The Central European Football League (CEFL) is a European organization of American football which hosts an international competition every year. The final game of the CEFL Championship playoffs is dubbed the CEFL Bowl.
Until the formation of the CEFL Cup in 2017, the name of the organization was synonymous with its flagship competition – CEFL Championship, or simply "the league". Initially named Southeast European League of American Football (SELAF), it featured teams from Serbia and Slovenia in its introductory 2006 season. The following year teams from other countries joined the ranks and the name was changed to Central European Football League (CEFL) before the 2008 season. The first four seasons of the league were played during the spring and autumn, with a month-and-a-half to a three-month summer break. However, since 2010, the competition has taken place during the spring, typically from April to June. Over its many years of existence, the league has seen teams from across Europe join, starting from the Balkans and expanding outward to the rest of the continent.
History 2006 The inaugural season featured a total of five teams: Belgrade Vukovi, Kragujevac Wild Boars, Novi Sad Dukes and Sirmium Legionaries from Serbia, as well as Ljubljana Silverhawks from Slovenia.
Final The first ever league champions were the Wild Boars who beat Vukovi 23–12 in SELAF Bowl I, played on FK Radnički stadium in Belgrade on October 8.
2007 The second season saw the entry of two new teams, the Budapest Wolves and the CNC Gladiators. Meanwhile, the Legionaries left the competition. For the first time teams were split into two conferences: North and South. The Northern Conference consisted of the Gladiators, Silverhawks, and Wolves, while the Southern Conference included the three remaining Serbian teams: Dukes, Vukovi and Wild Boars. This season also marked the CEFL's debut on live television, with the semifinal and CEFL Bowl II broadcast on TV Avala.
Northern Conference
Southern Conference
Final The final game was titled CEFL Bowl II and was held in Ada Ciganlija Stadium in Belgrade on October 27, with the title won by Vukovi after beating the Wolves 28–27 in a dramatic fashion.
2008 In 2008, the league changed its name from SELAF to Central European Football League. This season, three new teams joined: Bratislava Monarchs, Budapest Cowboys, and Zagreb Thunder, while the Wild Boars did not return. The Cowboys and Thunder joined the Southern Conference, while the Monarchs were placed in the Northern Conference.
Northern Conference
Southern Conference
Final In CEFL Bowl III, the CNC Gladiators beat Vukovi 14–8 at the Football-Zentrum Ravelin in Vienna on October 25.
2009 In the 2009 season, the Cineplexx Blue Devils replaced the non-returning Monarchs, joining a newly formed conference with the Thunder, Vukovi and Wolves. The other conference consisted of the 2008 champions, Gladiators, along with the Cowboys, Dukes and Silverhawks. The season was also a considerable milestone for the league, as multiple league games were televised on Sport Klub.
Conference 1
Conference 2
Final CEFL Bowl IV was played at Ada Ciganlija Stadium in Belgrade on October 24, with Vukovi reclaiming the title after beating the Blue Devils 39–20.
2010 In 2010, following the entry of the Turkish national champion Istanbul Cavaliers and departure of the Cowboys, Gladiators, and Thunder, the CEFL changed its format. The two conferences would be cut down to just one division with the Dukes, Silverhawks, Vukovi, and Wolves, while the Cavaliers were scheduled to face the Blue Devils in the Wild Card, with the winner taking the final playoff spot. However, the 2010 Central European floods prevented the Blue Devils from traveling to Istanbul, giving the Cavaliers an automatic advance to the semifinals.
Final CEFL Bowl V was played in Ivančna Gorica, Slovenia on July 18, where Vukovi beat the Silverhawks 42–20 to win their third CEFL title.
2011 The 2011 season saw the departure of the Blue Devils and Dukes. Competition consisted of four teams, which were all national champions of their respective countries.
Final Vukovi earned their fourth CEFL title after beating the Wolves 34–33. CEFL Bowl VI was played at Margaret Island Athletic Center in Budapest on July 23.
2012 In 2012, the Zagreb Patriots joined the league and the Blue Devils rejoined, while the Cavaliers folded. The league was renamed to Sport Klub CEFL after its main sponsor.
Final CEFL Bowl VII was played at Ada Ciganlija Stadium in Belgrade on July 21, where the Silverhawks won their first title after beating Vukovi 34–21.
2013 2013 saw the return of the Kragujevac Wild Boars, one of the original inaugural teams. Meanwhile, the Patriots left the league, while the Blue Devils would move down to the new CEFL Cup, bringing the total number of teams back down to four.
Final CEFL Bowl VIII was held at Ada Ciganlija Stadium in Belgrade on July 7, with Vukovi reclaiming the title after obliterating the Wild Boars 42–0.
2013 would also introduce the CEFL Cup. Consisting of the Blue Devils and the Belgrade Blue Dragons, the match was played on March 16 at Ada Ciganlija Stadium in Belgrade, where the Blue Devils took down the Blue Dragons 49–26.
2014 The 2014 season saw the return of all four teams from 2013 with no format change within the league. This was the first time in league history that no change occurred between seasons. However, the CEFL Cup would go on hiatus until 2017, with the Blue Devils and Blue Dragons departing from the league.
Final CEFL Bowl IX was played in Ivančna Gorica on July 20, where Vukovi won the title beating the Silverhawks 27–17.
2015 The 2015 season once again held league play with four teams. Belgrade Vukovi and Ljubljana Silverhawks extended their membership, while the Kragujevac Wild Boars and Budapest Docler Wolves departed. In their places, both the Novi Sad Dukes and the Cineplexx Blue Devils rejoined.
Final CEFL Bowl X was played at FK Kabel stadium in Novi Sad on July 5, with the Dukes hoisting their first trophy after beating Vukovi in a nailbiter 25–23.
