NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Originally founded in 1989 as the World League of American Football (or WLAF), the league was envisioned as a

transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film) ...

league encompassing teams from both

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Initially, the WLAF consisted of seven teams in North America and three in Europe. It began play in 1991 and lasted for two seasons before suspending operations; while the league had been "wildly popular" in Europe, it failed to achieve success in North America. After a two-year hiatus, it returned as a six-team European league, with teams based in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. NFL Europa was dissolved in 2007 due to its continued unprofitability and the NFL's decision to shift its focus towards hosting regular-season games in Europe; at the time of its closure, the league consisted of five German teams and one team based in the Netherlands. The league operated under rules nearly identical to the NFL, but featured some differences and experimental rules changes designed to appeal to fans of

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

(soccer) and

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league. Rugby football started at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, where the rules were first codified in 1845. Forms of football in which the ball ...

. NFL teams were incentivized to allocate players through the granting of additional

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

positions for each allocated player, and each team in NFL Europe was required to employ a number of "local" players. Most of the league's players were American, with "local" players tending to be converted rugby or soccer players playing at the punter or

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

positions. Several NFL Europe alumni – including quarterbacks Brad Johnson,

Kurt Warner Kurtis Eugene Warner (born June 22, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, whi ...

, and

Jake Delhomme Jake Christopher Delhomme (; born January 10, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). Delhomme played college football at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, ...

– went on to have successful careers in the NFL, and three NFL Europe alumni (

Adam Vinatieri Adam Matthew Vinatieri (born December 28, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker for 24 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Vinatieri is the ...

Dante Hall Damieon Dante Hall (born September 20, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is nicknamed "the Human Joystick" and "the ...

, and

Dan Sileo Daniel William Sileo (born January 3, 1964) is an American former football player and current sports radio host. He played college football at Maryland before transferring to Miami (FL). He was drafted in the third round of the 1987 NFL supple ...

Brian Moorman Brian Donald Moorman (born February 5, 1976) is an American former professional football player who was a punter in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Pittsburg State Gorillas, and was signed by the Seattle ...

) made the

National Football League 2000s All-Decade Team The NFL 2000s All-Decade Team is composed of outstanding performers in the National Football League in the ten years spanning 2000–2009. Only a player or coach's performance in the 2000s is used as criteria for voting. The full team was ann ...

. The league's schedule went through several formats throughout its existence, but each season always culminated in the championship

World Bowl The World Bowl was the annual American football championship game of the World League of American Football, later called NFL Europe. The World Bowl was played each year from 1991 to 2007 (except 1993 and 1994). The first World Bowl was played ...

game. In its initial run, each team played a ten-game schedule, and the winners of each of the three divisions (Europe, North America East, and North America West), along with the team with the best record that didn't win a division, would play in a four-team

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. Following its revival as a six-team European league, the ten-game schedule was retained as

double round-robin A round-robin tournament or all-play-all tournament is a competition format in which each contestant meets every other participant, usually in turn.''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (1971, G. & ...

regular season. From 1995 to 1997, the World Bowl was played between the team with the best record in the first half of the season and the team with the best record in the second half of the season; from 1998 on, the two teams with the best records across the entire season played in the World Bowl. The Frankfurt Galaxy – the only team to play all 15 seasons of the league's existence – won the most World Bowl titles (four) and recorded the most World Bowl appearances (eight), while the final league title was won by the Hamburg Sea Devils.

History

Founding and origins

In 1974, the

(NFL) announced plans to launch a professional

league in

, the

Intercontinental Football League The Intercontinental Football League (IFL) was a proposed professional American football league in Europe in the early 1970s. The league was spearheaded by Bob Kap, Tex Schramm, and Al Davis, but failed to materialize. The IFL and European leagues ...

(IFL). Aiming for a launch in the spring of 1975, the IFL would feature six teams (located in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, and

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, respectively) and would be a satellite league of the NFL, with initial funds made by the NFL owners and the rosters consisting of "second-line athletes and rookies from established NFL teams". The brainchild of

Bob Kap Bob Kap (June 10, 1923 – March 14, 2010), also known as Robert Kapoustin and Božidar or Bojidar Nikolaiovich Kapušto, was a Yugoslav-Canadian association football (soccer) and American football coach who was a pioneer in introducing "socc ...

