European Football Alliance

European Football Alliance
Upcoming season or competition:
2026 European Football Alliance season
SportAmerican football
Founded5 July 2025 (2025-07-05)
First season2026
No. of teams6 (2026)
CountriesAustria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy (2027), United Kingdom (2027)
HeadquartersFrankfurt, Germany
ContinentEurope
Official websiteefafootball.com

The European Football Alliance, commonly abbreviated as EFA, is a professional American football league based in Europe. It plays its first season in 2026. Teams are located in Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. The clubs previously competed in the European League of Football (ELF).

History

In early 2024, several clubs of the European League of Football (ELF) formed the ELF Franchise Association. The ELF is a professional American Football league on European level playing since 2021.[1] ELF is headed by CEO Željko Karajica; ownership is attributed to his SEH Sports & Entertainment Holding and Patrick Esume, who also served as Commissioner. Individual teams are operated as franchises by independent companies.

After the 2024 season this group ELF Franchise Association went public as the Football Franchise Association (FFA). In September 2025, EFA statements (evolving from the FFA) criticized the ELF's governance and transparency and said clubs would build a new league model for 2026.[2] Reports in 2025 also described failed talks about an Amsterdam franchise; some coverage linked the collapse to disagreements over terms and revenue issues.[3]

On October 6, 2025, ten clubs announced that they would compete under the EFA banner in 2026.[4] On November 7, 2025, the EFA added London and Milan as franchise markets; brand identities to be revealed later.[5] Both teams will start to play in the 2027 season.[6] On November 26, 2025, the ELF and EFA announced that the two competitions would be reunifying with a number of administrative and commercial changes ahead of the 2026 season.[7] However, on January 15, 2026, the EFA terminated the agreement, as the conditions required for a sustainable partnership could not be met.[8]

On February 3, 2026, Munich Ravens joined the EFA league.[9] On March 10, 2026, Madrid Bravos withdrew. On the same day, the league published the 2026 schedule.[10]

The inaugural season starts on May 15, 2026, with a Friday night game at Frankfurt PSD Bank Arena. This venue will also host the playoff weekend with both semi finals on August 15 and 16. The season will conclude with first EFA championship game.

Teams

European Football Alliance (Europe)
European Football Alliance teams.
  • 2026 teams
  • 2027 expansion teams

The following teams are member of the European Football Alliance:

Franchise City ELF since Stadium
Frankfurt Galaxy Frankfurt 2021 PSD Bank Arena
London Football Team[11] London – Brisbane Road


Milano Football Team[12]  Milan – Velodromo Vigorelli
Munich Ravens Munich 2023 Sportpark Unterhaching
Nordic Storm Copenhagen 2025 Gladsaxe Stadium, Søborg
Paris Musketeers Paris 2023
Prague Lions Prague 2023 FK Viktoria Stadion
Raiders Tirol Innsbruck 2022 Tivoli Stadion Tirol

References

  1. ^ "A nation divided: Germany's football leaders react to the European League of Football". American Football International. 2020-11-10. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  2. ^ https://viennavikings.football/en/news/team/640
  3. ^ https://www.flashscore.com/news/american-football-european-league-of-football-eleven-efa-clubs-pull-out-of-european-league-of-football-in-seismic-shake-up/McTvr2Hs/
  4. ^ https://www.gridiron-magazine.com/world-football/tirol-absent-as-efa-confirms-10-for-2026
  5. ^ https://www.americanfootballinternational.com/efa-welcomes-the-addition-of-london-and-milan/
  6. ^ https://europeanleague.football/news/raiders-tirol-confirmed-for-elf-2026-season-among-proven-core-4045
  7. ^ https://europeanleague.football/news/elf-and-efa-agree-to-reunify-european-american-football-4024
  8. ^ https://www.americanfootballinternational.com/european-football-alliance-efa-terminates-cooperation-with-elf/
  9. ^ https://www.instagram.com/p/DUSxWzWjb8B/?img_index=2
  10. ^ https://www.americanfootballinternational.com/european-football-alliance-unveils-landmark-2026-schedule-and-new-playoff-format/
  11. ^ https://sportank.com/media/post/london-gets-a-professional-american-football-franchise
  12. ^ https://www.huddle.org/2025/11/londra-e-milano-entrano-nella-efa/
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