| 2023 ELF season | |
| Duration: | June 3, 2023 – September 24, 2023 |
| Finals: | 2023 Championship Game |
| Finals Date: | September 24, 2023 |
| Finals Venue: | Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena, Duisburg |
| Finals Champ: | Rhein Fire (1st title) |
| Prevseason Year: | 2022 |
| Nextseason Year: | 2024 |
| League: | European League of Football |
| Sport: | American Football |
| No Of Games: | 94 + 5 playoff games |
| No Of Teams: | 17 |
| Attendance: | 428,631 |
| Mvp: | Jadrian Clark (Rhein Fire) |
| Playoffs: | Conference Champions |
| Conf1: | Western Conference |
| Conf1 Champ: | Rhein Fire |
| Conf2: | Central Conference |
| Conf3 Champ: |  Vienna Vikings |
| Conf3: | Eastern Conference |
| Conf2 Champ: | Stuttgart Surge |
| Finals Mvp: | Jadrian Clark (Rhein Fire) |
The 2023 ELF season is the third season of the European League of Football, a professional American football league based in Europe. Seventeen teams from nine different countries will participate[1] [2] and will compete for the title at the Championship Game in the Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena Duisburg, Germany on September 24, 2023.[3]
The teams are divided into three conferences of 5 or 6 teams. Each team plays 12 games during the regular season. The winner of each conference, as well as the next best 3 teams, regardless of conference, qualify for the playoffs.[4]
11 of the 12 teams from the 2022 season are competing in 2023, and are joined by 6 new expansion teams: Fehérvár Enthroners, Helvetic Guards, Milano Seamen, Munich Ravens, Paris Musketeers and Prague Lions. The only team not returning for the new season is the Istanbul Rams.[2]
The Leipzig Kings were removed from the league after week 6. This came after a two week saga, which include the Kings suggesting they will "most likely have to stop competing in the European League of Football"[5] after their loan requested was denied by the league[6] and cancelling the week 6 home match with Prague Lions.[7] The Kings would later announce their withdrawal from the league on July 11, 2023.[8] A day later the ELF announced that the Kings will be taken out of the league for the remainder of the 2023 season and their license to participate in the European League of Football was "withdrawn", but would like to accept the team back for the 2024 season, if a suitable new owners will be found.[9]
Like last season, there is a limit of 4 non-European foreign players per roster, and two on the field at the same time. Players 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. There is also a limit of 6 European foreigners per roster, down from 8 the previous season.[10] Brazilian players do not count towards the import quota.[11] For the 2023 season, the active rosters consist of 53 players, the gameday rosters of 46 players, while the practice squad was increased to 12 players.[12]
| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Notes | Date of vacancy | Incoming coach | Date of appointment | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cologne Centurions | Frank Roser | Resigned | September 7, 2022 |  Kahlil Carter | October 11, 2022 | [13] [14] | ||
| Barcelona Dragons | Andrew Weidinger | Mutual agreement | Signed with Rhein Fire as OC | September 13, 2022 |  Gabriel Sánchez | September 15, 2022 | [15] [16] | |
| Panthers Wrocław |  Jakub Samel | Resigned | Stayed with team as sports director | September 20, 2022 | Dave Christensen | November 18, 2022 | [17] [18] | |
| Leipzig Kings | Fred Armstrong | Fired | September 21, 2022 | John Booker | September 28, 2022 | [19] [20] | ||
| Cologne Centurions | Kahlil Carter | Resigned | March 17, 2023 | Christos Lambropoulos (interim) | March 17, 2023 | [21] | ||
| Prague Lions | Zach Harrod | Resigned | July 27, 2023 | Dan Disch | July 29, 2023 | [22] |
The schedule for the 2023 season was released on January 27, 2023 without any specific times and venues.[23] In Week 10, all teams are on bye due to the 2023 European Championship of American football.
