Prague Lions

From elfpedia.eu

Uniform of the Prague Lions football team in 2024.

The Prague Lions are an American football team based in Prague, Czech Republic, that plays in the European League of Football (ELF) since the 2023 season.

Lions have Slovakia as additional homegrown market.[1]

History[edit | edit source]

The Lions were founded in 1991 by Martin Vybořil. Together with the Prague Panthers, the Brno Alligators and the Ostrava Cobras, the Lions founded the Česká asociace amerického fotbalu (ČAAF), which has organized the Česká liga amerického fotbalu ČLAF since 1994. In each of the first two years, the Lions were runners-up behind the Panthers. It was not until 1998 that the first championship title was won. After three more losses in the Czech Bowls in 1999, 2000 and 2003 against the Panthers, the Lions won the title three times in a row from 2004 to 2006.

After three more Czech Bowl appearances, each lost to the Panthers, disputes arose in the club in 2009. As a result, most of the players moved to the newly formed Prague Black Hawks. The Black Hawks merged with the Panthers - who had also played in the Austrian AFL since 2010 - to form the Prague Black Panthers in 2013.

The Lions had to build a new team. In 2013 and 2016 the Lions reached the Czech Bowl again, but both times lost to the Black Panthers, at that time series champions. The Lions competed internationally for the first time in 2016. However, in the 2016 IFAF Europe Champions League, they only managed two losses against the Triangle Razorbacks and the Panthers Wrocław.

With head coach Zach Harrod hired in 2018, the Lions became one of the best teams in the ČLAF. They won the Czech championship in 2019 and again in 2022. At the international level, they entered the final of the CEFL Cup in 2022, but lost to the Fehérvár Enthroners 20:24.

On September 23, 2022, the Lions announced their entry into the European League of Football. [2] They also continue to field a second team in the 2nd Czech League. The ELF team will play in the Stadium FK Viktoria Žižkov in Prague with a capacity of 3,327 spectators.

2023 Season[edit | edit source]

Prague Lions logo 2023

Before the eighth matchday of the 2023 season, it became public that the Lions were in a financial problem situation. As one of the consequences of this was that salary payments were not being made, the players decided in a vote against holding the away game against the Fehérvér Enthroners.

A few days later, on July 25, both the Lions and the ELF announced that the game operation in the 2023 season was secured. However, in response to the situation, changes to the team's internal structures were announced, most notably the departure of Zach Harrod and the move away from the FK Viktoria Žižkov stadium as the home venue. [3] The Sports Center Hostivař of Charles University, where the Lions have already played in the ČLAF, has already been announced as one of the alternative venues.[4] Harrod was succeeded as head coach by defensive coordinator Dan Disch. Furthermore, some players announced that they do not want to be part of the team any longer. [5]

The Lions finished their first ELF season in last place in their conference with just one win.

2024 Season[edit | edit source]

Before the end of the 2023 season, Mason Parker took over the Lions as the new owner and general manager. The pool of investors includes Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil and DeVante Parker, wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles. The franchise's new branding was unveiled in February 2024.

In December 2023, Dan Disch, the existing interim coach, was confirmed as head coach for the 2024 season and a new offensive coordinator, Ed Stults, was presented. A number of local players also decided to play for the franchise in 2024. Karé Lyles, a former Division I athlete who has already reported for the NFL Network and was active in the GFL, was signed as quarterback

Stadium[edit | edit source]

The FK Viktoria Žižkov stadium is a soccer stadium in the Czech capital Prague. The soccer club FK Viktoria Žižkov traditionally plays its home games here on Sundays at 10:15am. The facility is located in the middle of a residential area in the densely populated Žižkov district. It is located only a few hundred meters from the main train station Praha hlavní nádraží and the TV tower Žižkov. From its opening until 2011, the venue was called Stadium Viktoria. From 2011 to 2014, it bore the sponsor name eFotbal Aréna, after the Czech soccer internet portal eFotbal.cz. Currently, the Viktorka holds 5600 spectators in seats.

