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22-576: The Cowboys were the first Hungarian American football team. American businessman Tom Kelly established it in 1991 as Budapest Starforce and they played the first American football match in Hungary against Munich Nightmare. In 1993, under new head coach Jeff Egan, they merged with the other Hungarian club Budapest Lions. That year they went undefeated in the Austrian Football League Third Division, losing only to

44-477: A premier European competition. The AFL Graz Giants own the first known European victory against a US college team in 1991. The Giants won the exhibition game 32–23 against Albany State University . The game was played in the United States on August 31, 1991. Bratislava Monarchs The Bratislava Monarchs are an American football team from Bratislava , Slovakia , established in 1996. In 2023,

66-608: The CNC Gladiators from Austria, Budapest Wolves and Budapest Cowboys from Hungary, Ljubljana Silverhawks from Slovenia, Belgrade Vukovi and Novi Sad Dukes from Serbia, and Zagreb Thunder from Croatia. The First league game in Slovakia was played in 2011 and 5 teams competed that year. This league was played with necessary equipment, pads and helmets. The final game of the Slovak Football League

88-873: The European Football League final game the Eurobowl , was won seven out of eight times by an Austrian league AFL team. In 2010, the Prague Panthers from the Czech Republic joined the league as the first team from outside of Austria. The Panthers were a member of the AFL until the 2016 season. In 2016, the Ljubljana Silverhawks from Slovenia joined, and in 2018, the Bratislava Monarchs from Slovakia entered

110-601: The NCAA . The AFL is the highest tier level and below that is a tier pyramid system consisting of teams playing in divisions I through division IV. Winners of each division move up to the next level of play. The Tyrol Raiders and Vienna Vikings which had dominated the league for much of the preceding decade announced their intention to leave for the European League of Football for the upcoming 2022 season. However, unlike teams in other countries that have made this move,

132-660: The reserve team of both will remain a participant in the Austrian Football League. The AFL was founded in 1982 by the teams such as the Salzburg Lions, Graz Giants , Vienna Ducks and Vienna Ramblocks. The first Austrian Bowl was held in 1984 in Salzburg. The AFL is commonly considered as one of the best American football leagues in Europe. This was especially so in the period from 2004 to 2011, when

154-551: The AFL (with a few also playing in the German Football League ), won the final 28-0 over team Finland 2023 European Championship of American football to win the championship title. The National team also has placed third at the 1995 European Championship of American football (hosted in Austria), third place at the 2010 European Championship , second at the 2014 European Championship (hosted in Austria), losing

176-611: The HFL losing against Miskolc Steelers, and they re-joined to the CEFL. In 2017 they won the HFL by defeating the Steelers. Austrian Football League The Austrian Football League ( AFL ) is the highest level of American football in Austria founded in 1982. The AFL has always been considered among the best and strongest leagues in Europe. The league plays by rules based on those of

198-637: The Hungarian Football League. The Rebels participated in the IFAF CEI Interleague in 2013. In December 2013 the two clubs joined. In 2014 in the HFL they participated as Rebels, in the IFAF CEI Interleague they participated as Cowboys. In this year they won the Hungarian Football League and finished runners-up in the Interleague. In December they merged the names of the teams. In 2016, they finished as runners-up in

220-729: The Monarchs are competing in the Czech League of American Football . The interest in American football in Slovakia grew rapidly after the first television broadcasts of the National Football League season in 1993. The first meetings of several people who threw football began in the summer of 1994 in Bratislava . The number of new players each week increased, and at the end of the year was over 30 people. The club

242-560: The Vienna Vikings II (second team) from the second division (third tier) in the League Championship. In 1994 they changed their name into Budapest Cowboys. Due to their routing of third division teams the year prior they were moved up to the second division (third tier) where they again went undefeated during the regular season. They won most games by a wide margin, but lost in the League Championship game again to