| Date/Time (CEST) | Conf. | Away team | Result | Home team | Venue | Attendance | Free TV | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 3. June | Eastern | Berlin Thunder | 36 – 3 | Féhervár Enthroners | First Field | 1,800 | Network4, More Than Sports TV | [24] | ||
| Central | Helvetic Guards | 17 – 29 | Barcelona Dragons | 1,428 | [25] | |||||
| Western | Paris Musketeers | 24 – 17 | Cologne Centurions | 2,560 | [26] | |||||
| IC | Hamburg Sea Devils | 25 – 34 | Panthers Wrocław | 2,850 | Polsat, ran.de | [27] | ||||
| Sun, 4. June | Western | Frankfurt Galaxy | 9 – 33 | Rhein Fire | 12,665 | ProSieben Maxx | 2.8% (P7 Maxx)[28] | [29] | ||
| Eastern | Leipzig Kings | 18 – 15 | Prague Lions | 1,347 | O2 | [30] | ||||
| Central | Raiders Tirol | 59 – 38 | Munich Ravens | 6,283 | ProSieben Maxx | 2% (P7 Maxx) | [31] | |||
| Bye | Milano Seamen, Stuttgart Surge, Vienna Vikings | |||||||||
| Date/Time (CEST) | Conf. | Away team | Result | Home team | Venue | Attendance | Free TV | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 10. June 17:00/18:00 | Central | Barcelona Dragons | 41 – 33 | Milano Seamen | 1,700 | More Than Sports TV | [32] | |||
| IC | Stuttgart Surge | 29 – 20 | Paris Musketeers | 4,200 | ran.de | [33] | ||||
| Frankfurt Galaxy | 48 – 13 | Féhervár Enthroners | First Field | 1,400 | Network4 | [34] | ||||
| Cologne Centurions | 23 – 14 | Prague Lions | 1,047 | O2 | [35] | |||||
| Sun, 11. June 13:00/16:25 | Eastern | Vienna Vikings | 27 – 24 | Berlin Thunder | 4,814 | ProSieben Maxx | [36] | |||
| Panthers Wrocław | 31 – 6 | Leipzig Kings | 2,148 | Polsat | [37] | |||||
| Central | Raiders Tirol | 22 – 7 | Helvetic Guards | 2,300 | [38] | |||||
| Western | Rhein Fire | 27 – 22 | Hamburg Sea Devils | 32,500 | ProSieben Maxx | [39] | ||||
| Bye | Munich Ravens | |||||||||
| Date/Time (CEST) | Conf. | Away team | Result | Home team | Venue | Attendance | Free TV | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 17. June/ 17:00, 18:00 | Western | Hamburg Sea Devils | 34 – 17 | Cologne Centurions | 2,246 | More Than Sports TV | [40] | |||
| Central | Barcelona Dragons | 13 – 29 | Raiders Tirol | 4,285 | [41] | |||||
| Eastern | Fehérvár Enthroners | 24 – 47 | Leipzig Kings | 1,423 | Network4, ran.de | [42] | ||||
| Prague Lions | 21 – 69 | Vienna Vikings | 6,854 | O2 | [43] | |||||
| Sun, 18. June/ 13:00, 16:25 | Western | Paris Musketeers | 28 – 58 | Rhein Fire | 7,271 | ProSieben Maxx | [44] | |||
| Central | Milano Seamen | 26 – 40 | Stuttgart Surge | 3,112 | ProSieben Maxx | [45] | ||||
| Munich Ravens | 39 – 10 | Helvetic Guards | 2,050 [46] | [47] | ||||||
| Eastern | Panthers Wrocław | 27 – 36 | Berlin Thunder | 4,049 | Polsat | [48] | ||||
| Bye | Frankfurt Galaxy | |||||||||
| Date/Time (CEST) | Conf. | Away team | Result | Home team | Venue | Attendance | Free TV | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 24. June/ 17:00, 18:00, 19:00 | style='background:#B3B7FF' | Western | Paris Musketeers | 13 – 30 | Frankfurt Galaxy | 7,207 | [49] | |||
