2021 European League of Football season

The 2021 ELF season was the inaugural season of the European League of Football, a newly formed professional American football league based in Europe. It started on June 19, 2021, and ended with the ELF Championship Game in Düsseldorf's Merkur Spiel-Arena, on September 26, 2021.^[1] Frankfurt Galaxy won the title, beating Hamburg Sea Devils 32-30.

Map of ELF teams 2021

2021 ELF season
League	European League of Football
Sport	American Football
Duration	June 19 – September 5
Number of games	40 + 3 playoff games
Number of teams	8
Total attendance	94,704
Season MVP	Madre London (Cologne Centurions)
Division Champions
North Division champions	Hamburg Sea Devils
South Division champions	Frankfurt Galaxy
2021 Championship Game
Date	September 26, 2021
Venue	Merkur Spiel-Arena, Düsseldorf
Champions	Frankfurt Galaxy (1st title)
Finals MVP	Jakeb Sullivan (Frankfurt Galaxy)

Format

The league is divided into two divisions, North and South. Each team plays 10 games during the regular season: twice against their division rivals, and twice against two of the teams from the other division. The top two teams in each division qualify for the playoffs, with the North and South champions qualifying for the Championship Game.

Rules

For the inaugural season, the ELF is mostly using adapted NFL rules, as opposed to adapted NCAA rules which virtually all other European American Football leagues use. There is a limit of two "Americans" (a category which also includes some other non-European nationalities) per down but people who are dual citizens of the U.S. and an EU-member country are not counted towards that limit in keeping with the Bosman ruling. Unlike in most other European American football leagues there is overtime during regular season games that are still tied after regulation, but the overtime rules are based on NCAA rules.

Teams

Team	City	Stadium	Capacity	Head coach
North Division
Berlin Thunder	Berlin	Amateurstadion Olympiapark[A]	05,400	Jag Bal
		Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark[B]	19,708
Hamburg Sea Devils	Hamburg	Stadion Hoheluft	11,000	Andreas Nommensen
Leipzig Kings	Leipzig	Alfred-Kunze-Sportpark	04,999	Fred Armstrong
Wrocław Panthers	Wrocław	Olympic Stadium	11,000	Kuba Samel
South Division
Barcelona Dragons	Reus	Estadi Municipal	04,700	Adam Rita
Cologne Centurions	Cologne	Südstadion[C]	11,748	Kirk Heidelberg
		Ostkampfbahn[D]	00,333[2]
Frankfurt Galaxy	Frankfurt	PSD Bank Arena	12,542	Thomas Kösling
Stuttgart Surge	Stuttgart	Gazi-Stadion auf der Waldau	11,410	Martin Hanselmann

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Incoming coach	Date of appointment
Hamburg Sea Devils	Ted Daisher	Released[3]	July 6, 2021	Andreas Nommensen	July 13, 2021[4]

Salaries

For its first season, the league pays a salary to American "import" players that generally ranges from €600 (around $700) to €3,000 ($3,500) per month, and provides housing, health insurance and two meals per day to players during the season.^[5] Despite claims to the contrary by the league, most "local" players did not get paid during the 2021 season.^{[citation needed]}

Regular season

Standings

North Division v t e Pos Team GP W L PF PA Div Qualification 1 Hamburg Sea Devils 10 7 3 274 178 4–2 Advance to playoffs 2 Wrocław Panthers 10 6 4 314 259 5–1 3 Leipzig Kings 10 5 5 295 320 3–3 4 Berlin Thunder 10 3 7 228 296 0–6 Source: europeanleague.football

South Division v t e Pos Team GP W L PF PA Div Qualification 1 Frankfurt Galaxy 10 9 1 357 132 6–0 Advance to playoffs 2 Cologne Centurions 10 5 5 310 365 3–3 3 Barcelona Dragons 10 3 7 237 277 2–4 4 Stuttgart Surge 10 2 8 157 355 1–5 Source: europeanleague.football

