Three Leagues Vying for American Football in Europe

The popularity of NFL football has grown throughout Europe the past few years.  The National Football League (NFL) has played regular season games in various European cities expanding its exposure.  With the increased visibility of the sport, there have been efforts to establish professional leagues.  First there was the European League of Football.  Now two other leagues have entered the competition for European fans.

At the end of the 2025 season, eleven teams (Berlin Thunder, Rhein Fire, Nordic Storm, Frankfurt Galaxy, Paris Musketeers, Stuttgart Surge, Madrid Bravos, Raiders Tirol, Panthers Wroclaw, Prague Lions and Vienna Vikings) left the ELF and established a new league called the European Football Alliance (EFA).  The ELF later announced that they had eleven teams "under valid contract" for the 2026 season and were in "intensive discussions" with multiple prospective partners and "remains committed to open dialogue with all current franchises, with the clear goal of building a shared foundation for the further development of the league and of American football across Europe".

On November 26, 2025, the ELF and EFA announced that the two competitions would be reunifying with a number of administrative and commercial changes ahead of the 2026 season. However, on January 15, 2026, EFA terminated the cooperation agreement due to ELF missing financial stability and transparency.  EFA will go forward with their initial plan to establish an independent league. In parallel, four teams split from the EFL to the newly created American Football League Europe.

In February 2026, the ELF announced that they were entering preliminary self-administration proceedings under German insolvency law. According to the ELF’s statement, this comes as a result of anticipated investor funding not materializing. All operations, including games, continue during this process.

European League of Football (ELF)

The ELF began play in the spring of 2021 with eight and grew to 17 in 2023.  They completed last season with 16 teams.  Unfortunately financial woes and alleged lack of transparency has weakened the league resulting in teams leaving for other leagues.

The ELF has tried to repair some of the damage and plans to move forward with five teams this season with Raiders Tirol, Frankfurt Galaxy, Prague Lions, Paris Musketeers and Madrid Bravos confirmed to compete in the upcoming campaign however, latest reports were that the league was headed for bankruptcy.

European Football Alliance (EFA)

It is unclear which teams will play with the on and off negotiations between the ELF and EFA.  There had been talks of unifying the two leagues but it appears that the EFA has terminated those negotiations and plans to go ahead with teams they have snatched from the ELF as well as other proposed franchises for 2027.  At this time, the EFA plans to start with the Frankfurt Galaxy, Madrid Bravos, Munich Ravens, Nordic Storm and Paris Musketeers.  The EFA plans to add London and Milano in 2027.

American Football League Europe (AFLE)

But wait, there is more.  As of January 1, 2026, the league has confirmed five teams: in addition to Rhein Fire, Berlin Thunder, Panthers Wroclaw and Vienna Vikings from the ELF. Newly founded teams have also been added, namely the Alpine Rams, the Paris Lights, and a team based in Italy. The league has further announced additional teams from Great Britain and Monaco.

It is unclear which leagues will actually take the field this spring or who will survive. The concern is that the leagues may hinder the progress of American football in Europe. In the end, they will need to join together to form a solid league.