Initially, a group of investors led by Roman Motzkus, a former Berlin Adler player and football commentator, planned to establish an ELF team in Berlin, but talks with the ELF broke down in March 2021. Shortly thereafter, the ELF announced that Berlin would still be represented in the league under a different operating company (FBG Football Berlin GmbH). The Thunder's shareholders were Marko Rehmer, Thomas Ebeling, concert promoter Ronny Boldt and entrepreneur and managing director of FBG Levon Melikian. Through a cooperation agreement between the ELF and the National Football League (NFL), the team took over the name of the Berlin Thunder from NFL Europe, which had existed from 1999 to 2007.
The team's first head coach was Canadian Jag Bal, who was fired after the 2021 season. The franchise's first general manager, from May to September 2021, was Heiko von Glahn.
Ulrich Kramer joined FBG Football Berlin GmbH, the company behind the Berlin Thunder franchise, in October 2024 and was initially announced as the team’s new General Manager. In early 2025, he took on an expanded role as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and was briefly listed alongside Rasheed Moka as one of the company’s managing directors. However, his tenure came to an abrupt end in July 2025, following public controversy over critical remarks he made about the team’s fanbase. Shortly thereafter, the franchise officially parted ways with Kramer. His departure occurred during a turbulent phase for the club, marked by financial instability and an ongoing insolvency proceeding.[1][2][3]
After the expiration of Johnny Schmuck’s contract at the end of the 2024 season, Berlin Thunder appointed Jag Bal as their new Head Coach in January 2025. Bal, who had previously served as the team’s defensive coordinator, took over the lead role with the goal of restructuring the franchise’s competitive identity.
To support this transition, the team initially hired Adam Rita as Offensive Coordinator and Art Valero as Offensive Line Coach – both with long-standing coaching experience in North America and Europe. However, both coaches departed the organization early in the 2025 season.
In July 2025, Jag Bal was forced to temporarily step down due to health reasons, as confirmed by the team on social media. As a result, José Schmitt was appointed as Interim Head Coach to lead the team while Bal recovers. [4][5]
In May 2025, FBG Football Berlin GmbH, the operating company of ELF franchise Berlin Thunder, entered insolvency proceedings under self-administration (Eigenverwaltung) at the District Court of Charlottenburg. The case was formally opened on May 10, 2025, resulting in the company's legal dissolution under German law (§ 60 para. 1 no. 5 GmbHG).
Despite this status, the company remained operational. Under Germany’s self-administration framework, the existing management retains control, while the restructuring process is supervised by a court-appointed trustee (Sachwalter).
Under German law, employees of an insolvent company may be eligible to receive up to three months of insolvency wage compensation (called: Insolvenzgeld) from the Federal Employment Agency – provided that the necessary conditions are met and a claim is filed. It is not publicly known whether such payments were requested or granted in this specific case.
The team continued its participation in the 2025 ELF season. No official information has been disclosed regarding the sources of funding used for ongoing operations or player acquisitions during the proceedings.
For the 2024 season, the Thunder signed Jakeb Sullivan from the Galaxy as their new quarterback. The Berlin American Football Academy club was the first flag football team in the German Flag Football League 3 in 2024.
Thunder started the season with a defeat in Wroclaw. After two wins against Prague and Fehervar, they narrowly lost to the favored teams Vikings and Fire. In both games, the Berliners led at half-time and let victory slip from their grasp in the final period. This continued throughout the season. Time and again, the Berliners were only able to convince for one half. They finished the season with five wins and seven defeats and clearly missed out on the playoffs.
After the season, Björn Werner retired as sports director and also as owner. At the beginning of October 2024, the demolition of the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sports Park began, to be followed by a new building.
Berlin Thunder moved to the new Eastern Conference for the 2023 season. New quarterback Slade Jarman was signed. The season was the Thunder's best to date, with eight wins and four defeats. There were straight wins against three opponents, the new franchises from Fehervar and Prague as well as against Leipzig.
They won at home against the Wroclaw Panthers and the Hamburg Sea Devils, but lost away from home. On the other hand, they narrowly lost twice against the defending champions Vienna Vikings: 24-27 at home and 9-16 in Vienna. Berlin finished the regular season in second place in the Eastern Conference and thus advanced to the playoffs, which were expanded to six teams, for the first time. In the wild card round, they were clearly outclassed by Frankfurt Galaxy when the game was abandoned five minutes before the end due to serious injuries to a player and a member of staff.
In preparation for the 2022 season, Johnny Schmuck was introduced as the new head coach on September 30, 2021. The team showed itself stronger than the year before. Until the last game day, they kept the chance for the playoffs, but then lost against the Raiders Tirol with 10:37.
At the same time, they were able to increase the spectator average to over 3,500.
Thunder finished the first season in fourth place in the North Division with three wins and seven losses. With Nicolai Schumann, Wael Nasri and Adedayo Odeleye, three Berlin athletes were named to the league's first All Star Team. On September 12, 2021, Thunder announced that former German NFL pro Björn Werner became part of the franchise as co-owner and sports director. Diana Hoge was introduced as Heiko von Glahn's successor a few weeks later.
The Thunder played the first two games of the 2021 season at Olympiapark-Amateurstadion and then moved to Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark. The stadium was closed after the 2024 season and will be renewed. For the 2025 season Berlin Thunder moved to Preussenstadion.
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