American Football: Why there is no longer an Austrian duel

“We are happy that the season is finally starting, after a lot of turbulence in the last few months,” said Raiders managing director Markus Wieser. The sports manager was referring to the financial collapse of the European League of Football (ELF), from which some clubs such as the Vikings broke away early after last season and as a result two camps formed. The result is now two championships: In the EFA, six teams are fighting for a trophy, fans and reach – in the AFLE there are eight.

“Different strategies, different goals, different systems.” Vikings-General-Manager Max Paatz the reasons for the split. “The EFA is a league that is completely managed and financed by the teams. We, on the other hand, have a league investor and a central league management. They are completely different approaches, both must be respected,” explained the German.

Rhein Fire and the Vikings form the AFLE main engines. Also taking part are Berlin Thunder, the Wroclaw Panthers and the newcomers London Warriors, Firenze Red Lions, Paris Lights and Alpine Rams. In addition to the Raiders and Ravens, the former ELF franchises Frankfurt Galaxy, Paris Musketeers, Prague Lions and Nordic Storm operate in the EFA. “We now have a league with only top teams that meet all the basic requirements,” said Wieser. “We know we’re getting a good product without any background noise. We’d rather have fewer teams that are well positioned for this.” The semi-finals are the declared goal of the Tyroleans, who have quarterback Steven Krajewski and returnees Shuan Fatah have been repositioned as head coach.

Vienna Constance

There is consistency at the Vikings, where they have been the head coach for almost two decades Chris Calaycay has the say. The Viennese have a powerful team with quarterback Ben Holmes and ex-NFL player Bernhard Seikovits and want to prove this on May 23rd at the season opener against Berlin Thunder in the new Sport Club Stadium. “We have high expectations of our team. We have invested well and at the end of the day we want to leave the whole story with a title,” said Paatz.

Although we are moving in new territory, the challenges are the same. “It’s about being one of the dominant teams in European football with the Vikings, no matter what league.” Paatz doesn’t see any question marks behind some of the new clubs like London or Florence. “The fact that you haven’t heard or seen anything from some of them before doesn’t always mean ‘they haven’t worked’.” The AFLE is a long-term project in which the teams can develop and get started.

Missing Austria derby

Both Austrian clubs reported that their sponsors remained loyal to them despite all the uncertainty and insecurity. Both Raiders and Vikings regretted the loss of the “Battle of Austria”. “They are our big rivals. They were always games that were actually the highlights of the year for fans, players and the entire organization,” said Wieser.

However, both sides did not rule out reunification at the European level. “Of course it would be good for fans, media and partners if there was a European league. That would make things a lot easier,” said Wieser. Paatz explained that a merger is currently not an issue. “But of course there are always exchanges because we all know each other, we all respect each other. The important thing is that football is played again. We’ll see what develops from that.”