2016 The 2016 season marked a major expansion of the CEFL, with 8 new teams joining. The Budapest Cowbells and Zagreb Patriots rejoined the league after respective periods of hiatus. Former teams from the Alpe Adria Football League joined as well, including the Domžale Tigers, Kranj Alp Devils, Niš Imperatori, Inđija Indians, and Sarajevo Spartans. The Graz Giants also joined the league.
Western Conference
Central Conference
Eastern Conference
Final CEFL Bowl XI was played at ASKÖ Stadium in Graz on July 3, where the Giants claimed the title after beating Vukovi 52–49.
2017 The CEFL continued to gain traction as 2017 approached. The Cineplexx Blue Devils, Domžale Tigers, Graz Giants, and Niš Imperatori would not return for the 2017 season, and the Ljubljana Silverhawks would leave for the Austrian Football League, but fall into financial problems two years later and merge with the Tigers. Meanwhile, problems with the IFAF leadership starting in 2016 led to the discontinuation of the IFAF Europe Champions League. Due to this, most of the Northern teams formed the Northern European Football League (NEFL), while some of the other members joined the CEFL, including the Triangle Razorbacks, Panthers Wrocław, and Istanbul Koç Rams. Meanwhile, Swarco Raiders Tirol left the BIG6 and joined the CEFL, too. With all these additions, the CEFL modified their format to consist of two conferences: Western Conference: Triangle Razorbacks, Panthers Wrocław, Swarco Raiders Tirol Eastern Conference: Belgrade SBB Vukovi, Kragujevac Wild Boars, Budapest Cowbells, Istanbul Koç RamsTop European teams joining CEFL
Western Conference
Eastern Conference
2017 also saw the return of the CEFL Cup. All of the former Central Conference teams from 2016 with the exception of the Tigers were placed in the Western Group. Meanwhile, the Indians and Dukes carried over to play in the Eastern Group, joined by the returning Sirmium Legionaries and Belgrade Blue Dragons. These teams played in two groups as a developmental competition for the main championship: Western Group: Kranj Alp Devils, Sarajevo Spartans, Zagreb Patriots Eastern Group: Novi Sad GAT Dukes, Inđija Indians, Sirmium Legionaries, Belgrade Blue DragonsConstituting CEFL Cup
Western Group
Eastern Group
Final CEFL Bowl XII was played at Tivoli Stadion Tirol in Innsbruck on June 10, where Raiders Tirol overpowered the Wild Boars 55–20.
CEFL Cup Finals were played the same day at FC Naklo in Kranj, where the Kranj Alp Devils were shutout by the Dukes 0–59. In addition, the Blue Dragons took home third after taking down the Spartans 14–0.
2018 2018 marked another prominent season in the league's existence. The Razorbacks left the league after one season, being replaced by the Prague Black Panthers. Both the Cowbells and Vukovi moved to the CEFL Cup and were replaced by the Moscow Patriots, making both conferences equal in number.
Western Conference
Eastern Conference
Following the end of the 2017 season, all of the former CEFL Cup teams left the league. Due to this, the CEFL Cup was reformatted to be a knockout bracket. Both the Cowbells and Vukovi moved to the CEFL Cup, joined by the Gdynia Seahawks and Sakarya Tatankalari.
Final CEFL Bowl XIII was played at Tivoli Stadion Tirol in Innsbruck on June 9, where the Swarco Raiders defended their title beating the Rams 49–20.
CEFL Cup Finals took place the following day at BASK Stadium in Belgrade, where Vukovi beat the Seahawks 55–41.
A new championship match was put together following the creation of the Northern European Football League. Titled the Superfinal, the game between the CEFL and NEFL champions was played on June 30 at Gentofte Sportspark in Copenhagen, where the Swarco Raiders beat the Copenhagen Towers 45–20 to claim the title.
2019 2019 saw a major shift in both conferences of the CEFL Championship. The Patriots would carry over to the CEFL Cup, while the Black Panthers left the league. Panthers Wrocław, a long-time team in the Western Conference, would be relocated to the Eastern Conference, joined by the Calanda Broncos. Meanwhile the vacancy left in the Western Conference would be filled by the Thonon Black Panthers and the Milan Seamen. This shift in league structure would bring the Eastern Conference back up to four teams.
Western Conference
Eastern Conference
The 2019 season would have the CEFL Cup doubling its membership to eight teams, expanding the knockout bracket to include a quarterfinal stage. Although the Seahawks and Tatankalari would depart from the league after just one season, the Budapest Wolves would return after a five year hiatus and the Moscow Patriots would jump down to the Cup after competing in the CEFL Championship in 2018. Joining the Wolves and Patriots would be the incoming Bolzano Giants, Moscow Spartans, Bucharest Rebels, and Istanbul İTÜ Hornets.
Final CEFL Bowl XIV was played at Sportplatz Ringstrasse in Chur on June 8 between the Broncos and Swarco Raiders. The win went to the Swarco Raiders in the final seconds, 46–42.
Following CEFL Bowl XIV, the Spartans would outlast the Giants 15–14 in an exciting showdown on June 9.
The ECTC Final, a successor of the Superfinal, was played at Tivoli Stadion Tirol in Innsbruck, where the Swarco Raiders and Vienna Vikings, two Austrian Football League rivals, faced off. The game would go to the Swarco Raiders after crushing the Vikings 35–10.
2020 2020 would bring major changes to the CEFL. Most notably, the league would ditch its round-robin format in favor of a knockout bracket with wild card matches. The Spartans would move from the Cup to join the Championship, joined by the incoming Badalona Dracs, Copenhagen Towers, Dacia Vienna Vikings, and Stockholm Mean Machines. The season was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.