ELF: European League of Football announces 2022 schedule
The European League of Football, ELF, has announced the schedule for the 2022 season, which now includes 12 teams.
The league, in its second year in existence, kicks off on June 4 and will play a 14-week regular season with the championship final set for September 25 in Wörthersee-Stadion in Klagenfurt, Austria.
The original eight teams – the defending champion Frankfurt Galaxy, along with finalists Hamburg Sea Devils, Berlin Thunder, Cologne Centurions, Stuttgart Surge and Leipzig Kings from Germany, Wroclaw Panthers (Poland) and Barcelona Dragons from Spain, – will be joined by the Rhein Fire (Germany), Vienna Vikings and Raiders Tirol from Austria, along with Turkey’s Istanbul Rams.
The season opens with the Cologne Centurions taking on the Turkish newcomers, the Istanbul Rams on Saturday June 4 with the remaining games of the first round being played Sunday June 5.
The feature game on that Sunday will see the defending champion Frankfurt Galaxy squaring off against one of the other four new teams, the Rhein Fire in the first live contest broadcast on ProSieben MAXX on June 5.
Other highlights from the initial weekend of play include the Hamburg Sea Devils, who only narrowly lost to the Galaxy in last year’s dramatic final, welcoming the Berlin Thunder, who have set their standard high under the direction of ex-NFL pro Björn Werner as the new co-owner and sports director. The two new teams from Austria, the Raiders Tirol and the Vienna Vikings. will face each other, while the Stuttgart Surge, with NFL star Jakob Johnson of the New England Patriots as their new co-owner, playing host to the Barcelona Dragons, while Poland’s only entry, the Wroclaw Panthers will start their season against the Leipzig Kings.
ELF Managing Director Zeljko Karajica:
“After a great inaugural season, we are already back in the starting blocks and are proud to offer football fans an attractive line-up with twelve teams from five nations. The release of the schedule is fueling anticipation and we can’t wait for the second season of the European League of Football to kick off with the clash between the Centurions and the Istanbul Rams in Cologne. We will continue to develop in all areas and offer fans an even better product.”
European League of Football – 2022 Schedule
Week 1 (June 4-5, 2022)
Cologne Centurions vs. Istanbul Rams (Sa.)
Stuttgart Surge vs. Barcelona Dragons (Su.)
Hamburg Sea Devils vs. Berlin Thunder (Su.)
Frankfurt Galaxy vs. Rhein Fire (Su.)
Panthers Wroclaw vs. Leipzig Kings (Su.)
Raiders Tirol vs. Vienna Vikings (Su.)
Week 2 (June 11-12, 2022)
Berlin Thunder vs. Istanbul Rams (Sa.)
Cologne Centurions vs. Raiders Tirol (Sa.)
Leipzig Kings vs. Rhein Fire (Sa.)
Hamburg Sea Devils vs. Barcelona Dragons (Su.)
Vienna Vikings vs. Frankfurt Galaxy (Su.)
Stuttgart Surge vs. Panthers Wroclaw (Su.)
Week 3 (June 18-19, 2022)
Barcelona Dragons vs. Cologne Centurions (Sa.)
Leipzig Kings vs. Hamburg Sea Devils (Sa.)
Raiders Tirol vs. Berlin Thunder (Su.)
Frankfurt Galaxy vs. Panthers Wroclaw (Su.)
Rhein Fire vs. Istanbul Rams (Su.)
Vienna Vikings vs. Stuttgart Surge (Su.)
Week 4 (June 25-26, 2022)
Istanbul Rams vs. Vienna Vikings (Sa.)
Cologne Centurions vs. Frankfurt Galaxy (Sa.)
Rhein Fire vs. Barcelona Dragons (Su.)
Berlin Thunder vs. Leipzig Kings (Su.)
Panthers Wroclaw vs. Hamburg Sea Devils (Su.)
Stuttgart Surge vs. Raiders Tirol (Su.)
Week 5 (July 2-3, 2022)
Cologne Centurions vs. Berlin Thunder (Sa.)
Hamburg Sea Devils vs. Rhein Fire (Sa.)
Barcelona Dragons vs. Istanbul Rams (Sa.)
Leipzig Kings vs. Stuttgart Surge (Su.)
Raiders Tirol vs. Frankfurt Galaxy (Su.)
Vienna Vikings vs. Panthers Wroclaw (Su.)
Week 6 (July 9-10, 2022)
Istanbul Rams vs. Hamburg Sea Devils (Sa.)
Barcelona Dragons vs. Vienna Vikings (Sa.)
Berlin Thunder vs. Panthers Wroclaw (Su.)
Rhein Fire vs. Cologne Centurions (Su.)
Stuttgart Surge vs. Frankfurt Galaxy (Su.)
Raiders Tirol vs. Leipzig Kings (Su.)
Week 7 (July 16-17, 2022)
Leipzig Kings vs. Berlin Thunder (Su.)
Frankfurt Galaxy vs. Cologne Centurions (Su.)
Panthers Wroclaw vs. Stuttgart Surge (Su.)
Week 8 (July 23-24, 2022)
Istanbul Rams vs. Barcelona Dragons (Sa.)
Rhein Fire vs. Hamburg Sea Devils (Su.)
Vienna Vikings vs. Raiders Tirol (Su.)
Week 9 (July 30-31, 2022)
Stuttgart Surge vs. Vienna Vikings (Sa.)
Barcelona Dragons vs. Rhein Fire (Sa.)
Berlin Thunder vs. Cologne Centurions (Su.)
Panthers Wroclaw vs. Frankfurt Galaxy (Su.)
Leipzig Kings vs. Raiders Tirol (Su.)
Hamburg Sea Devils vs. Istanbul Rams (Su.)
Week 10 (General Bye-Week)
Week 11 (August 13-14, 2022)
Cologne Centurions vs. Barcelona Dragons (Sa.)
Istanbul Rams vs. Rhein Fire (Sa.)
Panthers Wroclaw vs. Berlin Thunder (Su.)
Frankfurt Galaxy vs. Vienna Vikings (Su.)
Hamburg Sea Devils vs. Leipzig Kings (Su.)
Raiders Tirol vs. Stuttgart Surge (Su.)
Week 12 (August 20-21, 2022)
Barcelona Dragons vs. Stuttgart Surge (Sa.)
Berlin Thunder vs. Hamburg Sea Devils (Su.)
Raiders Tirol vs. Cologne Centurions (Su.)
Rhein Fire vs. Frankfurt Galaxy (Su.)
Vienna Vikings vs. Istanbul Rams (Su.)
Leipzig Kings vs. Panthers Wroclaw (Su.)
Week 13 (August 27-28, 2022)
Istanbul Rams vs. Berlin Thunder (Sa.)
Cologne Centurions vs. Rhein Fire (Sa.)
Vienna Vikings vs. Barcelona Dragons (Su.)
Frankfurt Galaxy vs. Raiders Tirol (Su.)
Stuttgart Surge vs. Leipzig Kings (Su.)
Hamburg Sea Devils vs. Panthers Wroclaw (Su.)
Week 14 (September 3-4, 2022)
Barcelona Dragons vs. Hamburg Sea Devils (Sa.)
Istanbul Rams vs. Cologne Centurions (Sa.)
Berlin Thunder vs. Raiders Tirol (Su.)
Frankfurt Galaxy vs. Stuttgart Surge (Su.)
Rhein Fire vs. Leipzig Kings (Su.)
Panthers Wroclaw vs. Vienna Vikings (Su.)
Semifinals: September10-11, 2022
Championship Game: September 25, 2022, in the Wörthersee-Stadion in Klagenfurt, Austria
