Prague Lions
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]
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 |
2023 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
|
Staff[edit | edit source]
Head Coaches[edit | edit source]
Name | Tenure | Record | Titles | |
---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | |||
Zach Harrod | – 25 July 2023 | 1¹ | 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
Head coach
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
|
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]
- ↑ https://europeanleague.football/news/european-league-of-football-expands-homegrown-market-for-three-nations-1859
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ci2gz34A39G/
- ↑ https://www.americanfootballinternational.com/elf-prague-lions-on-brink-of-elf-withdrawal-as-financial-troubles-loom/
- ↑ https://ukpoint.cuni.cz/IPSCEN-70.html
- ↑ https://www.americanfootballinternational.com/elf-prague-lions-to-resume-play-and-finish-2023-season/