| style='background:#CBFFBC' | Central | Munich Ravens | 39 – 15 | Barcelona Dragons | 1,128 | ran.de | [50] | |||
| Eastern | Fehérvár Enthroners | 33 – 63 | Panthers Wrocław | 2,350 | Polsat, Network4, More Than Sports TV | [51] | ||||
| Leipzig Kings | 14 – 47 | Vienna Vikings | 3,493 | [52] | ||||||
| Sun, 25. June/ 13:00, 16:25 | Western | Rhein Fire | 42 – 0 | Cologne Centurions | 4,460 | [53] | ||||
| Central | Raiders Tirol | 3 – 6 | Stuttgart Surge | 3,447 | ProSieben Maxx | [54] | ||||
| Helvetic Guards | 0 – 32 | Milano Seamen | 1,000 | [55] | ||||||
| IC | Berlin Thunder | 17 – 37 | Hamburg Sea Devils | 3,872 | ProSieben Maxx | [56] | ||||
| Bye | Prague Lions | |||||||||
| Date/Time (CEST) | Conf. | Away team | Result | Home team | Venue | Attendance | Free TV | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 1. July/ 14:30, 16:00 | Western | Hamburg Sea Devils | 23 – 27 | Paris Musketeers | 3,256[57] | ran.de | ||||
| Cologne Centurions | 22 – 33 | Frankfurt Galaxy | 5,833 | [58] | ||||||
| IC | Helvetic Guards | 0 – 51 | Rhein Fire | 8,113 | [59] | |||||
| Sun, 2. July/ 14:30, 16:25 | Central | Stuttgart Surge | 28 – 9 | Munich Ravens | 5,184 | ProSieben MAXX | [60] | |||
| Milano Seamen | 13 – 38 | Raiders Tirol | 4,180 | [61] | ||||||
| Eastern | Vienna Vikings | 41 – 12 | Fehérvár Enthroners | 1,800 | Network4+ | [62] | ||||
| Berlin Thunder | 39 – 14 | Leipzig Kings | 2,598 | |||||||
| Prague Lions | 23 – 29 | Panthers Wrocław | 2,400 | PolSat Sport | [63] | |||||
| Bye | Barcelona Dragons | |||||||||
| Date/Time (CEST) | Conf. | Away team | Result | Home team | Venue | Attendance | Free TV | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 8. July/ 19:00 | Eastern | Prague Lions | 35 – 0[64] | Leipzig Kings | canceled | |||||
| IC | Frankfurt Galaxy | 40 – 33 | Milano Seamen | 1,500 | ran.de | [65] | ||||
| Sun, 9. July/ 13:00, 16:25 | style='background:#CBFFBC' | Central | Barcelona Dragons | 19 – 22 (2OT) | Helvetic Guards | 1,750 | ||||
| style='background:#FFCBCB' | Eastern | Fehérvár Enthroners | 6 – 60 | Berlin Thunder | 3,978 | Network4 | [66] | |||
| IC | Panthers Wrocław | 10 – 17 | Hamburg Sea Devils | 3,140 | ProSieben Maxx, Polsat Sport | 4.1% (P7 Maxx)[67] | [68] | |||
| Vienna Vikings | 34 – 13 | Raiders Tirol | 4,375 | [69] | ||||||
| Paris Musketeers | 6 – 14 | Stuttgart Surge | 4,001 | [70] | ||||||
| Munich Ravens | 25 – 39 | Rhein Fire | 7,562 | ProSieben Maxx | [71] | |||||
| Bye | Cologne Centurions | |||||||||
| Date/Time (CEST) | Conf. | Away team | Result | Home team | Venue | Attendance | Free TV | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 15. July/ 18:00, 19:00 | Central | Raiders Tirol | 17 – 3 | Barcelona Dragons | 1,158 | |||||
| Eastern | Panthers Wrocław | 21 – 24 | Vienna Vikings | 3,937 | Polsat Sport | |||||
| style='background:#FFFFFF' | IC | Leipzig Kings | 16 – 16 | Cologne Centurions | canceled | |||||
