Elite level American football debuts in Croatia this August 

Elite level American football debuts in Croatia this August

By Cole Kinder

The American football world centers on the USA as its name would suggest.

There is no bigger league in all of sports from a pure revenue perspective than the NFL, and its competitive format with salary caps, rotating draft picks that tries to create more equality, and continual new champions in the Super Bowl has intrigued many Europeans especially as of late.

Unfortunately for American football in many European nations though, a classic club system has ensued, bringing its positives and negatives. 

The positives have seen the small to big cities able to compete at the top level from the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns in Germany to the Bjelovar Green Horns in Croatia itself, a city known for its former illustrious handball team.

But, with this has come the negatives as well.

Certain nations have one to two teams that always win, and these teams tend to spend more than everyone else.

In addition, American football is quite expensive to play when playing its most popular version, tackle, and its level of play is quite low in comparison to the US and a few other nations around the world.

As such, pay has stagnated for the few Europeans who actually do receive compensation and fans do not flock as much to the stadiums nor do they watch much on TV.

Yet, this all changed in 2021 when Europe got its own NFL style American football league: the European League of Football (ELF).

Since this moment, pay has increased with more European professional players, and in its three seasons thus far, three different champions have been awarded: Frankfurt Galaxy (2021), Vienna Vikings (2022), and Rhein Fire (2023). 

In addition, the Hamburg Sea Devils have finished runners-up twice (2021 and 2022), with the Stuttgart Surge finishing runners-up once (2023).

This parity at the top has been facilitated by following much of the NFL model.

The league has also seen tremendous growth.

In 2021, only 8 teams played from three countries. Now, there are 17 teams from nine countries.

But, this is not without its drawbacks.

For one, the parity is seen at the top, but many lopsided regular season results have made the league less fun to watch. Teams have had to leave the league mid-season. The lack of small-town clubs and the closed system works against the traditional sporting environment of Europe that sees all having a chance.

And, the ELF has taken away fans from the domestic leagues still playing. Many of its clubs still compete in their domestic leagues with a second team, similar to the Medveščak Zagreb ice hockey team that played in Russia’s KHL, Slovenia’s, and Austria’s top league while also playing in the Croatian league. 

But, fans recognize that this effectively makes the domestic leagues second tier, taking away the excitement teams receive by playing their nation’s best.

Furthermore, certain leagues like the German Football League (GFL) and Austrian Football League (AFL) were already high level with good attendance and viewership. And, critics say the ELF effectively destroys the possibility of an open system Euro Bowl that used to exist for all nations’ best teams similar to the UEFA Champions League.

Nevertheless, the ELF continues to expand. And finally, Croatia is part of the excitement.

Last week, it was announced that the Hamburg Sea Devils will host the Madrid Bravos at Stadion Šubićevac in Šibenik on 24 August 2024.

This will likely mark the highest level American football game ever hosted in Croatia. 

The ELF has also announced that they plan to make a weekend festival out of the event and to expand the stadium to possibly 10,000 people with temporary stands.

While the Croatian diaspora has seen many Super Bowl winners as coaches and players, domestically, Croatia has never quite achieved elite status.

Šibenik

This is largely due to the newness of the game as the former Zagreb Thunder was Croatia’s first team in 2005.

Since then, many clubs have been created such as the Split Sea Wolves which have featured consistently at the top of the flag and tackle ranks.

In addition, similar to basketball, regional leagues have been set up that have featured Croatian sides off and on.

But, the level of American football in places like Germany, Austria, and a few others in Europe is much higher and the ELF is the highest of them all across Europe.

What does this mean for Croatia?

As alluded to before, everyone in the American football world recognizes the potential of Croatia and sees it as a future hotbed for American football if the right investments are made.

Even in Europe, the Croatian diaspora features prominently such as the Hamburg-born CEO of the ELF, Željko Karajica, whose parents come from Croatia.

Yet, other nations have fared much better including neighbors Slovenia and Serbia.

Thus, the ELF coming to Croatia is a chance for the Croatian populace to show up and pack Šibenik and prove to the ELF that Croatia deserves a team that will be well-supported. 

If this can happen, then Croatia could have a team in the near future, creating the potential pathway for home-grown professional players.