler VikingsPapa Joe's Tyrolean Raiders24–14Lindenstadion, Eisenstadt
XVIIIJuly 20, 2002 Chrysler VikingsÖko-Box Graz Giants52–21Casino Stadion Hohe Warte, Vienna
XIXJuly 12, 2003 Chrysler VikingsÖko-Box Graz Giants56–42Casino Stadion Hohe Warte, Vienna
XXJuly 17, 2004 Papa Joe's Tyrolean RaidersChrysler Vikings28–20EM-Stadion Wals-Siezenheim, Salzburg
XXIJuly 16, 2005 Chrysler VikingsPapa Joe's Tyrolean Raiders43–14Südstadt, Maria Enzersdorf
XXIIJuly 14, 2006 Swarco Raiders TirolDodge Vikings43–19Hohe Warte, Vienna
XXIIIJuly 14, 2007 Dodge VikingsTurek Graz Giants42–14Hohe Warte, Vienna
XXIVJune 27, 2008 Turek Graz GiantsSwarco Raiders Tirol31–21Wolfsberg
XXVJuly 18, 2009 Raiffeisen VikingsTurek Graz Giants22–19Graz
XXVIJuly 9, 2010 Danube DragonsSwarco Raiders Tirol28–21Tivoli-Neu, Innsbruck
XXVIIJune 23, 2011 Swarco Raiders TirolRaiffeisen Vikings23–13Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna
XXVIIIJuly 28, 2012 Raiffeisen VikingsSwarco Raiders Tirol48–34Hohe Warte, Vienna
XXIXJuly 27, 2013 Raiffeisen VikingsSwarco Raiders Tirol48–31NV Arena, Sankt Pölten
XXXJuly 26, 2014 Raiffeisen VikingsSwarco Raiders Tirol24–17NV Arena, Sankt Pölten
XXXIJuly 11, 2015 Swarco Raiders TirolVienna Vikings38–00Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt
XXXIIJuly 23, 2016 Swarco Raiders TirolGraz Giants51–70Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt
XXXIIIJuly 29, 2017 Dacia Vienna VikingsSwarco Raiders Tirol45–26Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt
XXXIVJuly 21, 2018 Swarco Raiders TirolDacia Vienna Vikings51–48NV Arena, Sankt Pölten
XXXVJuly 27, 2019 Swarco Raiders TirolDacia Vienna Vikings42–34NV Arena, Sankt Pölten

By Team
RankTeamsChampionsRunners-up
1Vienna Vikings1511
2Graz Giants1011
3Swarco Raiders Tirol79
4Salzburg Bulls22
5Danube Dragons[1]12
6Feldkirch Oscar Dinos10

^ 1: Formerly known as Klosterneuburg Mercenaries

'Notable Import Players & Coaches:'

  • Anthony Thompson 1993 AFL MVP, Played in NFL. Played for Bulls & Mercenaries in AFL 93-95
  • Eric Beavers AFL League MVP
  • Doug Wilkerson Graz Giants player & former NFL player
  • Tony Hunt Former Vienna Viking player & NFL player
  • Darvin Lewis Former Graz Giants player & NFL player
  • Todd Hendricks AFL League MVP
  • Mark Helfrich Former Vienna Viking player & Former Oregon Ducks head coach
  • Thomas Smythe AFL Coach of the year
  • Hugh Mendez AFL Coach of the year
  • Rick Rhoades AFL Coach of the year
  • Chris Gunn AFL League MVP
  • George Paton Former player for Vienna Vikings. Current GM for Denver Broncos NFL
  • Sean Shelton AFL League MVP
  • Shuan Fatah AFL Coach of the year
  • Kevin Burke (American Football) Austrian Bowl Game MVP, Vienna Vikings
  • Chris Calaycay AFL Coach of year & Former Vienna Viking player
  • Cameron Frickey AFL League MVP & Woman's National team coach
  • Clinton Graham AFL Offense POY, Model
  • Germaine Race AFL Offense POY, Former NFL player
  • Kyle Newhall-Caballero AFL League MVP & NFL player, Scout
  • Darius Robinson Swarco Raiders player & formerly NFL player, Clemson Tiger
  • Chris Rosier AFL League MVP
  • Lance Gustafson AFL League MVP
  • Paul Kujawa AFL League MVP, Iowa Hawkeyes
  • Talib Wise Austrian Bowl Game MVP
  • Kyle Callahan
  • D.J. Hernandez AFL offense POY, Brother of Aaron Hernandez
  • Luke Atwood AFL /EuroBowl Champion player

References
  1. "Eurobowl.info".

SS

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