Players[edit | edit source]

Top Players[edit | edit source]

Quarterback Year G COMP ATT CMP% YDS TD INT SCK
Shazzon Mumphrey 2023 4 50 120 41.7 593 5 5 3
Tyquell Fields 2023 4 60 109 55.0 477 0 3 5
Receiver Year G RRC TGT YDS CTCH % YPG YPC LNG TD TD/G
Victor Wharton III 2023 4 21 25 296 84.0 74.0 14.1 67 2 0.5
Lukáš Kadlec 2023 10 19 29 245 65.5 24.5 12.9 70 1 0.1
Running Year G ATT YDS AVG YPG LNG TD TD/G FMB FML
Adam Žouželka 2023 7 78 286 3.7 40.9 47 4 0.6 1 0
Tyquell Fields 2023 4 47 203 4.3 50.8 38 2 0.5 3 0

2024 Roster[edit | edit source]

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Injured reserve

Names with a strikethrough = season ending


Rookies in italics
Roster updated July 25, 2024
4 A-import, 5 E-import, 50 homegrown
59 active, 0 practice squad


2023 Roster[edit | edit source]

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

  • 80 Marek Hruboň K
Injured reserve
  • 31 Aleksandar Borković SS
  •  3 Bradley Jones QB

Names with a strikethrough = season ending
Practice squad

  • 16 David Lukšan WR
  • 67 Jiří Cicvárek C
  • 70 Michal Knotek C
  • 69 Jaroslav Hrdlička OT
  • 20 Jan Miklica OLB
  • 47 Petr Řepík MLB
  • 22 Charun Jachjajev CB


Rookies in italics
Roster updated 18. August 2023
4 A-import, 6 E-import, 42 homegrown
52 active, 7 practice squad


Staff[edit | edit source]

Head Coaches[edit | edit source]

Name Tenure Record Titles
W L
Zach Harrod – 25 July 2023 6
Dan Disch 25 July 2023 – 25 Aug 2024 1 16
Dave Warner 2025 0 0

¹ Walkover win vs Leipzig Kings, see

2024 Staff[edit | edit source]

Front office

  • Owner – Dave Drever
  • President – Michal Kozlíček
  • General Manager - Mason Parker
  • Director of Football Operations - David Zamorano

Head coach
Dan Disch

  • Head coach –
  • Asst. Head coach – Miloš Kalina

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive coordinator – Ed Stults
  • Quarterbacks – Clark Hazlett
  • Running backs – Reggie Mitchell
  • Wide receivers – Richard Burnoski
  • Tight ends – Jason Bergeron
  • Offensive line –
 

Defensive coaches

  • Defensive coordinator – Dan Disch
  • Defensive line – n/a
  • Linebackers – Miloš Kalina
  • Defensive backs – n/a

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams coordinator – Reggie Mitchell




updated August 23, 2024


Total record[edit | edit source]

Games Win Loss Win % P+ P- PDiff
Prague Lions 22 1 21 0.045 254 823 -569

Record per Season[edit | edit source]

Season Conference Rank Games Win Loss Win % P+ P- Playoffs
2023 Eastern 6 12 1 11 0.083 155 441
2024 Eastern 5 12 1 11 0.083 134 417

Record per Opponent[edit | edit source]

Games Win Loss Win % P+ P- PDiff
Fehérvár Enthroners 3 1 2 0.333 18 63 -45
Leipzig Kings 1 0 1 0.000 15 18 -3
Hamburg Sea Devils 2 0 2 0.000 38 58 -20
Cologne Centurions 2 0 2 0.000 23 60 -37
Munich Ravens 2 0 2 0.000 21 98 -77
Panthers Wrocław 4 0 4 0.000 46 133 -87
Berlin Thunder 4 0 4 0.000 37 165 -128
Vienna Vikings 4 0 4 0.000 56 228 -172

Source: https://elfdata.eu/

References[edit | edit source]