German Football War continues

It is as if they were the same field, but on different pages. And in the middle of the players and fans to promote them. The Hype is concerned about American Football in Germany.

Feeling both the representatives of the German Football League (GFL) as well as those of the new European League of Football (ELF). Anyone who can use him as for themselves is the question. The fronts between the leagues are hardened.

On Saturday (18:00 pm / American Football1) the final of the GFL between the Swabian Hall Unicorns and the Dresden Monarch is rising in Frankfurt. But even more exciting than the German Bowl itself should be how it continues with the trend American Football in this country afterwards.

The new Football League

With eight teams - six from Germany, one from Spain and one from Poland - the newly founded eleven in June went to their first season. We are very, very satisfied, says Managing Director Zeljko Karajica. That despite Corona all 44 games could be carried out with audience, almost already a sensation.

At the final, in which Frankfurt Galaxy defeated the Sea Devils Hamburg, about two weeks ago around 20,000 visitors in the Düsseldorf football stadium. Measured at the audience numbers, the followers in the social media or the television quotas we have already moved a lot, emphasizes Karajica. People have adopted this league.

And she should continue to grow. We came to stay, says Karajica. With Dusseldorf, Innsbruck and Vienna, 2022 three new teams and a new venue are added. Our goal is to get a twelfth team, maybe it will even be 14 or 16, says the 50-year-old managing director of the elf. We lead different conversations and give us time until the end of November.

We are not in great exchange

By contrast, the GFL, which is located in the American Football Association Germany (AFVD), is hardly spoken. We are not in great exchanges, says Karajica. Axel Streich, responsible in the GFL board for strategy and communication, reported pretty superficial talks last winter. The eleven representatives have been offered several times that they organize themselves together within the organized American Football - similar to a Champions League in football or other American Footballs, he says. Apparently there was no interest in it.

So everyone continues to work on his own project. Streich is glad that the GFL season was brought after the Coronabended failure 2020 this time. The lower audience numbers, he leads to the restrictions on the pandemic and a restraint of people in the stadium visit, not to the new competition. At the level we move up to date, this can not go well with two leagues in parallel, he prophesied. He is sure that the GFL comes because of the eleven does not come to a standstill, but it will be exciting how both will develop parallel .

They put on the structures that have built up charitable clubs over the years, but does not return anything, throws prank the eleven. The GFL, who currently belong to 14 clubs, have lost players, coaches and teams through the competitor.

Show points for the future

Karajica can do little with the criticism. No player is forced to change, he says, asks, If we did not do anything for the popularity of this American Football in Germany, who then? The association would benefit. If a teenager has seen the European League of Football and decides to play football, he lands in one of the investigative teams anchored in the AFVD, says Karajica. He refers to youth camps and cooperations with subclassy teams organized.

In addition, 14 ELF players had been invited to London s Sight Training for the coming week to the view training of the American NFL. If one of them creates the leap into the NFL, that would be a quality seal for football in Germany and Europe, says Karajica. The NFL is the biggest stage of football - and a huge show. 2022, no later than 2023, she wants to spend a game in Germany. Here is Europe s most important market, says the NFL Europa boss Brett Gosp.

At the GFF, the focus always be the American Football and the German championship , emphasizes prank. But we have not only know since yesterday that we have to change and professionalize. The GFL is also interested in better marketing and have already introduced this process a year ago. Since then, among other things, a league sponsor has been won and a league network was founded. In the next meeting of clubs, one wanted to continue to work on to put points for the future .