Results

Home \ Away	BER	HAM	LEI	WRO	BAR	COL	FRA	STU
Berlin Thunder		20–28	27–37	26–45	19–3			40–19
Hamburg Sea Devils	44–6		17–18	24–30	22–17		17–15
Leipzig Kings	37–24	0–55		13–21		47–48		49–23
Wrocław Panthers	35–12	23–26	54–28			55–39	7–36
Barcelona Dragons	48–16	14–32				60–51	14–22	17–21
Cologne Centurions			24–42	33–31	40–12		20–41	19–9
Frankfurt Galaxy		35–9		22–13	42–22	45–7		57–3
Stuttgart Surge	0–38		27–24		12–30	23–39	20–42

Source: europeanleague.football
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Playoffs

	Division Finals					Championship Game
	N1	Hamburg Sea Devils	30
	N2	Wrocław Panthers	27
						Hamburg Sea Devils		30
						Frankfurt Galaxy		32
	S1	Frankfurt Galaxy	36
	S2	Cologne Centurions	6

Divisional playoffs

South: Frankfurt Galaxy 36, Cologne Centurions 6

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Centurions	0	0	0	6	6
Galaxy	14	13	6	3	36

Cologne Centurions vs. Frankfurt Galaxy

at PSD Bank Arena, Frankfurt, Germany

• Date: 11 September 2021
• Game time: 14:45 CEST
• Game attendance: 2,000
• Referee: K. Walentynow
• Game Book

North: Hamburg Sea Devils 30, Wrocław Panthers 27

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	7	7	0	13	27
Sea Devils	14	0	3	13	30

Wrocław Panthers vs. Hamburg Sea Devils

at Stadion Hoheluft, Hamburg, Germany

• Date: 12 September 2021
• Game time: 14:45 CEST
• Game attendance: 2,200
• Referee: Thomas Denker
• Game Book

Championship Game

The inaugural Championship Game, between the North and South division champions, was played on September 26, at Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf.^[6] In a game in which the lead changed more than once, Frankfurt, not confident enough of the quality of their placekicker, opted for two-point conversions after every single touchdown (only one out of five being successful), and not attempting a single field goal. Meanwhile, Hamburg's kicker Phillip Friis Andersen, who led the league in successful attempts during the regular season and won "Special Teams Player of the year", missed 2 FG attempts, including one from 61 yards on the last play, that could have won the game for Hamburg.

The Championship MVP trophy was won by Frankfurt QB Jakeb Sullivan, who passed for 324 yards, with 4 TD and no interceptions, and added another rushing TD.

Hamburg Sea Devils 30, Frankfurt Galaxy 32

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Sea Devils	7	10	10	3	30
Galaxy	0	20	0	12	32

Hamburg Sea Devils vs. Frankfurt Galaxy

at Merkur Spiel-Arena, Düsseldorf, Germany

• Date: 26 September 2021
• Game time: 14:45 CEST
• Game attendance: 22,000
• Referee: M. Scholz
• Game Book

All-Star Game

The inaugural All-Star Game was held one week after the end of the season, on October 3 (the Day of German Unity), at Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark in Berlin. It featured a selection of the best players from the ELF, playing against the United States Federation of American Football All-Stars.^[7][8][9] Earlier, the league had advertised the game as the ELF all-stars playing against the United States national team.^[10]

Year	Home		Away		Venue	City	Attendance	Ref
2021	ELF All Stars	26	US Federation All Stars	8	Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark	Berlin, Germany	300	[11][12][13]

Attendance

As of September 5, 2021^[14][E]

Games without fans are not counted in averages or games played. All teams started the season with capacity restrictions, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^{[citation needed]}

