European League of Football

[jerrym]

Another year, another league. However this one is in Europe. Barcelona has just been announced as the eighth team with a familiar name to Argo fans as HC, Adam Rita. The mission of the league is to professionalize American football in Europe.

The European League of Football (ELF) headed up by CEO Zeljko Karajica and Commissioner Patrick “Coach” Esume have announced the addition of Barcelona, Spain as their eighth franchise for the 2021 premiere season.

With this, at least eight teams from three European countries will be kicking off the first season of ELF Football next July. Previously, the Stuttgart Scorpions, Ingolstadt Praetorians and three-time Polish champions, the Wroclaw Panthers had been announced for the inaugural season along with franchises from Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Hannover-Hildesheim.

General Manager of the Barcelona franchise will be Bart Iaccarino, a well known name in the European football community both as a coach and manager. He says he is thrilled to be able to represent the European League of Football in Spain:

“The idea and the concept convinced us, the talks with the representatives of the league were very positive and trustworthy. This sport deserves to have a professional stage in Europe as well. We are strongly convinced that the ELF will succeed in this and are proud to be part of it from the very beginning”. ...

SEH Sports & Entertainment Holding announced the formation of ELF in early November stating that it will be run as a professional franchise system and offer a highly attractive product to the rapidly growing group of fans of this sport during the NFL-free period from July to September. This product will be presented on the appropriate platform and will be offered to a broad audience on free-TV as well as on digital channels.

With the Barcelona franchise, ELF has reached the planned number of eight teams.

Karajica, who is also CEO of SEH Sports & Entertainment Holding:

“The feedback right after the announcement of our plans was already overwhelming and showed how much radiance the idea of a European football league has. With Germany, Poland, and Spain we now have franchises in three countries, but this is just the beginning. The interest is great in many nations. We are in a position to take up further franchises very quickly and are consistently pursuing the goal of establishing a league with more than 20 teams from ten countries in the medium term.”

https://www.americanfootballinternational.com/barcelona-joins-the-european-league-of-football-elf-as-8th-location/

[jerrym]

As noted above former Argo HC Adam Rita will be the first HC of the Spanish team based in Barcelona. With Rita's connection to the CFL, he may bring in Canadian college players as imports. One possibility is Chris Merchant, who after being let go by Montreal, on Saturday led his Spanish team, the Las Rozas Black Demons, in the first game of the season for his team after two Covid cancellations to an impressive 29-7 victory, defeating a team that had won 47 games in a row and won four consecutive national championships.

At 73 years old, Adam Rita... is back at it again, signing on with Gladiators Football of Spain to become the first head coach of the fledgling European League of Football franchise based 90 minutes outside of Barcelona. ...


In addition to the Gladiator, the Stuttgart Scorpions, Lower Saxony German Knights 1367, Ingolstadt Praetorians and Wroclaw Panthers of Poland have confirmed their involvement. Franchises in Hamburg, Berlin and Frankfurt remain unnamed. The league recently announced a TV deal with major German NFL broadcaster ranSport and is looking to raise their profile with a number of key professional caliber additions. Rita does exactly that for the Gladiators.

“Adam Rita’s profile is the one that suits perfectly what we were looking for,” Gladiators general manager Bart Iaccarino said. “He is a person with a lot of experience who can help us a lot, more than thirty years in football guarantees that. In addition, on two occasions he has helped build a franchise by contributing his vision and knowledge.”

Rita first broke into the CFL in 1983 as an offensive coordinator for the B.C. Lions under legendary coach Don Matthews. He would go on to work almost continuously in the league until his retirement in 2010, only interrupted by a one year stint as UBC Thunderbirds head coach in 1989.

Rita was named head coach of the Toronto Argonauts in 1991 and won the Grey Cup in his first year, only to be fired after a 3-8 start the following season. He served a Ottawa Roughriders head coach in 1994 and with the B.C. Lions in 1997-98 and 2002, while also seeing time as a coordinator for the Memphis Mad Dogs and Edmonton Football Team. ...

