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20-610: Internationally, the club's greatest success came in 2005, when it won the EFAF Cup , followed by a losing appearance in the Eurobowl in 2007. Domestically, the team's greatest achievement was to reach the 2006 German Bowl , where the team lost to the Braunschweig Lions . The Marburg Mercenaries were formed in 1991 under the official name of AFV Marburg Mercenaries e.V. . The club entered competitive league football in

40-741: A point where they won their division in 2001 and 2002. In its first attempt at promotion to the German Football League , the team failed however, losing to the Franken Knights in both promotion games. It performed much better the following year, defeating the Munich Cowboys in both promotion games and moving up into the GFL. The Mercenaries first season at this level became a struggle, winning only one out of twelve league games, and having to defend their league place against

60-406: A roster of at most 60 players to EFAF by March 31 of the competition year. These players, and no others, are permitted to play for the club within the competition that year. No changes can be made to the list. On each game day, the roster must be reduced to 45 players who will actually participate in the game. This number must include no more than 3 "American" players. In EFAF rules an "American"

80-629: A spot for the national champions of their respective countries. In quarterfinals these teams faced the four winners of the divisional round. In semi-finals teams were paired by the Eurobowl seeding system, with the best-seeded team facing the worst and the second-best facing the second-worst. Winners then advanced to the Eurobowl. With the start of the Big6 in 2014, the format of the EFL changed again. Six teams played in two divisions of three teams. The winners of

100-430: Is defined as a player with an American , Canadian , Mexican , or Japanese passport. There is no restriction on how many of these 3 can be on the field at the same time. European Football League The European Football League ( EFL ) established in 1986, was a tournament for the best European American football teams affiliated to IFAF (International Federation of American Football - Europe), which replaced

120-534: The European Federation of American Football (EFAF) in 2014. Until 2013, the final game of the EFL was the Eurobowl , which has been held annually since 1986. In 2014, the EFL was replaced as Europe's top-tier club competition by the new BIG6 European Football League and the EFL Bowl was introduced as the new final game of the EFL. The 2018 EFL season was the last edition of the tournament. Under

140-624: The European Federation of American Football (EFAF), behind the European Football League (EFL),. Organised by EFAF , this competition was comparable to football's Europa League . American Football teams from the strongest leagues in Europe competed annually to achieve results good enough to qualify them for the EFAF Cup competition. The format dated from 2002 and offers top-division European clubs who have not qualified for

160-467: The Simbach Wildcats in the relegation round. With this successfully achieved, the team moved on to much better performances from now on. The club became a constant contender for the division title from now on, winning it in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010 and reaching, as a minimum, the play-off semi finals on each occasion. The team's best season domestically however was 2006, when it reached

180-551: The Dresden Monarchs in the quarter finals of the play-offs. In 2015, the club came only sixth and missed out on play-off qualification for the first time since 2003. The club has only appeared once in the German Bowl: Recent seasons of the club: EFAF Cup The EFAF Cup was an international competition for European American Football clubs. It was the second highest level of club competition in

200-516: The EFL. Teams from 'weaker' leagues could take part in the EFAF Cup . The final game of the EFL was the Eurobowl , which has been held annually since 1986. In 2014, the BIG6 European Football League was introduced as the new top-tier competition of American football in Europe. The EFL continued to be played as a second-tier competition, with its teams playing for the newly created EFL Bowl trophy. The inaugural EFL Bowl

220-665: The German Bowl, where it lost 13–31 to the Braunschweig Lions. Apart from the significances of this achievement to the club, it also broke a thirteen-year drought for the clubs from the southern division, as no southern club had reached the German Bowl since the Munich Cowboys won it in 1993. Internationally, the Mercenaries won their first title in 2005, when they won the second-tier EFAF Cup . In 2007,

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240-473: The following year, playing in the tier-five Verbandsliga Hessen , a regional league in its home state of Hesse . The Mercenaries gradually worked their way up through the local league system, culminating in a title in the tier-three Regionalliga Mitte in 1997, which allowed the club to take up promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga . For the next five years, the team played in the southern division of this league, once more gradually improving its performances, to

260-442: The governance of EFAF, the best American Football teams in Europe participate in annual competitions. Until 2013, the EFL was the first-tier competition for American football clubs in Europe. EFAF determined the relative strength of each of its 17 affiliate leagues and allocated teams to the 4 divisions accordingly, thus not all nations took part. National league champions, runners-up or teams with international success were eligible for

280-484: The highest level of competition ( EFL ) a chance to play internationally. Participants were Champions and Vice-Champions of the "smaller" American Football nations, and those finishing just behind EFL qualification places in the "bigger" American Football leagues. The competition was folded after the 2013 edition. The reason was, in 2014 the Big6 European Football League was established as

300-449: The new top tier competition. So in fact, the EFL took the place of the EFAF Cup. In the group phase, four groups consist each of three teams. Each team plays each other once and has a home game and an away game. The winners of these groups qualify directly for the semi-final phase. Should more teams qualify for and enter the EFAF Cup competition, more groups are created and a quarter-final phase introduced. Participating teams must submit

320-473: The other opponent. In a division of 2 teams, each team played each other home and away. The division winners then advanced to the play-offs. The play-off format was changed for the 2008 season. The tournament was expanded to an eight-team competition. The two finalists from the 2007 season, Vienna Vikings and Marburg Mercenaries, earned automatic berths for the next season and the two semi-finalists, Eidsvoll 1814's from Norway and Tirol Raiders from Austria, earned

340-542: The quarter finals. In 2012, the club came third in the southern division of the GFL and qualified for the play-off where it was knocked out by Berlin Adler in the quarter finals. The club finished second in 2013 but was again knocked out in the quarter finals of the play-off, this time by the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes. In the 2014 season the team came third in the southern division of the GFL but lost 22–42 to

360-530: The team also participated in the European Football League , where it reached the final, the Eurobowl, but lost quite clearly to the Vikings Vienna . Marburg has since failed to reach another final, but remains a strong team in the southern division of the GFL. The team came second in its division in 2011, qualifying for the play-offs where they were knocked out by the Düsseldorf Panther in

380-416: The teams have to nominate an EFAF active game day roster, which is limited to 45 players with a maximum of 3 active Americans as defined USA, Canadian, Mexican or Japanese passport holders. These three players may all be on the field at the same time. Until 2013, EFL teams were split into 4 divisions of 3 or 2 teams. In a division of 3, teams played 2 matches; once at home to one opponent and the other away to

400-619: Was won by the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes of Germany against Spain's Badalona Dracs on 20 July 2014. From 2017 on, the EFL Bowl winners may play a relegation game against the last placed team of the BIG6, and be promoted to the BIG6 if they win. This relegation game never happened. Every team in the European Football League had to publish its 60-man roster. After that no player can be added. Every game day

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