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 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, the reserve team of both will remain a participant in the Austrian Football League.
History
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 the European Football League final game the Eurobowl, was won seven out of eight times by an Austrian league AFL team.[1]
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 the league.
Foreign Import rules and format
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 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 the first time in 1984 in Salzburg, Austria.
^Due to the coronavirus pandemic the Vikings and the Giants were the only teams entering the competition. Instead of a bowl game, the two teams played a best of five series.
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 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.
