Strange football season: only two teams play championship

At the same time as the NFL in the USA, the AFL will start in Austria this year. While it is clear in the US professional league for economic reasons that all teams will compete in Corona times, the AFBÖ has given its amateur teams the option to participate.

And so the Tirol Raiders and the Danube Dragons have withdrawn their entries for the coming season.

The background is the rules relating to the complex corona tests and quarantine regulations. The prevention concept of a football Bundesliga cannot be implemented one-to-one for amateur clubs for economic and organizational reasons. In addition, an entire American football team, including supervisors and crew, comprises 80 to 100 people. A Covid test costs between 30 and 90 euros, a financial burden that many clubs cannot cope with. “In this particular crisis situation, a league operation must not be forced,” said Raiders President Elisabeth Swarovski.

Vienna versus Graz

Only two teams have decided to hold a championship: The Dacia Vikings from Vienna and the Projekt Spielberg Graz Giants. The championship title is played out in a best-of-5 series. The first game will take place in Graz, the next two games in Vienna, then they will switch back to Graz.

Both teams had all players, coaches and supervisors tested last week – and started training immediately after approval. Before the first game is tested again.