Call it a comeback
The franchises from Hamburg and Frankfurt are competing in the European League of Football under illustrious names that once caused a sensation in NFL Europe: the Hamburg Sea Devils and the Frankfurt Galaxy are back!
The European League of Football is proud to announce that it has agreed to terms with the NFL which includes the naming rights from the former NFL Europe teams.
The line-up for the premiere season of the European League of Football, which kicks-off in June and whose champion will be crowned in September 2021, is almost complete. The Polish champions Wroclaw Panthers, Barcelona Gladiators, Stuttgart Scorpions, German Knights 1367 Niedersachsen, Ingolstadt Praetorians and a franchise from Berlin will also compete for the trophy.
"We are pleased to have a highly attractive starting field with eight franchises from three nations," says Patrick "Coach" Esume, who heads the new league as commissioner. "Sea Devils, Galaxy - these names remind of great memories for many fans and of course trigger great emotions for me personally. As a Hamburg resident, it makes me proud to see the city again with the Sea Devils as part of our league."
Esume had won the World Bowl in 2007 as Offense Coordinator with the Hamburg team in the last year of NFL Europe. In the final, the North Germans beat the hosts and four-time winners Frankfurt Galaxy in front of 48,125 spectators in the Commerzbank Arena. Now the Sea Devils and Galaxy want to build on their old successes with renewed drive in the European League of Football.
"We would like to thank the NFL for giving us the green light after very constructive talks and for making it possible to bring Hamburg Sea Devils and Frankfurt Galaxy back onto the stage of European football. This excites us as league officials, but especially the many fans of the teams who have had to wait 14 years for this return," emphasizes Zeljko Karajica, Managing Director of SEH Sports & Entertainment Holding and the European League of Football, both based in Hamburg.
David Knower, chairman of the advisory board of the European League of Football, initiated and negotiated the agreement with the NFL. "We are delighted about the agreement to be able to use the naming rights of the former NFL Europe teams," says Knower, who worked with the NFL Europe Advisory Board. Beyond that, there are no further connections between the European League of Football and the NFL as things stand.
It was not until Super Bowl Sunday on 7 February that Karajica and Commissioner Esume announced that they had a strong and established partner at their side in German broadcaster ProSieben MAXX and "ran Football", which will broadcast 13 games live and exclusively on free TV as well as other games and highlights on ran.de.