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The Helvetic Mercenaries are an American football team based in Zurich, Switzerland, that plays in the European League of Football (ELF) since 2024. It is the successor organization to the Helvetic Guards, which were folded April 2024. A rebranding was obviously necessary for legal reasons.
On April 4, 2024, it was announced that Helvetic Guards had new owners. They will not compete under the name Helvetic Guards, but will establish a new franchise.[1] On April 11, the new franchise unveiled its name, Helvetic Mercenaries, as well as the new logo. [2]
Managing Director is Chris Rummel [3], who also works as Head of Finance at the Swiss American Football Association and is responsible for the Swiss national team. The Sports Director is Matt Hammer, who also held this position with the Guards. [4]
The operating company behind the franchise is American Football Betriebs GmbH, with Chris Rummel as the sole shareholder. [5]
By June 14, GM Matt Hammer had already left the franchise, accusing the unknown owners of not being committed enough. [6]
On June 18, the franchise announced that Sonja and Sandro Moor are now the sole owners of the Helvetic Mercenaries. [7]. Sandro Moor explained to the Foot Bowl blog that the couple had already tried to take over the Swiss franchise before last season. But it never really worked out. Now is the right time. [8]
In 2022, they already appeared as shareholders of the Cologne Centurions. [9]
On April 14, the franchise announced its head coach for the 2024 season. [10] Val Gunn, who was already Head Coach and General Manager for the Istanbul Rams in 2022, took over the team.
In their first season, the Mercenaries did not get off to a good start. They were only able to win one game against the Milano Seamen, compared to 11 defeats at the end of the season. This left them in last place in the Central Conference.
After Week 6, Val Gunn was replaced as head coach by Bryan Billy, who was unable to win another game with the team.
At the ELF Honors, however, the Mercenaries won 3 awards. DT Pierre-Yves Majo was named Defensive Rookie of the Year, Milan Spiller (WR) Rookie of the year and Jonathan Falk was named Homegrown player of the year.
In October 2024, Marcus Herford was introduced as the new Head Coach for the 2025 season. [11]
On 24.04.2024 it was announced that the home games will be played in 2 stadiums. The opening game will be played at the Brรผhl stadium, the remaining home games at the Kleinfeld sports center. [12]
On December 18, 2024, the Mercenaries announced that they will play their home games in the Lidl Arena in Wil in 2025. The predecessor organization of the Helvetic Guards also played its games there in 2023. [13]
| Week | Date | Away | Home |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18.05.2025 13:00 | Nordic Storm | Helvetic Mercenaries |
| 2 | 25.05.2025 16:25 | Helvetic Mercenaries | Raiders Tirol |
| 3 | 31.05.2025 19:00 | Helvetic Mercenaries | Madrid Bravos |
| 5 | 15.06.2025 16:25 | Helvetic Mercenaries | Munich Ravens |
| 6 | 21.06.2025 13:00 | Raiders Tirol | Helvetic Mercenaries |
| 7 | 28.06.2025 18:00 | Helvetic Mercenaries | Nordic Storm |
| 8 | 06.07.2025 16:25 | Paris Musketeers | Helvetic Mercenaries |
| 9 | 12.07.2025 13:00 | Munich Ravens | Helvetic Mercenaries |
| 10 | 20.07.2025 13:00 | Madrid Bravos | Helvetic Mercenaries |
| 11 | 27.07.2025 13:00 | Prague Lions | Helvetic Mercenaries |
| 13 | 09.08.2025 18:00 | Helvetic Mercenaries | Paris Musketeers |
| 14 | 17.08.2025 13:00 | Helvetic Mercenaries | Prague Lions |
Only players who have passed for at least 1,000 career yards for their team are included in this list.
| Helvetic Mercenaries all-time passing leaders | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | S | G | COMP | ATT | CMP% | YDS | TD | INT | SCK |
| Carlton Aiken Jr. | 1 | 8 | 131 | 268 | 48.9 | 1654 | 10 | 9 | 36 |
Only players who have received for at least 500 career yards for their team are included in this list.
| Helvetic Mercenaries all-time receiving leaders | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | S | G | REC | TGT | CTCH % | YDS | TD | ||
| Milan Spiller | 1 | 12 | 63 | 117 | 53.8 | 1008 | 5 | ||
| Anthony Brown | 1 | 8 | 54 | 94 | 57.4 | 678 | 4 | ||
Only players who have rushed for at least 400 career yards for their team are included in this list.
| Helvetic Mercenaries all-time rushing leaders | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | S | G | ATT | YDS | AVG | YPG | TD | TD/G | FMB | FML |
| Carlton Aiken Jr. | 1 | 8 | 86 | 610 | 7.1 | 76.2 | 6 | 0.8 | 3 | 2 |
Only players who have kicked for at least 25 points for their team are included in this list.
| Helvetic Mercenaries all-time kicking leaders | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | S | G | FG Made | FG BLCK | FG ATT | FG PCT | FG LNG | XP MADE | XP ATT | XP PCT | PTS | ACC % |
Quarterbacks
Running backs Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen |
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Names with a strikethrough = season ending
Rookies in italics | ||||||
| Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends |
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Injured reserve
Names with a strikethrough = season ending
| ||||||
|
Front office
Head coach
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
| |||||
| Name | Tenure | Record | Titles | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | |||
| Val Gunn | 2024 | 1 | 5 | 0 | โ |
| Bryan Billy | 2024 | 0 | 6 | 0 | โ |
| Marcus Herford | 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | โ |
| Games | Win | Loss | Win % | P+ | P- | PDiff | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helvetic Mercenaries | 12 | 1 | 11 | 0.083 | 185 | 438 | -253 |
| Season | Conference | Rank | Games | Win | Loss | Win % | P+ | P- | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Central | 6 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 0.083 | 185 | 438 |
| Games | Win | Loss | Win % | P+ | P- | PDiff | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milano Seamen | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.500 | 23 | 24 | -1 |
| Barcelona Dragons | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 31 | 37 | -6 |
| Raiders Tirol | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 38 | 75 | -37 |
| Vienna Vikings | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 43 | 98 | -55 |
| Munich Ravens | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 36 | 93 | -57 |
| Stuttgart Surge | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 14 | 111 | -97 |
Source: https://elfdata.eu/