, the proposed league had already sold six franchises and had secured the rights to loan players from the NFL. The league had also pre-selected four more cities for expansion teams, and

Al Davis Allen R. Davis (July 4, 1929 – October 8, 2011) was an American professional football executive and coach. He was the managing general partner, principal owner and ''de facto'' general manager of the National Football League (NFL) Oakland Rai ...

and

Tex Schramm Texas Earnest Schramm Jr. (June 2, 1920 – July 15, 2003) was an American professional football executive who was the original president and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys franchise of the National Football League (NFL). Schramm, usually r ...

were assigned to head the committee that would put the league together. The IFL did not materialize – the

Pro Football Researchers Association The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional American football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by w ...

attributed this failure to Europe not being ready for American football, potential competition with the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 in sports, 1974 and most of its second in 1975 in sports, 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a w ...

(WFL), a players' strike during the summer of 1974, and the

recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction that occurs when there is a period of broad decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be tr ...

. Another factor was the turmoil in Europe in 1974:

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

had

invaded An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives of co ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, the American ambassador to Cyprus had been assassinated,

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

separatists had assassinated the

prime minister of Spain The prime minister of Spain, officially president of the Government (), is the head of government of Spain. The prime minister nominates the Spanish government departments, ministers and chairs the Council of Ministers (Spain), Council of Mini ...

, and terrorist groups like the

Red Brigades The Red Brigades ( , often abbreviated BR) were an Italian far-left Marxist–Leninist militant group. It was responsible for numerous violent incidents during Italy's Years of Lead, including the kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro in 1978, ...

had engaged in kidnapping. The

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

discouraged NFL Commissioner

Pete Rozelle Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle (; March 1, 1926 – December 6, 1996) was an American professional football executive. Rozelle served as the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) for nearly thirty years, from January 1960 until his retire ...

from pursuing the league, and the IFL also suffered a potentially fatal blow when

Pan American World Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...

, who Kap had brought on as a sponsor, pulled out of the project. Ultimately, Rozelle deemed the creation of the league "impractical". By 1980, the popularity of American football was increasing in Europe without any push by the NFL. The NFL capitalized on this newfound interest by holding

American Bowl The American Bowl was a series of National Football League pre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States between 1986 and 2005. The league started the ''American Bowl'' series in 1986 primarily to promote America ...

games ( pre-season exhibition contests held overseas), and the popularity of these games, particularly in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, led to a renewed interest from Rozelle in creating an American football league in Europe. In 1989, the NFL announced plans to create an international spring football league. The NFL initially wanted the new league to be known as the International Football League, but it had to change the name after discovering that the name was already owned by

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

and Charley Finley, who were allegedly in the process of forming their own league (which would never come to fruition). The name World League of American Football (WLAF) was eventually settled on; this name was chosen to avoid associating it with the dissolved World Football League, and the term "American football" was included in the league's name because "football" in Europe typically refers to

, known in the United States as soccer. The NFL and WLAF attempted to downplay its status as a minor league and refused to acknowledge the WLAF as a farm league of the NFL. The NFL approved the creation of the WLAF in July 1989, with Schramm to head up the project and the league expected to begin play in 1990 or 1991. The league was expected to have 12 teams (six in the United States, four in Europe, one in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and one in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

), and it secured a two-year television deal with

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

and a four-year television deal with

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

to air regular and post-season games. Schramm was fired as league president in October 1990 due to differences between him and the NFL as to the direction the WLAF would take; Schramm had wanted the WLAF to be an "independent, major international league which would be strong enough to stand on its own feet", while the NFL had wanted the WLAF to be a small league with close ties to the NFL. On November 14, 1990, the WLAF announced it would begin play in 1991 with ten teams (six of them in the United States, three of them in Europe, and one in Canada) split into three divisions (North America West, North America East, and Europe). A 50-game schedule stretching from March 23, 1991, to May 27, 1991, was agreed upon, and a draft was held from February 14, 1991, to February 24, 1991. Unlike the NFL draft, the World League draft was a position-by-position draft – potential draftees were divided into ten position groups, meaning each of the ten teams would have the number-one pick at a position group. All players were to receive a base salary of $20,000, but players could receive more money by meeting performance-based incentives with a maximum total salary of $100,000. Each NFL team could allocate up to four players to the WLAF, although only two, the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

and

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

opted to do so.

WLAF/World League (1991–92)

The World League of American Football, described by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' as the "first trans-Atlantic major sports league", began play on March 23, 1991, with three games held in

Frankfurt, Germany Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the foreland of the Taunus on its namesake Main, it forms a contin ...