| Sun, 16. July | Western | Hamburg Sea Devils | 14 – 17 | Frankfurt Galaxy | 6,500 | P7 Maxx | [72] | |||
| Rhein Fire | 37 – 25 | Paris Musketeers | 4,500 | [73] | ||||||
| Central | Stuttgart Surge | 13 – 31 | Helvetic Guards | 2,000 | TV24 | [74] | ||||
| Milano Seamen | 37 – 56 | Munich Ravens | 4,028 | P7 Maxx | [75] | |||||
| Eastern | Berlin Thunder | 43 – 6 | Prague Lions | 970 | O2 TV | |||||
| Bye | Fehérvár Enthroners | |||||||||
| Date/Time (CEST) | Conf. | Away team | Result | Home team | Venue | Attendance | Free TV | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 22. July/ 18:00 | Central | Munich Ravens | 24 – 25 | Raiders Tirol | 3,447 | ran.de | ||||
| Eastern | Berlin Thunder | 9 – 16 | Vienna Vikings | 4,325 | ||||||
| Sun, 23. July/ 13:00, 16:25 | Western | Frankfurt Galaxy | 23 – 21 | Paris Musketeers | 4,000 | [76] | ||||
| Cologne Centurions | 3 – 62 | Rhein Fire | 10,056 | ProSieben Maxx | [77] | |||||
| Central | Barcelona Dragons | 14 – 33 | Stuttgart Surge | 4,174 | ProSieben Maxx | [78] | ||||
| Milano Seamen | 24 – 31 | Helvetic Guards | 2,400 | [79] | ||||||
| Eastern | Leipzig Kings | 6 – 31 | Panthers Wrocław | canceled | ||||||
| Prague Lions | 0 – 35[80] | Fehérvár Enthroners | canceled | |||||||
| Bye | Hamburg Sea Devils | |||||||||
| Date/Time (CEST) | Conf. | Away team | Result | Home team | Venue | Attendance | Free TV | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 29. July | Central | Stuttgart Surge | 78 – 27 | Milano Seamen | 1,200 | ran.de | [81] | |||
| Eastern | Panthers Wrocław | 73 – 13 | Prague Lions | Sportovní centrum Hostivař | 370 | O2, Polsat Sport | [82] | |||
| style='background:#FFFFFF' | IC | Paris Musketeers | 37 – 6 | Barcelona Dragons | 1,543 | [83] | ||||
| Sun, 30. July | Western | Cologne Centurions | 14 – 18 | Hamburg Sea Devils | 3,200 | ProSieben MAXX | [84] | |||
| style='background:#CBFFBC' | Central | Helvetic Guards | 6 – 35 | Munich Ravens | 4,345 | TV24 | [85] | |||
| Eastern | Vienna Vikings | 47 – 14 | Leipzig Kings | canceled | ||||||
| style='background:#FFFFFF' | IC | Fehérvár Enthroners | 0 – 46 | Frankfurt Galaxy | 5,113 | ProSieben MAXX, Network4 | [86] | |||
| Bye | Rhein Fire, Raiders Tirol, Berlin Thunder | |||||||||
| Date/Time (CEST) | Conf. | Away team | Result | Home team | Venue | Attendance | Free TV | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 12. August | Western | Frankfurt Galaxy | 22 – 9 | Cologne Centurions | 2,450 | ran.de | [87] | |||
| Central | Helvetic Guards | 14 – 24 | Raiders Tirol | 3,062 | [88] | |||||
| Milano Seamen | 33 – 28 | Barcelona Dragons | 711 | More Than Sports TV | [89] | |||||
| Eastern | Leipzig Kings | 24 – 47 | Fehérvár Enthroners | canceled | ||||||
| Sun, 13. August | Western | Hamburg Sea Devils | 9 – 40 | Rhein Fire | 13,171 | ProSiebenMaxx | [90] | |||
| Central | Munich Ravens | 32 – 30 | Stuttgart Surge | 4,772 | ProSiebenMaxx | [91] | ||||
| Eastern | Prague Lions | 7 – 40 | Berlin Thunder | 3,906 | O2TVSport | [92] | ||||