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264-634: The Vipers joined the Cowboys, and in 2008 the management decided to join the Budapest Titans . Most of the players decided not to join the Titans but to continue alone, so they founded a new team under the name Újbuda Rebels . As they were technically a new team, they had to start in the 3rd Division in 2009, and they won it without losing a single game. In 2010, they joined the 1st Division and in 2012

286-593: The final in double overtime to Germany in front of 27000 spectators at Vienna's Ernst-Happel-Stadion and placed second again in 2018 . The Vienna Vikings have won the Eurobowl five times and reached the final ten times overall while the Tyrol Raiders have won it three times in five appearances in the final. Furthermore the Central European Football League has been won five times by Austrian teams both before and after it became

308-626: The first time in 1984 in Salzburg, Austria . In 2024, the AFL will consist of: ^   1:  Formerly known as Klosterneuburg Mercenaries (criteria= won major (AFL) award or NFL experience) Despite the relatively small size of Austria, both the Austrian national American Football team and individual club teams of the AFL have enjoyed remarkable success in European competitions. The Austrian national team, whose players mostly play in

330-403: The league. In the mid to late 1980's with the increase in talent and professionalism throughout the league, a more formalized mechanism was put in place to recruit and fly in former college and free agent football players to play in Austria for pay (salary) as well as room and board. Because homegrown players are one of the main focus points of the league, there are specific rule limitations for

352-551: The new team, some started to train again, and in 2006 the Budapest Cowboys have been re-established. In 2007, they won the 2nd Division, and in 2008 they finished as runners-up in the Hungarian Bowl. In 2008 and 2009 they participated in the Central European Football League . The Cowboys participated in the IFAF CEI Interleague in 2011 and 2012. In 2004 North Pest Vipers have been established. In 2006 some of

374-407: The numbers of foreigners. The rule has changed several times over the years. Currently, each roster can have a maximum of 6 American, Canadian, Mexican or Japanese professional import players, with two allowed on the field at the same time. The regular season currently consists of ten games and starts in mid-March; the playoffs continue through July. The final game, the (Austrian Bowl), was held for

396-605: The season with a preseason game Danube Dragons , and lost in an exciting finish 30-27. The Season continues with games in the Slovak Football League, where they finished 3rd, in which the Smolenice Eagles beat the Nitra Knights. Despite a successful start of the 2014 Slovak Football League season, the Monarchs failed to make to the Slovak Football League finals, where the Smolenice Eagles beat

418-697: The second team of the Vikings; this time only by a point. The coaches rotated again before the 1995 season and played in the third tier level in Austria finishing with a losing season. As there were no other Hungarian teams they participated the Czech and lower Austrian leagues until 2000 when the club stopped working. In 2004 with the establishment of the Budapest Wolves Hungarian American football went alive. Some old Cowboys joined

440-535: The Žilina Warriors, and the Zvolen Patriots, the team that the Monarchs defeated them, emerged as the bronze medalists. The Monarchs entered the 2015 Slovak Football League season with their new head coach, Christoph Dreyer. The Monarchs finally fulfilled their Cinderella story when they won their third Slovak Football League title after defeating the Trnava Bulldogs, 48-26. The Monarchs also became

462-521: Was officially founded on April 1, 1996, and was the very first American football club in Slovakia. Shortly thereafter, all major cities in Slovakia started with the establishment of new clubs. The first game of the Monarchs was played in the spring of 2004 with helmets and shoulder pads, against the Kragujevac Wild Boars , which they won. During 2008, the Monarchs played in the Central European Football League , where they competed against

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484-415: Was played on August 6, 2011, at the ŠKP Štadión, where they defeated the Nitra Knights, 21-6. The 2012 season is well started for the Monarchs, where the opponents have been falling in the order in the Slovak Football League . The Monarchs won again in the Slovak Football League finals against the Trnava Bulldogs, 38-31. Their previous opponents, the Nitra Knights, finished third. The Monarchs have started

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