Rita switched to the personnel side starting in the late ’90s, serving as B.C. general manger from 1997 to 2002 and finishing his career as Argonauts GM from 2004 to 2010. “We can learn a lot from a person like him,” Iaccarino emphasizes. “From the first day we started talking and working on this project, he has shown us his professionalism and humility.”

After retiring from the CFL, Rita turned his focus to Europe and has become a fixture overseas. He began as head coach of the Prague Panthers in 2012, then coached the Calanda Broncos of Switzerland from 2013 to 2014 and Bergamo Lions of Italy from 2017 to 2019. In between, Rita has served as an assistant with the Clarkson Football North high school program in Mississauga.

Rita was originally signed on to coach Germany’s Berlin Adlers in 2020 until the pandemic forced the cancellation of the German season. Germany’s loss is now Spain’s gain, as the Gladiators look to make noise in the upstart European league.

https://3downnation.com/2021/02/14/l...-spanish-team/

[OV Argo]

Really sad that the Argos - in desperate need for QB competition - would not try to bring in Merchant to compete in TC; Murphy probably never heard of him.

[shayman]

Wandering even more off topic but John Grisham's book "Playing for Pizza" is a fun novel about an NFL and CFL washout who winds up playing semi-pro ball in Italy. It's almost as much about the joys of authentic Italian food as it is about football.

https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca...f71099994108c0

[j-ski]

As noted above former Argo HC Adam Rita will be the first HC of the Spanish team based in Barcelona. With Rita's connection to the CFL, he may bring in Canadian college players as imports. One possibility is Chris Merchant, who after being let go by Montreal, on Saturday led his Spanish team, the Las Rozas Black Demons, in the first game of the season for his team after two Covid cancellations to an impressive 29-7 victory, defeating a team that had won 47 games in a row and won four consecutive national championships.

https://3downnation.com/2021/02/14/l...-spanish-team/

Wish they would broadcast some games. Might be only chance to see some Canadians like Merchant play.

[jerrym]

Wish they would broadcast some games. Might be only chance to see some Canadians like Merchant play.

I wonder if TSN would be interested, especially if the league does have some Canadians on teams. There might be a chance of this since not all of the sports programs on the network draw a lot of interest now.

[primetime31]

This could be an interesting development to help grow the game both in sport interest and player development in Europe. The latter could help increase the pool of trained professionals for CFL.

[Koller]

Wish they would broadcast some games. Might be only chance to see some Canadians like Merchant play.

And they will in accordance with the broadcasting plan.

[jerrym]

Welcome on board.

[jerrym]

Adam Rita, the coach and GM of the Barcelona Dragons, has hired Joe Paopao as QB coach. In addition to his CFL experience as coach and QB, Paopao also coached for the University of Waterloo Warriors from 2007 to 2013 and at SFU from 2015 to 2018 as OC. Would Rita and Paopao be willing to give a Canadian QB, like Merchant who has gone 7-0 and is already playing in Spain, a chance to play in the new professional league?

A Long Beach State product, Paopao first came to Canada in 1978 and spent six years in B.C., three with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and one with the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1987 before retiring. He came out of retirement for one final season with the Lions in 1990, starting ahead of legendary CFL quarterback Doug Flutie who he would coach to a CFL MOP season in 1991. Paopao finished his 11-year CFL career with 22,474 passing yards, 117 touchdowns and 157 interceptions. He was added to the B.C. Lions Wall of Fame in 2007.

Paopao began his coaching career with the Lions in 1989 as an offensive backs coach, rising to the role of offensive coordinator by 1992, a position he also held with the Edmonton Football Team, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He served as head coach of the Lions in 1996 and was the inaugural head coach of the expansion Ottawa Renegades from 2002 to 2005, posting a 28-62 career win-loss record.