| Vienna Vikings | 20 – 16 | Panthers Wrocław | 2,850 | Polsat | [93] | |||||
| Bye | Paris Musketeers | |||||||||
| Date/Time (CEST) | Conf. | Away team | Result | Home team | Venue | Attendance | Free TV | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 19. August | Central | Stuttgart Surge | 31 – 22 | Barcelona Dragons | 516 | |||||
| Eastern | Prague Lions | 3 – 19 | Fehérvár Enthroners | 2,000 | O2TV, Network4 | [94] | ||||
| IC | Cologne Centurions | 16 – 16 | Leipzig Kings | canceled | ||||||
| Raiders Tirol | 7 – 13 | Vienna Vikings | 4,452 | [95] | ||||||
| Sun, 20. August | Western | Paris Musketeers | 29 – 19 | Hamburg Sea Devils | 2,783 | ProSiebenMaxx | ||||
| Eastern | Berlin Thunder | 12 – 15 | Panthers Wrocław | 2,300 | Polsat, ran.de | [96] | ||||
| IC | Rhein Fire | 60 – 23 | Munich Ravens | 5,011 | ProSiebenMaxx | |||||
| Milano Seamen | 14 – 53 | Frankfurt Galaxy | 5,269 | |||||||
| Bye | Helvetic Guards | |||||||||
| Date/Time (CEST) | Conf. | Away team | Result | Home team | Venue | Attendance | Free TV | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 26. August | Central | Stuttgart Surge | 38 – 28 | Raiders Tirol | 4,073 | TV24, ran.de | [97] | |||
| Munich Ravens | 50 – 29 | Milano Seamen | 700 | [98] | ||||||
| Eastern | Fehérvár Enthroners | 20 – 21 | Vienna Vikings | 1,200 | Network4, More Than Sports TV | [99] | ||||
| IC | Barcelona Dragons | 9 – 50 | Paris Musketeers | 3,800 | [100] | |||||
| Sun, 27. August | Western | Frankfurt Galaxy | 23 – 13 | Hamburg Sea Devils | 3,486 | ProSiebenMaxx | [101] | |||
| Eastern | Leipzig Kings | 14 – 39 | Berlin Thunder | canceled | ||||||
| IC | Prague Lions | 9 – 37 | Cologne Centurions | 2,150 | O2TVSport | |||||
| Rhein Fire | 43 – 17 | Helvetic Guards | 3,060 | ProSiebenMaxx | [102] | |||||
| Bye | Panthers Wrocław | |||||||||
| Date/Time (CEST) | Conf. | Away team | Result | Home team | Venue | Attendance | Free TV | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 2. September | Western | Cologne Centurions | 12 – 40 | Paris Musketeers | 4,500 | [103] | ||||
| Central | Raiders Tirol | 42 – 27 | Milano Seamen | 500 | ran.de | |||||
| Sun, 3. September | Western | Rhein Fire | 48 – 38 | Frankfurt Galaxy | 10,027 | ProSiebenMaxx | [104] | |||
| Central | Helvetic Guards | 19 – 47 | Stuttgart Surge | 3,900 | TV24 | [105] | ||||
| Barcelona Dragons | 0 – 55 | Munich Ravens | 5,204 | [106] | ||||||
| Eastern | Vienna Vikings | 55 – 9 | Prague Lions | Athletic Stadium Slavia Praha | 250 | O2TVSport | [107] | |||
| Panthers Wrocław | 35 – 6 | Fehérvár Enthroners | 1,800 | Network4, Polsat | [108] | |||||
| IC | Hamburg Sea Devils | 16 – 23 | Berlin Thunder | 6,084 | ProSiebenMaxx | [109] | ||||
| Bye | Leipzig Kings | |||||||||
C - Clinched conference title
Q - Clinched playoffs
In case ties inside and between the conferences have to be broken, the rules are:
The wildcard games were played on September 09 and 10, the semifinals on September 16 and 17, and the final was held on September 24, 2023 in Duisburg, Germany.
