AFI presents the Year-End Europe Top 25 countdown, kicking off with #25-21

AFI | American Football | 12/26/2022

The AFI team is proud to present our Year-End Europe Top 25 countdown.

This year’s rankings were difficult as we covered all of Europe’s top teams and top leagues across the continent.

Our six-man panel includes former and current players and coaches and we have carefully reviewed all the teams and games in Europe. You may not agree with all the picks. And you may think there are a couple of surprising teams on the list. A few other teams you might have expected to be there are not. We get that so feel free to send in your comments and there are usually plenty of them.

So, having said all that, using the NCAA AP ranking points system, we have arrived at the Top 25 teams in Europe. Today we’ll start the list by introducing numbers 25-21, followed by 20-11, 10-1, and finally the complete list. Let’s start with our final five teams below!

25 – Thonon Black Panthers (2022 Record: 10-2)

The Thonon Black Panthers were runner ups in the FFFA Elite in France, falling to La Courneuve Flash in a hard fought Casque de Diamant (Diamond Helmet) French Championship game. The Black Panthers dominated most of their opponents in the French league with the only exception being their rivals in La Courneuve Flash and a strong Marseille Blue Stars team.

24 – Bern Grizzlies (2022 Record: 10-0)

The Bern Grizzlies took home the Swiss Bowl this year, knocking off the Calanda Broncos. The Grizzlies took care of business in Switzerland defeating the former champion Broncos three times, sweeping a impressive opponent and bitter rival. They did so while managing to dominate the rest of the Swiss NLA blowing out once formidable opponents.

23 – Prague Lions (2022 Record: 11-1)

One of the ELF’s expansion teams, the Prague Lions were once again champions of their home league winning the Czech Bowl behind a dominant offense averaging over 49 points a game and a stifling defense holding opponents under 18 points per contest. In international play, the Lions defeated Poland’s Tychy Falcons and Vysočina Gladiators before falling to the Fehérvár Enthroners in the CEFL Cup, suffering their one and only loss of the season.

22 – Allgäu Comets (2022 Record: 7-4)

The Allgäu Comets season featured an impressive playoff win in Braunschweig as the Comets beat the New Yorker Lions on the road to advance to the German Football League’s semifinals. Allgäu also played well against the Munich Cowboys losing by one point and handled their business in the GFL south beating the Ravensburg Razorbacks and Saarland Hurricanes.

21 – Fehérvár Enthroners (2022 Record: 16-0)

The Fehérvár Enthroners did something perhaps never done before in Europe winning three titles in one season. At home, they retook the throne in Hungary winning the Hungarian Bowl over the Budapest Wolves who had beaten them in the title game the year prior. After a dominant season in the Hungarian Football League the Enthroners played well internationally defeating the Kragujevac Wild Boars and Prague Lions to win the the CEFL Cup. At the same time Enthroners competed in Austria’s second division going undefeated there and winning their third title of an undefeated gauntlet of a season. Now the Enthroners look to compete in the European League of Football as one of its four new teams in 2023.