The Sirmium Legionaries is the oldest

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

team in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

, founded in 2002 in

Sremska Mitrovica Sremska Mitrovica (; sr-Cyrl, Сремска Митровица, hu, Szávaszentdemeter, la, Sirmium) is a city and the administrative center of the Srem District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the left bank ...

. From its inception the team grew rapidly, becoming one of the most organized and successful clubs in the region. The city of Sremska Mitrovica (previously

Sirmium Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous provice of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyrians an ...

), the home town of the Legionaries, has historical roots in the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

period. This led to the club name (they were brave and fearless Roman soldiers).

History

During the 2003 season, the club played only friendly games. First, the National League of Serbia took place in 2004. The Legionaries finished third in the regular season, reaching the playoffs, where they were beaten by

Vukovi Beograd SBB Vukovi Beograd are an American football team from Belgrade, Serbia. After establishing in 2003, in just few years SBB Vukovi have become one of the best-organized and most successful American football teams in Eastern Europe. Today SBB Vukovi ...

. Next year, the National League wasn’t played, but the National Cup was. The Legionaries finished third again, behind the

Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Serbia, and is situated on ...

Wild Boars The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

and Vukovi Belgrade. In 2006 the club entered the regional Southeastern European League of American Football, losing seven games and winning one game in

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. At the end of the season the club won its first trophy – Crobowl in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. The Legionaries beat the

Ljubljana Silverhawks The Ljubljana Silverhawks are an American football team based in Ljubljana, Slovenia, founded in 2002 by a group of football fans from the Slovenian capital. It is the first team to have brought the sport in Slovenia. The team has achieved the fir ...

in the semifinal and the Trieste Mustangs in the final of the tournament. In 2007, the team played in the National Championship of Serbia. In that competition the Legionaries finished second in regular season, but lost the semifinal playoff game against the Klek Knights.

External links

Official Website
American football teams in Serbia 2002 establishments in Serbia American football teams established in 2002 Sport in Vojvodina Sremska Mitrovica {{Amfoot-team-stub