The climax is still to come, but after 106 of 107 games, it is the time for an initial summary of the 2024 season in the European League of Football. Managing Director Zeljko Karajica and Commissioner Patrick Esume recapped the fourth season of the continental league ahead of the highly anticipated Championship Game on Sunday (Kickoff: 3.30 pm CET) at FC Schalke 04's VELTINS-Arena in Gelsenkirchen between the Vienna Vikings and defending champions Rhein Fire.

"We are still at the beginning with our league, but we have again set some milestones in the past year. The most important step was certainly that we were able to play more matches in large stadiums and thus increase the level of attention. This is our way of turning this sport and the ELF into a crowd puller. Despite huge competition from the European Football Championships in Germany and the Olympics in Paris, we had half a million spectators at our matches. This is a great success and we will build on this next season. A number of well-known partners have also joined us, which shows that we are perceived as a league worth working with,” said ELF Managing Director Zeljko Karajica in a media round on Monday.

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"That's the recipe for getting the horsepower on the road"

"I've been involved in European Football for decades and I'm really surprised at how the standard of our players has continued to rise since the ELF was founded. And of course everything else has risen with it. It's incredible to see how good the Europeans in particular have become. A few years ago, if you had an import from the USA playing Division I - that was the superstar. Now you can hardly tell the difference between them and the strongest players from Europe. The coaching has certainly improved too, a big compliment to the franchises. That's the recipe for getting the horsepower on the road in our league," said ELF Commissioner Patrick Esume.

The Champion will be crowned on Sunday; in the preliminary round, the Vienna Vikings beat the Paris Musketeers and Rhein Fire beat Stuttgart Surge in a rematch of last year's final. Everything is set for an electrifying duel in the VELTINS-Arena, the "living room" of the traditional soccer club FC Schalke 04.

"This will be a nailbiter"

"If you fancy a perfect mix of competitive sport and folk festival, you should come to Gelsenkirchen on Sunday and not miss out on this event. It will be a record match for the league, we will certainly have more than 40,000 people in the VELTINS Arena. It will be a football festival with a great setting. At the Power Party before the final, there will be so much to experience for the whole family in an area of 30,000 square meters. We are looking forward to a great event," said Karajica.

"The two best teams in Europe will face each other on Sunday. I also have to give a big compliment to the Musketeers and Surge, who have played a great season and demanded everything from them in the Semifinals. I couldn't believe what happened, how incredibly exciting it was. In the NFL, I'm sure they would have said it was scripted by the Commissioner. It couldn't have been scripted any better."

And, furthermore, in regards of the upcoming matchup: "We will see the clash between the 2022 champions and the 2023 champions, there is no favorite in this game. Both teams are very strong and incredibly well coached. My tip: This will be a nailbiter that will only be decided in the last minute". predicted Esume.

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