| Category | Player | Position | Team | GP | Stat | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing | ||||||
| Yards | Jadrian Clark | QB | 11 | 3387 | ||
| Touchdowns | Jadrian Clark | QB | 11 | 50 | ||
| Completions | Luke Zahradka | QB | 11 | 278 | ||
| Completion percentage | Chad Jeffries | QB | 11 | 69.0% | ||
| Rushing | ||||||
| Yards | Dawid Brzozowski | RB | 10 | 961 | ||
| Touchdowns | Tomiwa Oyewo | RB | 11 | 12 | ||
| Yards per attempt | Glen Toonga  | RB | 7 | 7.3 | ||
| Receiving | ||||||
| Yards | Markell Castle | WR | 11 | 1451 | ||
| Touchdowns | Tony Tate | WR | 10 | 16 | ||
| Receptions | Markell Castle | WR | 11 | 83 | ||
| Yards per reception | Tony Tate | WR | 10 | 22.9 | ||
| Defensive | ||||||
| Sacks | Kyle Kitchens | DE | 10 | 13 | ||
| Tackles | Luke Glenna | S | 11 | 125 | ||
| Interceptions | Macéo Beard  | LB | 11 | 8 | ||
| Kicking | ||||||
| FG Pct | Nils Jonkmans  | K | 11 | 85.7 | ||
| PAT Pct | Jakub Ałdaś | K | 10 | 89.7 | ||
| Week | Player | Position | Team | Stat | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jarvis McClam | 435 all-purpose yards, 3 TD | 1 | |||
| 2 | Conor Miller | 394 passing yards, 4 TD, 0 INT | 2 | |||
| 3 | Jadrian Clark | 513 passing yards, 8 TD, 0 INT | 3 | |||
| 4 | Malik Stanley | 116 receiving yards, 4 TD | 4 | |||
| 5 | Slade Jarman | 382 passing yards, 5 TD | ||||
| 6 | Nico Strahmann | 175 receiving yards, 4 TD | 6 | |||
| 7 | Aaron Jackson | 392 all-purpose yards, 4 total TD | 7 | |||
| 8 | Ken Hike Jr. | 194 all-purpose yards, 1 KR TD, 1 FR TD, 7 tackles | 8 | |||
| 9 | Kenyatte Allen | 551 total yards, 4 rush TD, 4 pass TD, 0 INT | 9 | |||
| 11 | Macéo Beard | 2 INT, 1 TD, 3 tackles | 11 | |||
| 12 | Jadrian Clark | 285 passing yards, 7 TD, 1 INT | 12 | |||
| 13 | Zach Edwards | 404 total yards, 5 pass TD, 0 INT | 13 |
https://europeanleague.football/news/elf-all-stars-announced-for-2023-1506
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 the UFL team following their involvement with the ELF in 2023:
The following players were invited to the NFL’s International Combine:
The following players signed with a CFL team:
The following players were drafted bya CFL team:
| Player | Position | ELF team | CFL team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LB | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | |||
| DB | Winnipeg Blue Bombers |
Selected games are available on free TV in most of the participating countries. For the Austrian and German market, the league's main broadcasting partner is ProSiebenSat.1 Media. In Germany ProSieben MAXX and their online-streaming service ran.de airs games on Saturday and Sunday. All games are also available worldwide on ELF Gamepass.
| Region(s) | Broadcaster(s) | |
|---|---|---|
| International | ELF Gamepass | |
 Germany AustriaSwitzerland | ProSieben Maxx ranSport More Than Sports TV | |
 Hungary | Arena4[111] | |
| Poland | Polsat Sport[112] | |
 Czech Republic Slovakia | O2 TV Sport | |
| Switzerland | TV24[113] | |
| China | iQIYI[114] |
