2011 EFAF Cup Preview

International play is one of the most fascinating features of the European Football season each spring and summer. The best clubs of Europe from the preceding season are offered the opportunity to not only represent themselves in combat, but their countries as well. The Eurobowl tournament has already been introduced showcasing national champions from 8 separate countries. The second tier tournament that sees just as much, if not more, competition is the EFAF Cup. The EFAF Cup has been played since the merger of two other European tournaments in 2002. None of the teams who are in the competition this season have won an EFAF Cup tournament, therefore a first time champion will be crowned later this summer. 9 countries and 11 clubs are represented in this year’s field spanning from the breathtaking British Isles across Central and Southern Europe to southeastern Serbia. This tournament is a good variety of champion teams from smaller leagues in smaller nations to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place teams from larger leagues. 8 of the 11 teams this year were either national champions or runners-up in their respective nations in 2010. The parity of the competition is evidenced by the fact that only one club has repeated as champion since the beginning of the contest. The teams are placed into groups and begin the tournament in the Group stage. Groups of 3 will all play one another the winner determined by 2 wins or best point differential in the event of a 3-way tie. Hohenems and Kragujevac will play one game in Austria on April 10th, with the winner advancing to the semi-finals.

In Group 1 (seen on the map in Green) we see the only team that has had the opportunity to play in an EFAF Cup final in the entire field. The Thonon Black Panthers (France) lost the 2009 Cup final to the Prague Panthers. After a year playing in the higher level tournament in 2010, the Eurobowl, the Panthers are back to display their international firepower against last year’s runner up in the Czech Republic, the Prague Black Hawks, and the Milan Rhinos of Italy. The Hawks 2010 Czech finalist, and Rhinos will have an opportunity to show that they are ready to be regarded as tournament teams to be reckoned with.

The Hohenems Blue Devils (Austria) and Kragujevac Wild Boars (Serbia) face off in Group 2 (seen on the map in Blue). The Blue Devils and Wild Boars are used to international play. The Devils have been competing for the past 2 seasons in the Central European Football League (CEFL). They also played their entire 2010 schedule in the Switzerland Football League despite the fact that the team hails from the westernmost part of Austria, Voralberg. Kragujevac got into this tournament last season and produced a worthy team, unfortunately they were grouped with the eventual champion in the first stage the Swiss Calanda Broncos. After beating Rome, the Broncos handed them their out card for the tournament 45-20.

The third Group (seen on the map in Red) gives us a showdown of 3 western European nations in England, France, and Denmark. 2 of the 3 teams from this group battled in last year’s EFAF cup. The St. Ouen Cougars from outside of Paris lost in the semi-final of the French national championship, and were 1-1 in last years competition beating the Amsterdam Crusaders (Netherlands) and losing a 5 point game to the Blitz of London (England), which would have advanced them to the next round. The Sollerod Gold Diggers (Denmark) won their second national championship in a row last season, but were a 1 and done team losing 26-3 to the Carlstad Crusaders of Sweden in the group stage. They bring their 1st place attitude to this tournament once again. Finally, from England, last year’s runner-up the Coventry Jets round out Group 3, and bring both EFAF and EFL experience to the tournament.

Group 4 (seen on the map in Purple) has to be the most competitive of all of the groups, at least on paper. There are 2 national champions and one runner-up from 2010 in the group. The Amsterdam Crusaders lost twice in the EFAF Cup last year, but turned that around by rattling of 6 wins in a row including the national championship of the Netherlands in July. The London Blitz, who beat the Jets in the English championship game, also won twice in this very stage of last year’s EFAF Cup beating the Crusaders of Amsterdam and the Cougars of St. Ouen before being ousted by the Crusaders of Carlstad (Sweden) in the semi-final. The Spanish runner-up Valencia Firebats played a step up last season in the Eurobowl tournament climbing out of their group stage in that tournament by going 1-1 against the Bergamo Lions (Italy) and the Elancourt Templiers (France) having the best point difference among the three. They finished international play at the hands of the Innsbruck Raiders (Austria) in the quarterfinal of the EFL. This year they should have success in the lower tournament, but a tough draw with 2 league champions in their path may spell disaster.

Whatever is to occur, expect a lot of excitement this Spring surrounding one of two highly contested international football competitions known as the EFAF Cup. In order to understand a bit more about this thrilling international competition, For the Love of the Game has been blessed with the opportunity to correspond with two successful head coaches in the following interviews.


Enjoy these brief interviews, and enjoy the EFAF Cup as well.

Stan Bedwell, Head Coach / Quarterback, Kragujevac Wild Boars

For the Love of the Game: Stan you take over a team that you were a part of a couple years back, traveling to Austria for a 1 game winner take all situation. What do you think of the Wild Boars' setup?

Stan Bedwell: The setup could be a bit better, because we are the only team in EFAF Cup without a home game and we have a long trip ahead of us. At the same time, we know that we are just one win away from advancing to the semi-finals. I guess it all depends on how you choose to look at it. Regardless, we are very excited about traveling to Austria and playing the blue devils. We have a lot of respect for their entire organization and we're looking forward to a competitive game on April 10th.

For the Love of the Game: The team finished 1-1 in last year's tournament, losing to the champions in Calanda in the group stage. What do you think the chances are for a more experienced group of Boars players this season?

Stan Bedwell: We believe that we have just as good of a shot as anyone else in the tournament. Right now excitement within our program is at an all-time high. We are practicing 4-5 days per week and averaging 60+ players. The work-ethic and dedication of our domestic players is really inspiring. In addition, we have added two excellent imports in Jeremy Payton (Arizona State) and Bryan Payton (Oregon State). They are both doing a great job and our players are feeding off their enthusiasm. I will not make any predictions for the tournament, but our team will prepare and expect to win each time we step on the field.

An article describing Stan's accomplishments in more detail can be viewed by following this link: Stan Bedwell a true football traveler.

Larry Legault, Head Coach, Thonon Black Panthers

For the Love of the Game: Is it difficult for the players to put a halt on their aspirations to win a national championship for a week and play in an international tournament? What's more important to the players, French Title or an EFAF Cup Title?

Coach Legault: The european contests add flavor to our schedule. Discovering new opponents and travelling to interesting cities are a bonus for our players and volunteers. I can't really rank the competitions but I would venture a guess that the French Championship would still mean more to the guys.

For the Love of the Game: A win in the Eurobowl in 2010, what can we expect from the Panthers in the EFAF Cup, a tournament that the team reached the finals of just 2 seasons ago?

Coach Legault: We've had a rough start to our season here in France; we need to improve in several phases of play if we expect to be at all competitive in the EFAF Cup.

For the Love of the Game: The Panthers Opponents, Rhinos Milan and Prague Black Hawks were 4-4 and 5-4 in 2010 with no international competition between the two teams. Does the previous experience give the Panthers an edge?

Coach Legault: Teams can change so much from one year to the next - for better or for worse. It's almost impossible to accurately anticipate a team's level of play without any previous direct competition. A team may have a modest won-lost record but play in a superior league; or they may have benefitted from several key transfers and have recruited three outstanding imports; or their budget may have doubled! It's just so difficult to evaluate these things. Previous experience in these competitions can help but only if you have the same nucleus of players. I would also add that it helps if you're on the road (travel experience) but it doesn't make that much of a difference when you're at home.