Austrian Football League kicks off 2025 season
The Austrian Football League is back in action this weekend as the AFL will kick off 2025 with six teams competing for the title.
All games can be watched live here.
The AFL is entering its 41st season, concluding with the 40th edition of the Austrian Bowl on July 26 at the NV Arena in St. Pölten.
In 2025, each team will again play 10 regular season games, followed by a playoff round (semifinals) and the subsequent final, Austrian Bowl XL. With the reduction to six teams, all teams will now face each other once at home and once away.
The Prague Black Panthers are defending champions after they defeated the AFC Vienna Vikings in the 2024 Austrian Bowl.
The season opens on March 22 with the Danube Dragons facing the Prague Black Panthers, the Salzburg Ducks taking on the Graz Giants and the AFC Vienna Vikings playing the Swarco Raiders Tirol.
Prague Black Panthers: 2024 Record 6-4 – Austrian champions
Head coach: Jayson Miller
Starting QB: Kaylan Wiggins (American)
AFC Vienna Vikings 2024 Record: 9-1 – Austrian Bowl Runner-Ups
Head Coach: Benjamin Sobotka
Starting QB: Aaron Ellis (American)
Benjamin Sobotka on his new quarterback:
“Our new quarterback will leave his mark and be a great addition. It’s still a football game, it’s 11-on-11, the field is still 100 yards long, and there are two sets of goal posts. So, not much will necessarily change.”
Danube Dragons 2024 Record: 6-4 – Semifinalists
Head coach: Fred Armstrong
Starting QB: Alexander Reischl (Austrian)
The Dragons have signed Alexander Reischl, formerly quarterback for the AFC Vienna Vikings and also Team Austria’s signal caller. He gives Coach Armstrong a solid candidate behind center.
Graz Giants 2024 Record: 9-1 – Semifinalists
Head coach: Stefan Pokorny
Key addition: Rick Rhoades, offensive coordinator
Starting QB: Mateo Renteria (American)
The last time the Graz Giants won the Austrian Bowl was in 2008 and Rick Rhoades was the head coach. He returns this season as offensive coordinator. Mateo Renteria was the quarterback for the Stockholm Mean Machines for part of the Swedish Superserien league in 2024 until he suffered a season-ending injury. He has fully recovered.
Swarco Raiders Tirol 2024 Record: 4-6
Head coach: Dominik Bauer
Starting QB: Stefan Maiacher (Austrian)
While an import served as the starting quarterback last season, the Raiders are also relying on an Austrian as the starter for the first time this year in Stefan Maiacher. He has played for the Raiders for many years and in 28 appearances in the AFL, he has accumulated 2,006 passing yards and 23 touchdowns.
Salzburg Ducks: 2024 Record: 4-6
Head Coach: Joe Ashfield
Starting QB: Ian Gehrke (German)
Gehrke’s arrival in the AFL is his first venture outside of Germany. He understands the adjustment:
“What makes the AFL interesting is that it’s a small league, which is something I’m not used to in Germany. There, the good teams are at the top and the weaker teams are at the bottom – but in Austria, all the teams are pretty evenly matched which makes the whole thing incredibly interesting.”