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, and

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, respectively. After the conclusion of the regular season, the WLAF playoffs were held, featuring the three division champions (

London Monarchs The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league, the World League of American Football (WLAF). The Monarchs played their final season in 1998 as the England Monarchs. In 1999, they were re ...

, New York/New Jersey Knights, and

Birmingham Fire The Birmingham Fire were a professional American football team based in Birmingham, Alabama. They were a member of the North American West division of the World League of American Football (WLAF) and played their home games at Legion Field. The c ...

) and one wild-card team (

Barcelona Dragons Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Barcelona Dragons: * Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe) The Barcelona Dragons were an American football team that was a part of the World League of American Football and later in the res ...

). London and Barcelona won their playoff games to meet in

World Bowl '91 World Bowl '91 (also referred to as World Bowl I) was the first annual World Bowl, the championship game of the World League of American Football. It took place on June 9, 1991 at London's Wembley Stadium. The game featured a matchup between the ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

, which London won 21–0. Following its first season, the World League of American Football was at risk of folding. It suffered a loss of nearly $7 million, and none of its teams made a profit. In addition to the monetary loss for the league, television ratings on ABC and USA network were poor. According to

Dan Rooney Daniel Milton Rooney (July 20, 1932 – April 13, 2017) was an American professional American football, football executive and diplomat best known for his association with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL), and son of ...

, the NFL chairman of the World League, cost estimates were accurate, but the league overestimated the amount of revenue the WLAF would make. The league's television contracts were also at risk due to poor ratings, with USA Network having lost money. The WLAF averaged around 26,000 fans a game in its first season; the European teams had a higher attendance than the North American teams, bolstering the average. Ultimately, the NFL decided to bring the league back for a second season in 1992. The league name was shortened to World League by league officials, who felt the surprising success of the league in Europe made the "American football" part unnecessary, and the

Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Anchored by the cities of Raleigh and Durham and the town of Chapel Hill, the region ...

folded, replaced by the

Ohio Glory The Ohio Glory were a professional American football team in the World League of American Football, playing only in the 1992 season. Columbus, Ohio, was awarded the WLAF franchise after the Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks posted an 0-10 season. Ohio di ...

NFL Europe/Europa (1995–2007)

Although the league was "wildly popular" in Europe, with attendance averaging 45,000 for the London Monarchs, it was "ignored" in the United States. The World League suspended play for the 1993 and 1994 season before returning in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

as a six-team, exclusively European league. All three of the original European teams returned, along with the Birmingham Fire, who were rebooted as the

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

-based

Rhein Fire Rhein Fire may refer to either of two American football franchises: * Rhein Fire (NFL Europe) The Rhein Fire were a professional football team in the NFL Europe, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Düsseldorf, Germany ...

, and two additional new teams (the

Amsterdam Admirals The Amsterdam Admirals were a professional American football team based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, playing in the NFL Europe. History The Admirals were formed in 1995 as part of the NFL's plan to restart the World League of American Football, t ...

and

Scottish Claymores The Scottish Claymores, were an American football team based in Scotland. The franchise played in the World League of American Football (later renamed NFL Europe) between 1995 and 2004, initially playing all home games at Murrayfield Stadium, ...

). Each team was required to have seven "local" players on their 40-man roster.

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

became a co-owner of the WLAF and a major financial contributor in return for broadcasting rights. The league was renamed the NFL Europe League (NFLEL) in 1998, and the London Monarchs were renamed the England Monarchs in an attempt to spur attendance, which had fallen below 10,000 per game. The Monarchs would fold the following season and were replaced by the

Berlin Thunder The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe. History The Thunder came into existence as an expansion team, after the London/England Monarchs franchise shut down operations, prior to the 1999 season. Home games f ...

. NFL Europe commemorated its 10th season in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, but still remained far from being profitable. The league announced a three-year with the soccer club

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

to jointly promote American football in Europe and soccer in the United States; the Barcelona Dragons franchise was renamed FC Barcelona Dragons. The collaboration with FC Barcelona would prove to be unsuccessful, however, and the Barcelona Dragons would fold after the 2003 season due to declining attendance. The team's attendance had fallen to under 7,000 per game, a 50% decline since the 1997 season, when the team had won the

. The Dragons were replaced by the Cologne Centurions in 2004, and the following year the Scottish Claymores folded; although the team boasted the largest following of any Scottish sports team outside the

Old Firm The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...

