In September 2021 the Vienna Vikings were founded as a franchise and the announcement of their plans to participate in the European League of Football (ELF) was made officially during the halftime of the inaugural Championship Game in Duisburg.
The professional ELF Team uses the same name and practice facilities as the amateur team, the American Football & Cheerleading Club Vienna Vikings which was founded in 1983 and has been known as one of Europe's most dominant teams having won the Eurobowl title five times (2004–2007 and 2013), as well being the runner-up five times (2001, 2003, 2008, 2010 and 2012). In the national championship the AFC Vienna Vikings are holding the record of 15 Austrian Bowl victories.
Business lawyer and longtime quarterback in the Austrian Football League, Robin Lumsden stepped in as co-owner and investor.
In their first ELF season in 2022, they won the ELF outright.
In February 2024, the Vikings unveiled their new logo for the ELF team. [1]
With their new quarterback Ben Holmes, the Vikings continued their unbeaten streak in the regular season after 2023.
However, Holmes was injured in Week 2 and backup Alexander Reischl played in Week 3 before Shelton Eppler was brought in as a replacement for Weeks 4 and 5.
In week 6, Holmes was able to play again and thanks to the Vikings 12-0 record, they had a bye week in the wildcard round and faced the Paris Musketeers in the semifinals, defeating them 47-31 in front of 10,981 of their own fans.
In the final, the Vikings then lost to Rhein Fire 51-20.
Head Coach Chris Calaycay was named Coach of the Year at the ELF Honors. LT Aleksandar Milanovic received the Man of Honor award. In addition, WR Noah Touré was named Offensive Rookie of the Year. [2]
After quarterback Jackson Erdmann announced his retirement from active sports, the Vikings signed Chris Helbig from the Potsdam Royals as quarterback for the 2023 season. Otherwise, the roster remained largely unchanged. After the disagreements with Austria, the Vikings' home stadium remained unclear for a long time. Finally, the Generali-Arena was again announced as the venue for the first home game against the Prague Lions at the beginning of April. The remaining home games will took place at the Hohe Warte stadium.
Three games before the end of the regular season, the Vikings won the conference title again ahead of schedule and became the first team to secure home field in the 2023 play-offs. With 12:0 wins from the regular season, they then qualified directly for the semi-finals, where they hosted the Stuttgart Surge. The Vikings missed out on a return to the final after losing 33:40 at home.
The Vikings announced the departure of offensive coordinator John Shannon during the 2023 season. Austrian national team head coach Max Sommer was hired as a consultant and Calaycay took over the offensive playcalling. Sommer took over as offensive coordinator in November 2023.
In the 2022 season, the Vienna Vikings played at the Generali Arena. In the regular season, the Vikings won ten of their twelve games to secure first place in the Central Division. Prior to the semifinals, the Austria Wien soccer club withdrew its agreement to use the Generali Arena, so the game had to be played at the Ravelin Football Center in front of 900 spectators. The Vikings advanced to the final at Klagenfurt's Wörthersee Stadium with a 39-12 victory over the Barcelona Dragons. In the Championship Game, the Vikings secured the ELF championship with a 27-15 win over the Hamburg Sea Devils.
In the 2022 season, the Generali Arena was the home stadium of the Vikings. The stadium, where Austria Wien soccer club normally plays its matches, can accommodate up to 17,656 spectators. In the 2022 season, an average of 3,449 fans visited the stadium. Before the semi-final, Austria withdrew its consent to use the Generali Arena and the match had to be played at the Ravelin Football Center.
In the 2023 season, only the home opener against the Prague Lions was played in the Generali Arena for the time being. The semi-final against the Stuttgart Surge on June 17, 2023 was also played in the Generali Arena. There was a record crowd of 10,108 spectators.
In the 2024 season, the first home game will also be played in the Generali Arena. The guest will be Austrian rivals Raiders Tirol. The second home game against Berlin Thunder will also take place in the Austria Wien stadium.
The Ravelin football center has been the training center of AFC Vienna Vikings since 2007. Covering an area of 25,600 m², it has two permanently marked artificial turf football pitches, floodlights suitable for television and a grandstand for 888 spectators.
The ELF team played on the Ravelin twice. The 2022 semi-final took place in front of 900 spectators at the Ravelin after Austria Vienna withdrew its consent to use the Generali Arena. In the 2023 season, the last home game against the Fehervar Enthroners was played on the Ravelin.
The Hohe Warte stadium, also known as the "Heilige Warte" by fans, is the traditional home stadium of AFC Vienna Vikings. It has a capacity of 4,500 spectators. In the 2023 season, it was the main stadium of the ELF team.
On April 2, 2024, the Vikings announced that they would play their remaining home games of the 2024 season at the Wiener Neustadt ERGO Arena, located in Wiener Neustadt, about 50 km south of the federal capital. Those four games will be against the Wroclaw Panthers, Helvetic Mercenaries, Prague Lions and Fehervar Enthroners. The stadium, normally the home ground of the local soccer team 1. Fortuna Wiener Neustädter SC, was completed in 2019, has natural grass and a capacity of 4,000 spectators.
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