The Valencia Firebats are a gridiron team based in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wi ...

(

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

History

The team was established in April, 1993, as Valencia Bats, joining the defunct ''American Football League (AFL)'' for the 1994 season. The following season a new national league is created in Spain, divided in two divisions, First and Second. Valencia Bats are invited to compete in the First Division, where they have been playing ever since. In the 2002 season, the team makes his first appearance in the

EFAF Cup The EFAF Cup was an international competition for European American Football clubs. It was the second highest level of club competition in the European Federation of American Football (EFAF), behind the European Football League (EFL),. EFAF Cup ...

, in the same group with

Badalona Dracs The Badalona Dracs (, "Badalona Dragons") are a gridiron football team based in Badalona, Catalonia. History Three American football enthusiasts got together in Badalona on a December 1987's evening to found the team. They were Pere Moliner, first ...

(Spain) and Ostia Marines (Italy). 2006 was a remarkable season, as the team won their first national bowl, beating

L'Hospitalet Pioners The L'Hospitalet Pioners (; "L'Hospitalet Pioneers") are a gridiron football team based in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Catalonia (Spain). History Their nickname recalls the history of the team, as they are one of the pioneering teams to play gridir ...

and qualifying for the first time for the European Football League, where they met Bergamo Lions (Italy) and Tirol Raiders (Austria) in the 2007 season. They won the Spanish bowl again on the next season, 2007, against

this time. Once again, they qualified as national champions for the European Football League. This time, rivals were Coventry Jets (UK) and

Oslo Vikings Oslo Vikings is an American football club located in Oslo, Norway, that competes in the Eliteserien of the Norges Amerikanske Idretters Forbund, and the European Federation of American Football tournaments. The club was founded in 1986 and prior ...

(Norway). In the 2008 season, for third time in a row, they played the , Spanish bowl, being defeated by

, but qualifying for their third European Football League, where they faced the

Bolzano Giants Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...

(Italy) and the

Braunschweig Lions The New Yorker Lions are an American Football team from Braunschweig, Germany. Until late 2010, the team was known as the Braunschweig Lions.

(Germany) in 2009. In 2009 they faced their 4th Spanish bowl, beating the

in a tough game and clinched a berth again for the EFL in 2010, where they met Bergamo Lions (Italy) and the Elancourt Templiers (France) in their group, which they won. In the Quarterfinals they lost 55–13 against the title holder Swarco Raiders Tirol. From 2014 to 2016 they made the national final three times in a row winning the title in 2015.

Honours

* Spanish League (4): 2006, 2007, 2009, 2015

References

External links

* {{LNFA American football teams in Spain Sport in Valencia 1993 establishments in Spain American football teams established in 1993 Sports teams in the Valencian Community