, averaging 10,799 per game, the league had determined an additional German team could bring in 30,000 per game. The Claymores were replaced the following year by the Hamburg Sea Devils, which left the Amsterdam Admirals as the only team in the league not to be based in Germany. This was part of a strategic pivot to Germany, which had been the most receptive country to the league and the sport in general. Accordingly, the league changed its name to NFL Europa in 2006, ahead of the league's 15th season, to reflect the league's focus on Germany and the Netherlands.

Closure and legacy

On July 29, 2007, less than a week after

World Bowl XV World Bowl XV, officially known as Yello Strom World Bowl XV, was NFL Europa's 2007 championship game, and the final game in the league's history. It was played at Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt, Germany on Saturday, June 23, 2007. The defendin ...

, the NFL announced the closure of NFL Europa. The league had been losing a reported US$30 million a year, and the NFL had decided to shift their strategy in marketing football abroad towards holding NFL regular-season games outside the United States. The NFL owners who funded the league were reportedly dissatisfied with NFL Europa's lack of revenue as well as its decreasing success in player development. The league had nearly folded in 2003, when eight of the 32 NFL owners voted against funding it, one short of the nine votes needed to end the league, and its gradual progression into a German-dominated league had run counter to the NFL's goals of selling merchandise throughout the European continent. The league's inability to garner a live television contract with local media markets also played a role in its demise, as the potential revenue from a deal could have helped the league financially. Andrei S. Markovits and Lars Rensmann described the league as an "abysmal failure", noting its poor quality of play, frequent name changes, and franchise relocations as well as the accessibility of regular NFL games in Europe as reasons for its collapse. Len Pasquarelli of

ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including ...

noted that the league had strayed from its original goal, with the allocation system of players gradually being abused to amass training camp exemptions rather than to develop players.

John Mara John Kevin Mara ( ; born December 1, 1954) is an American businessman who is the president, CEO, and co-owner of the New York Giants. Early life and education Mara was born in New York City and grew up in White Plains, a nearby suburb. He is ...

, the co-owner of the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

, said that the league "had some useful purpose in developing players" and that it helped the NFL determine that there was an interest in American football in Europe. Looking back on NFL Europe in 2017, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com noted its strong record in developing

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

champion and two-time

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

), Brad Johnson (who won a Super Bowl in 2002 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers),

(who led the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

to an NFC championship in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

), and journeyman quarterback

Jon Kitna Jon Kelly Kitna (born September 21, 1972) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and Dallas Cowboys. He played colleg ...

all spent time in NFL Europe. Two NFL Europe alumni (kicker

and return specialist

) were included on the NFL's 2000s All-Decade Team. The league also provided an opportunity for the NFL to experiment with rules and to develop

officials An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of the ...

and coaches. Some NFL coaches and executives have suggested reviving the concept of a developmental league, and several independent leagues have been created to fill the need, but with little success. At a press conference before

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 NFL season, 2016 season. The American Football Confe ...

, league commissioner

Roger Goodell Roger Stokoe Goodell (born February 19, 1959) is an American businessman who has served as the National Football League Commissioner, commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) since 2006. Goodell began his NFL career in 1982 as an admi ...

said the NFL had been "actively considering" creating a new developmental league. Since the closure of NFL Europa, the NFL has held regular-season games annually in London and has also hosted regular-season games in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

and

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. The league is pursuing the goal of a franchise in London, as well as potential regular-season games in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. In 2021, the NFL announced it was looking for partners to host a regular-season game in Germany. In 2022, the league announced four regular-season games would be held in Germany, the first set for November 13, 2022 between the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

and

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

to be played at

Allianz Arena Allianz Arena (; known as Munich Football Arena for UEFA competitions) is a Association football, football stadium in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, with a 70,000 seating capacity for international matches and 75,000 for domestic matches. Widely kno ...

. NFL.com writer Judy Battista noted Germany was the "fastest-growing international community" for the league, and attributed this in part to the popularity of the former NFL Europe's German teams, but argued the large number of expats as well as the American military presence were greater factors. In 2007, fans and former members of the Frankfurt Galaxy – the most successful of NFL Europe's teams on the field and in crowd attendance – created the

Frankfurt Universe The Frankfurt Universe, which is part of AFC Universe Frankfurt, are a German American football team from Frankfurt, Hesse. The club, formed in 2007, won promotion to the German Football League 2, the second tier of league football in Germany, ...