Outside the CFL, Paopao was offensive coordinator for the XFL’s San Francisco Demons in 2001. He also served as play-caller for the University of Waterloo Warriors from 2007 to 2013 before becoming head coach for his last two seasons, as well as offensive coordinator for Simon Fraser University from 2015 to 2018.

https://3downnation.com/2021/03/28/f...elona-dragons/

[jerrym]

The European League of Football has been signing some international players, including the signing of former Div I RB Xavier Johnson by the Hamburg Sea Devils.

Johnson had originally signed to play with the Straubing Spiders in Germany’s second division in 2020 but when that season was canceled due to the pandemic, Mexico’s Monterrey Fundidorescame calling. The season in Mexico was also canceled however, so Johnson, like so many others in 2020, was left without a place to play.

The 27 year old, 5’11”, 190 pound native of Tampa, Florida enjoyed an outstanding four year career at South Alabama (NCAA Div. 1) who play in the Sun Belt Conference (2014-2017). He rushed for a total of 2,670 yards and 24 touchdowns while returning 51 kickoffs for 1,220 yards and two touchdowns, finishing as the school’s all-time leading rusher at the time.

https://www.americanfootballinternat...avier-johnson/

[jerrym]

The Frankfurt Galaxy have signed Europe's top 2019 passer, Jake Sullivan.

The Frankfurt Galaxy of the European League of Football, ELF, have signed the most prolific passer in Europe in 2019 with the addition of Jake Sullivan as their quarterback for their inaugural 2021 season.

Sullivan had signed with the Dacia Vienna Vikings in 2020 but the pandemic prevented him from playing.

Playing for the Marburg Mercenaries in the GFL South in 2019, Sullivan took the passing yardage lead partway into the German Football League season and then never let up amassing 4,359 yards and a league-leading 43 TDs. He led Marburg to a 9-5 record and their first appearance in the playoffs in two years and best record since 2014.

A 6’1″, 200 pound native of Rapid City, South Dakota, Sullivan closed out an outstanding four-year career as one of the best quarterbacks in South Dakota School of Mines history. He finished the 2018 season with a record-setting 293-461 for 3,576 yards and 32 TD passes for 63.6 percent (all school season records). He averaged 325.1 yards per game, which led the entire NCAA Div. II.

He also had 10 rushing touchdowns and carried the ball 129 times for 340 yards. Sullivan, who is majoring in Industrial Engineering left SD Mines with 17 school records. Sullivan led the conference in passing yards, passing attempts and completions, and yards per game. He was named Division II Quarterback Of The Year (Div II-Leader in Total Offense, Passing Yards per Game & Points responsible for per Game).

https://www.americanfootballinternat...akeb-sullivan/

[jerrym]

Frankfurt Galaxy have also signed DB Desmond Cooper, who attended the NFL Jacksonville Jaguar TC.

The Frankfurt Galaxy of the European League of Football have signed former Jacksonville Jaguar defensive back Desmond Cooper. The 6’2″, 215 pound 29-year-old Cooper originally signed with the Frankfurt Universe in January of 2020 before the pandemic canceled the season. Cooper is an athletic defender with size and versatility who the Galaxy coaches will be able to use in many ways. ...

Cooper played for the Søllerød Gold Diggers in Denmark in 2019 and 2017 where he lined up all over the defense and was a dangerous kick returner, helping them reach the Danish final in 2017. In 2018, he was also a key figure in Poland’s Wroclaw Panthers reaching the championship final.

Prior to Europe, the Jacksonville, Florida native was a standout player at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His 89 total tackles and three interceptions landed him a spot with his hometown Jacksonville Jaguars. In doing so, Cooper became the first UNC Charlotte 49er to sign an NFL contract. He lasted until the third preseason game with the Jaguars before being released.

https://www.americanfootballinternat...esmond-cooper/

[jerrym]

The Barcelona Dragons have signed their third former CFL coach. OL coach Ron Smeltzer, who coached with BC, Calgary, Las Vegas and Ottawa Rough Riders, joins former CFL coaches Adam Rita and Joe Paopao. However, at 79 and not having coached since 2007, one wonders if the game has passed him by. But HC Rita gets to choose who he feels comfortable with on his staff.

