The European League of Football kicks off its fourth season this weekend. Tickets for this year’s Championship Game on September 22 in Gelsenkirchen at FC Schalke 04's VELTINS-Arena have already passed the 30,000 mark in advance sales – and the organizers have already set the next impressive milestone: The final of the continental league will take place next year on September 14 in cooperation with VfB Stuttgart in the 60,058-capacity MHP Arena, the "living room" of the Bundesliga runner-up.

Football happening in the South of Germany

"We are very proud to be able to announce this great news so shortly before the start of the current season and would like to thank those responsible at VfB, who are very interested in bringing the highlight of the best European football league to Stuttgart alongside the Champions League in soccer. We are looking forward to working together, and I can promise that the city will experience a great football happening for the whole family in late summer 2025," said Zeljko Karajica, CEO of the European League of Football.

Capable of hosting over 60,000 fans!

More and more fans expected over the years

"We are delighted to be able to host the 2025 ELF Championship Game in our MHP Arena. Stuttgart is an internationally renowned sports city, and American football has had a firm place in our region for many years. Our aim is to expand the MHP Arena's offering even further beyond soccer. We want to create emotional highlights and offer sports enthusiasts highly attractive top events. American football is a dynamic, exciting sport that is gaining more and more fans in Germany," says Rouven Kasper, Chief Marketing & Sales Officer VfB Stuttgart.

In the upcoming 2024 season, 17 teams from nine nations will be competing: Berlin Thunder, Hamburg Sea Devils, Rhein Fire, Frankfurt Galaxy, Cologne Centurions, Stuttgart Surge, Munich Ravens (all Germany), Paris Musketeers (France), Milano Seamen (Italy), Raiders Tirol, Vienna Vikings (both Austria), Panthers Wrocław (Poland), Madrid Bravos, Barcelona Dragons (both Spain), Prague Lions (Czech Republic), Helvetic Mercenaries (Switzerland) and Fehérvár Enthroners (Hungary).

ELF CEO Karajica and Commissioner Patrick Esume are expecting a huge increase in spectator numbers, as almost a third of all games in the regular season take place in large stadiums. The league organizers have set themselves an ambitious target of 750,000 spectators. However, the "Champions League" of European football is also offered to fans worldwide: If you want to watch all matches live (as a single match or a conference), Relive or the highlights as well as exclusive content such as documentaries or reviews of the 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons, you can get the Season Pass for €119.90.