. The new team was promoted to the

German Football League 2 The German Football League 2 (GFL2) is the second tier of American football in Germany, below the German Football League. Until 2007, the league was known as the ''2. Bundesliga''. League structure The ''GFL2'', formerly the ''2. Bundesliga'', wh ...

in 2011, and won promotion to the

German Football League The German Football League (GFL) is a professional American football league in Germany. The league was formed in 1979. In 1999, the league changed to its current name from American-Football-Bundesliga.

(GFL) in 2015. The

European League of Football The European League of Football (ELF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football sports league, league based in Europe, continuing some team names and logos of the former NFL Europe. The ELF played its first season in 2 ...

(ELF), a pan-European league that began play in 2021, signed an agreement with the NFL allowing them to utilize the branding of the former teams of NFL Europe. The ELF's

, Cologne Centurions, Hamburg Sea Devils, Frankfurt Galaxy, and

all share the names and imagery of their NFL Europe predecessors.

Season structure and development

This chart demonstrates the league's table for the 2007 season. From 1998 to 2007, each team played ten games (a home and away game against every other team in the league), and the top two teams at the end of the season (highlighted in green) qualified for the championship game, the

. The Hamburg Sea Devils won the game 37–28, securing the league's championship.

From 1991 to 1992, the ten-team WLAF was split into three divisions: North America East, North America West, and Europe with a ten-game regular season schedule. All three division champions, in addition to the team with the best record who didn't win its division, made the playoffs. The winners of the two playoff games played for the league championship in the

. The ten game schedule was retained upon the league's return in 1995, but was modified with the new six-team format. Each team played every other team twice in a double round-robin regular season. Following the regular season, two teams would be selected for the World Bowl; the team that led the league's standings after week five would host the game, and the team with the best overall record at the end of the season would be their opponent. This format was criticized for making the second half of the league's season less competitive, and beginning with the 1998 season it was changed to have the two teams with the best overall records play in the World Bowl instead. The league played under standard NFL rules, with several exceptions. In an effort to appeal to fans of rugby and soccer, the league instituted rules to speed up the pace of the game and awarded four points for

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

s made from beyond 50 yards as opposed to the typical three points. Rule changes instituted upon the league's revival in 1995 included the creation of the defensive two-point conversion, referred to by the league as the "deuce", as well as only requiring receivers to have one foot in bounds on a completed pass. The regular-season

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

period consisted of a single 10-minute quarter where both teams were required to have control of the ball at least once, and the

play clock A play clock, also called a delay-of-game timer, is a countdown clock intended to speed up the pace of the game in gridiron football. The offensive team must put the ball in play by either snapping the ball during a scrimmage down or kicking ...

was set to 35 seconds. Starting with the 1997 season, the league required the receiver to have two feet in bounds for a completed pass. Ties were possible in the league, with two (a 1992 game between the London Monarchs and Birmingham Fire and a 2006 game between the Berlin Thunder and Hamburg Sea Devils) occurring in league history. NFL teams were allowed to allocate players to NFL Europe. In exchange for doing this, they were awarded with exemptions for training camp, allowing them to bring more players than would otherwise be allowed. A certain number of players on each team of NFL Europe were required to be "local players", and at least two local players were required to be on the field at all times during games. Despite this, most of the league's most prominent players were Americans; "local players" were often converted rugby or soccer players playing as punters or

Teams

World League of American Football/World League (1991–92)

World League/NFL Europe League/NFL Europa (1995–2007)

Timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1991 till:2008 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom PlotArea = right:100 left:5 bottom:70 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<# Colors = id:line value:pink id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) legend:Final_league_member id:Former value:rgb(0.4,0.80,0.67) legend:Former_league_member PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:Full from:1991 till:1993 text:Frankfurt Galaxy (1991–92, 1995–2007) bar:1 color:Full from:1995 till:end bar:2 color:Former from:1991 till:1993 text:Birmingham Fire (1991–92) bar:2 color:Full from:1995 till:end text:Rhein Fire (1995–2007) bar:3 color:Former from:1991 till:1993 text:Barcelona Dragons (1991–92, 1995–2001, 2003) bar:3 color:Former from:1995 till:2002 bar:3 color:Former from:2002 till:2003 text:FC Barcelona Dragons (2002) bar:3 color:Former from:2003 till:2004 bar:4 color:Former from:1991 till:1993 text:London Monarchs (1991–92, 1995–97) bar:4 color:Former from:1995 till:1998 bar:4 color:Former from:1998 till:1999 text:England Monarchs (1998) bar:5 color:Former from:1991 till:1993 text:Montreal Machine (1991–92) bar:6 color:Former from:1991 till:1993 text:New York/New Jersey Knights (1991–92) bar:7 color:Former from:1991 till:1993 text:Orlando Thunder (1991–92) bar:8 color:Former from:1991 till:1993 text:Sacramento Surge (1991–92) bar:9 color:Former from:1991 till:1993 text:San Antonio Riders (1991–92) bar:10 color:Former from:1991 till:1992 text:Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks (1991) bar:11 color:Former from:1992 till:1993 text:Ohio Glory (1992) bar:12 color:Full from:1995 till:end text:Amsterdam Admirals (1995–2007) bar:13 color:Former from:1995 till:2005 text:Scottish Claymores (1995–2004) bar:14 color:Full from:1999 till:end text:Berlin Thunder (1999–2007) bar:15 color:Full from:2004 till:end text:Cologne Centurions (2004–07) bar:16 color:Full from:2005 till:end text:Hamburg Sea Devils (2005–07) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1992 TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center) text:

Trophy and awards

NFL Europe presented several awards and honors. The World Bowl trophy, awarded to the winners of the annual World Bowl game, was a 40-pound glass globe. The winning team also received championship rings Other awards included regular season

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

awards on offense and defense, a

coach of the year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

award, and an award for the World Bowl MVP. The league also awarded offensive, defensive, special teams, and national players of the week, and named an all-league team at the end of the season.

Award winners

Television coverage

1991–92

In the United States, television coverage was provided by the ABC and USA Network. The reported cost of the

contracts A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

varied. According to the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', ABC committed to $28 million over two years, and USA Network committed to $25 million for the same length of time with an additional two-year option. Ratings were characterized as "poor" in the inaugural season, with ABC averaging a 2.1

rating A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of a metric (e.g. quality, quantity, a combination of both,...). Rating or rating system may also refer to: Business and economics * Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness ...

and USA Network averaging a 1.2 rating. Television ratings in the United States were "dismal" during the league's second season, with ABC averaging a 1.7 rating and USA Network averaging a 1.1 rating. As a result, ABC's payment was reduced to $3 million while USA saw theirs lowered to $10 million. According to ''The New York Times'', USA Network was "not happy" with this arrangement and did not heavily promote the league as a result. International teams aired on different domestic networks. Montreal Machine games were aired in English on TSN and in French on RDS. Coverage in

was mostly on

satellite television Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location.ITU Radio Regulations, Section IV. Radio Stations and Systems ...

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia, owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its WBD Sports unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

showed games on delay and Super Channel aired the 1991 World Bowl. In the United Kingdom, Channel 4 showed half-hour highlights of Monarchs games on Saturday mornings. Larry Eichel of ''

the Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'' wrote that "The only way a Monarchs fan could watch the team's first-round playoff game from the Meadowlands was to go to Wembley to see it on

closed circuit Closed circuit can refer to: *Closed-circuit television *Closed-circuit radio *Closed circuit breathing apparatus, commonly known as rebreathers for portable units, and as component parts of life-support systems for more complex equipment. * ''Clo ...

1995–2007

The revived league's United Kingdom television coverage was mainly on

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...

, with additional coverage also on Channel 4, STV, and Carlton. Eight European continental broadcasters also showed games, including

's Vox and DSF. Although the league no longer had any U.S. teams, it was covered on American television until its closure. Fox became a co-owner of the league in exchange for broadcasting rights, and following the relaunch all regular season games were broadcast on the FX network. Fox ended its joint ownership with the league in 2000, but continued to air some games as a television partner. In 2004,

NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League NTP and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and N ...

began airing select NFL Europe games. This was expanded to cover all NFL Europe games – including the World Bowl – in 2006.

Records

Champions and runners-up

Win–loss records

References

External links

Historical site index for WLAF and NFL Europe/Europa

MacGille's World League of American Football website
{{ESPN on ABC American football leagues in Europe Defunct American football leagues Sports leagues established in 1991 Sports leagues disestablished in 2007

World League Of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

American Broadcasting Company original programming Fox Sports original programming FX Networks original programming NFL Network original programming 1991 establishments in Europe 2007 disestablishments in Europe 1991 establishments in Canada 1993 disestablishments in Canada 1991 establishments in the United States 1993 disestablishments in the United States