[jerrym]

Barcelona has signed DE Justin Francis who played for the New England Patriots in 2012 where he had three sacks and ten tackles. After that he played in the Arena League for Nebraska Steel and in Germany in 2019.

[jerrym]

The European League of Football has announced its 2021 schedule.

The first weekend of play will feature the Barcelona Dragons against the Stuttgart Surge and the Wroclaw Panthers taking on the Cologne Centurions on Saturday June 19 with the Berlin Thunder hosting the Leipzig Kings and the Hamburg Sea Devils facing the Frankfurt Galaxy on Sunday, June 20.
The Sea Devils-Galaxy game will be a classic rematch. The two teams were the last two teams to play in an NFL Europe championship game – the 2007 NFL Europe World Bowl – when Hamburg beat the Galaxy 37-28 in front of 48,125 spectators at Frankfurt stadium.

https://www.americanfootballinternat...2021-schedule/

[jerrym]

Former Argo HC Adam Rita discusses the Barcelona Dragons TC at the url below:

https://www.americanfootballinternat...amp-a-success/

[jerrym]

The league has announced the details of its streaming service with three levels. I'm not interested in paying for it, but here are the details, if anyone is interested.

While we wait for the return of the CFL, XFL and now the USFL; we have a new contender. The European League of Football is set to return June 19th with a slew of former NFL Europe franchises you may remember.
Last month the league had announced that they were working with streaming partners to allow fans to easily watch the games. Today, we finally have more details.
The ELF has finally revealed the pricing and details for their streaming service.

The European League of Football is offering three different tiers to enjoy the 2021 season.

GAME DAY PASS
Team-specific On-Demand Content

• Live Games in HD
• Choose Language Feeds (if available)
• Highlights – Short Versions
• Team Only Highlights

8,99 €/game day (~$11)

TEAM PASS

• Every On Demand Game
• Team-specific On-Demand Content
• Live Games in HD
• Choose Language Feeds (if available)
• Highlights – Full Length
• Highlights – Short Versions
• Team Only Highlights

39,99 €/season (~$48)

SEASON PASS
Games and Content can be viewed on up to two devices parallel

• Unlock All Content
• Every On Demand Game
• Team-specific On-Demand Content
• Live Games in HD
• Choose Language Feeds (if available)
• Highlights – Full Length
• Highlights – Short Versions
• Team Only Highlights

99,99 €/season (~$120)

With the ELF season just over a week away, we finally have viewing options for fans all over the globe. Additionally, it looks as if some of the games will have language feeds, yet not many details are available at the moment.

https://xflnewsroom.com/news/europea...aming-details/

[jerrym]

Like the CFL, the European League of Football is starting to form alliances with leagues from other countries.

The European League of Football, ELF, has announced that it has signed a partnership agreement with Brazil American Football, BFA (Brasil Futebol Americano), former organizers of the elite league in Brazil.
The BFA, who previously operated the league on behalf of the Brazilian Federation of American Football, CBFA (Confederação Brasileira de Futebol Americano), is no longer involved with the CBFA and at present is looking for teams.
The eight-team ELF kicked off its inaugural season this past weekend.
According to the ELF, the two leagues will work together to grow the level of cooperation between the two. One of the key elements it would seem is the acceptance of Brazilian players on ELF teams without import restrictions:

“One of the key initiatives is the creation of exchange opportunities for selected players, coaches and officials from both continents. It has been already decided that Brazilian players will not count as import players in the European League of Football. Also, there is the intention of including, in the future, a reserved spot for a Brazilian player on each ELF team.
“Another idea considered by the boards is the possibility of having a game between the champions of BFA an ELF in the future, but no date is yet defined. From this partnership we can expect the growth of the visibility of BFA in Europe and the growth of visibility of the European League of Football in Brazil.”

The BFA cancelled the 2020 season due to the pandemic and has not returned to play since as COVID-19 ravages the country. Normally, state leagues play their seasons in the spring and early summer while the BFA plays a fall schedule.

https://www.americanfootballinternat...an-federation/