| Sport | American football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 |
| Country(ies) | Croatia, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia |
| Most recent champion(s) | Vukovi Belgrade |
| Official website | european-league.com |
The Central European Football League (CEFL) is a regional American football league which, in season 2012, includes teams from Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia. Initially, the league was named Southeastern European League of American Football (SELAF), and featured teams from just Serbia and Slovenia, to be joined by the teams from Austria, Croatia, Slovakia and Turkey in the following seasons.
Since the 2010 season, the league is played during the spring and summer months. This is in contrast to the first four seasons, when the schedule was played out from spring to fall, with a summer break. The league completed its first season in October 2006. Current champions are Vukovi Belgrade, after beating Budapest Wolves in CEFL Bowl VI, played in Budapest on July 23rd, 2011.
Contents |
The season featured a total of five teams, four from Serbia and one from Slovenia. Those were Novi Sad Dukes, Sirmium Legionaries, Vukovi Belgrade, Kragujevac Wild Boars and Ljubljana Silverhawks.
The first ever league champions were the Wild Boars who beat the Vukovi 23-12 in SELAF Bowl, played in Belgrade on October 8th, 2006.
The second season was already a season of expansion for the league with the two new teams, a top Hungarian team, Budapest Wolves, and CNC Gladiators, then of Austrian Division I, and the Legionaries not returning. Teams were for the first time split in two conferences: North and South. North Conference consisted of Gladiators, Silverhawks and Wolves; South Conference consisted of three Serbian teams: Dukes, Vukovi and Wild Boars.
The bowl game was played in Belgrade on October 27th, 2007, with the title won by Vukovi, after beating the Wolves 28-27 in dramatic fashion.
That season was also the first in which the league made it to television: the semifinal and the bowl game were televised on Serbian nationally covered TV Avala.
Third season featured three new teams Bratislava Monarchs, Budapest Cowboys and Zagreb Thunder while the Wild Boars did not return. The Cowboys and Thunder joined the South Conference, also filling the vacant spot made with the departure of the Wild Boars, while the Monarchs were placed in North Conference.
In the newly named CEFL bowl, Gladiators beat the Vukovi 14-8 in Vienna on October 25th, 2008.
In the 2009 season Austrian Cineplexx Blue Devils replaced the non-returning Bratislava Monarchs. They joined a newly formed conference with the Thunder, Vukovi and Wolves. The other conference consisted of 2008 champions, the Gladiators, along with the Cowboys, Dukes and Silverhawks.
The bowl game was again played in Belgrade on October 24th, 2009, with the Vukovi reclaiming the title after beating the Blue Devils 39-20.
The season was also a considerable milestone for the league, as multiple league games have been televised on a trans-European channel Sport Klub.
The league changed format again in 2010, with the Istanbul Cavaliers joining the league and the Cowboys, Gladiators and Thunder not returning. Cavaliers were scheduled to play the Blue Devils in the newly formed wild card cup, with the winner taking the final playoff spot.
The bowl game was played in Ivančna Gorica, Slovenia on July 18th, 2010, where the Vukovi beat the Silverhawks 42-20 to become the league champions once again.
In the 2011 season the league saw the departure of Blue Devils and Dukes, leaving four teams, all national champions in their respective countries, in competition.
The title was again claimed by Vukovi Belgrade who beat the Budapest Wolves 34-33 in yet another dramatic bowl game between these two teams, played in Budapest on July 23rd, 2011.
Zagreb Patriots join the league.