Is The GFL The Top League In Europe?

Now That Depends On How You Gauge Success I Suppose.

The GFL was formed as far back as 1979, putting the Germans ahead of their European contemporaries, who generally got their first competitive structures together in the mid-eighties. The catalyst for the “birth” was the coverage of the NFL on TV and the fact that there were large numbers of American servicemen based in the country at that time. Gridiron has been popular ever since, with a robust league structure, sponsors, import players and good stadia being the norm in the top level. Britball found out that our German friends were serious about their balling as early as 1984, when the ambitious “Poole Sharks” from Dorset, headed over to Dusseldorf to have the pleasure of a 69-0 beat down by the Panthers!

The current national Champions are the Braunshweig New Yorker Lions, who last season clinched the title for a record eleventh time. They are also the European club champions, having beaten Austria’s Swarco Raiders in last year’s final. The nearest challengers to their record of success are the Dusseldorf Panthers and Berlin Adler, who both have six national titles. The top division is split in to two conferences of seven teams, Braunshweig, Cologne, Dresden, Kiel, Hamburg and two teams from Berlin make up the North, whilst Schwabisch, Frankfurt, Marburg, Munich, Stuttgart, Allgau and Saarland compete in the South. There is also a hotly contested second division structure which provides a route to division one, via a play-off system. The division two teams are serious outfits, with import players and their own dedicated fan bases.

It’s generally recognised that the standard of play and organisation are at the highest level you will find in Europe. The use of import (generally American) players leads to a higher technical standard and more spectacular plays come game-time, which in turn attracts more spectators, (between 3 and 5 thousand at most games) a virtuous circle some would say. There are however, those who would say that the use of imports in European football restricts the development of “national” players, the evidence in Germany would de-bunk that theory, with their National team being the current European champions. GFL rules allow for six import players on any one team, and an unlimited amount of EU nationals, this has led to some high calibre Americans coming to Germany to showcase their talents. Former NCAA Division one players are common, and even some with NFL experience are suiting up.

I spoke to ex Mississippi State linebacker Christian Holmes (known as the “Turtle”), who spent a few games with top British team the Tamworth Phoenix last year, and will be playing for the Stuttgart Scorpions this season, to see what he thought of his German Football experience so far. "I'm excited to play in one of the best leagues in Europe, I hope this leads to an opportunity in the NFL OR CFL! I love it here in Germany. There are great people and great food here, and I'm looking forward to a great season! Proud to be a Stuttgart Scorpion!”

Christian was offered a contract with the team after they had seen his profile and highlight reel on the Euro players website, this seems to be the preferred route for a number of players to get themselves out there in front of ambitious teams. Former Loughborough University defensive back, Ben Hoban will also be in the red, white and black Scorpions uniform this season, and has found his hosts to be equally welcoming. “My experience with the GFL so far is that the level of the game is raised with the help of the import players coming to the league. That means the games are more exciting to watch, and attract more fans and gets kids here playing from much younger ages. This shows in the amount of experience the German players have, to be able to compete with the import players. The coaches and my team-mates at the Scorpions have been so welcoming to me, and really take the time to get to know me on, and off the field, so it feels like I've been welcomed into another family out here which has helped the transition into living abroad”. At a recent pre-season game against Swiss outfit the Calanda Broncos, Christian and Ben got the chance to meet up with another ex Tamworth team-mate, Will Hobbs is with the Broncos this season.

So how will the Scorpions do this year? With USC quarterback Connor Sullivan pulling the trigger, they could be right up there when it comes to play-off time. They start their season with a game against their big rivals the Frankfurt Universe on April 22. It’s a long fourteen game regular season, that will culminate with the imaginatively titled “German Bowl XXXIX” on October 7th.

So is the GFL the top league in Europe? If you measure it by the level of play, attendance at games, teams with sponsorship, the success of German club teams in international competitions, and the success of their National team, then you would have to say…yes it is!

Stuttgart pictures courtesy of Sarah Philipp.