Rank	Team	GP	Total	High	Low	Average
1	Wrocław Panthers	5	18,000	4,500	3,000	3,600
2	Frankfurt Galaxy	5	10,600	2,800	1,500	2,120
3	Leipzig Kings	5	10,362	2,380	1,727	2,072
4	Hamburg Sea Devils	5	8,263	1,800	1,600	1,653
5	Stuttgart Surge	5	7,143	1,998	750	1,429
6	Cologne Centurions	4	4,666	2,500	333	1,167
7	Barcelona Dragons	5	5,815	1,386	775	1,163
8	Berlin Thunder	4	3,655	1,325	400	914
–	Total	38	68,504	4,500	333	1,803

Awards

MVP of the Week

Week	Player	Position	Team	Stat	Source
1	Lukas O'Connor	QB	Wrocław Panthers	27/38, 302 Yds, 4 TD, 0 Int	1
2	Madre London	RB	Cologne Centurions	352 Yds, 4 TD	2
3	Seantavius Jones	WR	Berlin Thunder	9 Rec, 155 Yds, 3 TD	3
4	Jakeb Sullivan	QB	Frankfurt Galaxy	18/25, 270 Yds, 5 TD, 0 Int	4
5	Justin Rogers	CB	Hamburg Sea Devils	2 Punt return TD, 1 Int	5
6	Jean Constant	WR	Barcelona Dragons	10 Rec, 164 Yds, 3 TD	6
7	Madre London (2)	RB	Cologne Centurions	320 Yds, 4 TD	7
8	Zack Edwards	QB	Barcelona Dragons	20/45, 454 Yds, 4 TD, 0 Int, 2 Rush TD	8
9	Joshua Poznanski	DB	Frankfurt Galaxy	2 Int, 2 return TD, 93 return Yds, 4 Tackles	9
10	Michael Birdsong	QB	Leipzig Kings	16/25, 189 Yds, 5 TD, 0 Int	10
11	Madre London (3)	RB	Cologne Centurions	154 Yds, 1 Rush TD, 1 Rec TD	11
12	Moritz Johannknecht	QB	Frankfurt Galaxy	23/31, 255 Yds, 4 TD, 0 Int, 1 Rush TD	12

Honors for the season

On 1. October 2021 the "ELF Honors" were presented at RCADIA Hotel in Hamburg. The following players received the awards mentioned below:^[15][16]

• Most Valuable Player: Madre London, Running back, Cologne Centurions
• Offensive Player of the Year: Jakeb Sullivan, Quarterback, Frankfurt Galaxy
• Defensive Player of the Year: Kyle Kitchens, Defensive End, Leipzig Kings
• Special Teams Player of the Year: Phillip Friis Andersen, Kicker / Punter, Hamburg Sea Devils
• Rookie of the Year: Louis Geyer, Wide Receiver, Stuttgart Surge
• Coach of the Year: Thomas Kösling, Head coach, Frankfurt Galaxy
• Offensive Rookie of the Year: Gerald Ameln, Running back, Frankfurt Galaxy
• Defensive Rookie of the Year: Marcel Dabo, Cornerback, Stuttgart Surge
• Assistant Coach of the Year: Kendral Ellison, Defensive Coordinator, Hamburg Sea Devils
• Man of Honor: Jan Weinreich, Quarterback, Cologne Centurions

Statistical leaders

As of September 12, 2021^[17]

Category	Player	Position	Team	GP	Stat
Passing
Yards	Lukas O'Connor	QB	Wrocław Panthers	11	3198
Touchdowns	Lukas O'Connor	QB	Wrocław Panthers	11	28
	Jakeb Sullivan	QB	Frankfurt Galaxy	10	28
Completions	Lukas O'Connor	QB	Wrocław Panthers	11	259
Completion percentage	Jakeb Sullivan	QB	Frankfurt Galaxy	10	66.5%
Rushing
Yards	Madre London	RB	Cologne Centurions	10	2177
Touchdowns	Madre London	RB	Cologne Centurions	10	23
Yards per attempt	Madre London	RB	Cologne Centurions	10	7.2
Receiving
Yards	Jean Constant	WR	Barcelona Dragons	10	1038
Touchdowns	Seantavius Jones	WR	Berlin Thunder	10	12
	Timothy Knüttel	WR	Leipzig Kings	10	12
Receptions	Jean Constant	WR	Barcelona Dragons	10	74
Yards per reception	Seantavius Jones	WR	Berlin Thunder	10	16.9
Defensive
Sacks	Kyle Kitchens	LB	Leipzig Kings	10	12.5
Tackles	Wael Nasri	LB	Berlin Thunder	10	141
Interceptions	Joshua Poznanski	DB	Frankfurt Galaxy	11	5
	Andy Vera	DB	Barcelona Dragons	8	5
	Justin Rogers	DB	Hamburg Sea Devils	11	5

