The Vienna Vikings is a professional American football club based in Vienna , Austria . Founded in 1983, the Vikings are known as one of Europe's most dominant clubs, having won the Eurobowl title five times (2004–2007 and 2013), as well being the runner-up five times (2001, 2003, 2008, 2010 and 2012). In the national championship the Vikings are holding the record of 15 Austrian Bowl victories. Since the 2022 season they are member of the European League of Football and under the name Dacia Vienna Vikings they are also still part of the Austrian Football League (AFL).
17-684: The Vikings were founded in 1983. Three years later, the Vikings made it to the Austrian Bowl , the Austrian championship game, where they fell short against the Graz Giants . In 1994, the Vikings won their first national championship and repeated the victory two years later. In 1999, the Vikings played their eighth Austrian Bowl, all of them against the Giants, and gained their third title. It
34-765: A group of football fans from the Slovenian capital. The team won the Slovenian Football League a record six times (2009–10, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2017). They also won the Central European Football League in 2012. Before the 2019 season, Ljubljana Silverhawks merged with Domžale Tigers . The Ljubljana Silverhawks were established in April 2002, becoming the first American football team based in Slovenia. Initially,
51-734: 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 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
68-528: 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. Ljubljana Silverhawks The Ljubljana Silverhawks were an American football team based in Ljubljana , Slovenia, founded in 2002 by
85-577: 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 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
102-705: The BIG6 European Football League . On September 25, 2021 the Vienna Vikings announced their that their first team will compete in the 2022 European League of Football season together with their league rival Tyrolean Raiders The coaching staff of the former AFL team will continue coaching the ELF team. The franchise, now being a private corporation as a GesmbH , is owned by the Voluntary association . Together with its rivals Raiders Tirol
119-660: The (Austrian Bowl), was held for 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
136-551: 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
153-624: The ELF season will be played at the Generali Arena Vienna . Reference Running backs Wide receivers Tight ends Defensive linemen Defensive backs Special teams Rookies in italics Roster updated 21 November 2023 4 A-import , 7 E-import, 56 homegrown 66 active Front office Head coach Offensive coaches Defensive coaches Special teams coaches Strength and conditioning updated 23 March 2023 Austrian Bowl The Austrian Football League ( AFL )
170-551: The Silverhawks were not affiliated with any league. In 2006, the Silverhawks were one of the founding members of the Central European Football League (CEFL). In 2009, together with three other teams, the Silverhawks competed in the first-ever edition of the Slovenian Football League . On 26 June 2010, the Silverhawks defeated the Alp Devils 41–0 and thus became the first champions of Slovenia. The Silverhawks retained
187-733: The Slovenian Football League title in 2011, after defeating the Croatian team Zagreb Thunder , which competed as the guest team. The Silverhawks won the CEFL title in 2012, and then also won the Slovenian League title in 2012 and 2013, respectively. In 2016, the Silverhawks joined the Austrian Football League (AFL) and reached the wild card playoffs three times in a row. After the 2018 season,
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#1732776095363204-532: The Vikings play in the Central Conference of the ELF. The participation allows the signing of up to 6 European foreign players and 4 US-American, Canadian, Mexican or Japanese players. At the start of the 2022 season, business lawyer and long-time Austrian Football League quarterback Robin Lumsden joined as co-owner and investor. On February 17, 2022 the organisations announced that all home games in
221-561: 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
238-649: 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, 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
255-450: The main focus points of the league, there are specific rule limitations for 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,
272-565: Was also their first of five consecutive Austrian Bowl wins. Until 2007 the Vikings made it always to the Austrian Bowl and collected two more national titles becoming the team with the record number of 10 Austrian Bowl wins. From 2012 to 2017 the Vikings won four more national titles. After also competing in the European Football League for many years, the club took part in a new European competition from 2014 to 2018
289-624: 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 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
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