Signees to other professional leagues

The following players invited to the NFL's International Combine, assigned to NFL's International Player Pathway Program (IPPP), signed or drafted by CFL team or signed with USFL team following their involvement with The ELF in 2021:^[18][19][20]

NFL

Player	Position	ELF team	NFL team
Aslan Zetterberg	DL	Leipzig Kings	International Combine
Jan-Philipp Bombek	DL	Hamburg Sea Devils	International Combine
Adedayo Odeleye	DL	Berlin Thunder	Houston Texans (IPPP)
Jai-Albert Jackson	DL	Stuttgart Surge	International Combine
Lance Leota	DL	Leipzig Kings	International Combine
Wael Nasri	LB	Berlin Thunder	International Combine
Marcel Dabo	DB	Stuttgart Surge	Indianapolis Colts (IPPP)
Yoshihito Omi	WR	Leipzig Kings	International Combine
Fabian Kratz	OL	Cologne Centurions	International Combine
Jan-Hendrik Hoffmeyer	OL	Frankfurt Galaxy	International Combine
Yannic Kiehl	OL	Frankfurt Galaxy	International Combine
Max Bruder	OL	Leipzig Kings	International Combine
John-Levi Kruse	TE	Hamburg Sea Devils	International Combine
Igor Mašlanka	TE	Panthers Wrocław	International Combine

CFL

The following players signed with a CFL team:

Player	Position	ELF team	CFL team
Anthony Mahoungou	WR	Frankfurt Galaxy	Ottawa Redblacks
Keanu Ebanks	OL	Panthers Wrocław	Calgary Stampeders
Seantavius Jones	WR	Leipzig Kings	Ottawa Redblacks

The following players got drafted in the CFL's Global draft:

Player	Position	ELF team	CFL team	Pick
Karlis Brauns	DL	Panthers Wrocław	BC Lions	3
Marcel Dabo	DB	Stuttgart Surge	BC Lions	16
John-Levi Kruse	FB	Hamburg Sea Devils	BC Lions	21
Otavio Amorim	OL	Berlin Thunder	Toronto Argonauts	22

USFL

Player	Position	ELF team	USFL team
Madre London	RB	Cologne Centurions	Pittsburgh Maulers
Kolin Hill	DE	Berlin Thunder	New Jersey Generals
KaVontae Turpin	WR	Panthers Wrocław	New Jersey Generals
Dartez Jacobs	S	Cologne Centurions	New Orleans Breakers
Dale Warren	LB	Stuttgart Surge	Pittsburgh Maulers

Broadcasting

Region	Broadcaster
Germany	ProSieben MaxxranSport More Than Sports TV
Spain	Esport3
Worldwide	ELF Gamepass

Notes

1. First two home games of the season
2. Last three home games of the season
3. First three home games of the season
4. Last two home games of the season
5. The attendances for Leipzig - Cologne (July 4), Hamburg - Berlin (July 11), Berlin - Wroclaw (July 18), Hamburg - Barcelona (July 31), Cologne - Wroclaw (Aug 1), Leipzig - Berlin (Aug 1), Hamburg - Wroclaw (Aug 22) and Berlin - Barcelona (Aug 22) haven't been announced