BNL kicks off 2024 season
The BNL kicks off this weekend and an influx of two new teams into the league to face off with some BNL regulars means that the 2024 season is a powder keg and these teams are ready to ignite the fuse and give us some explosive football action.
Amsterdam Crusaders: 2023 record 6-2 – BNL champions
The reigning champions of the BNL will be looking to take gold back to the Venice of the North for the third time in a row.
Amsterdam will be looking to improve their regular season record at the very least, as it’s hard to find improvements when you are the champions. Going 6-2 with regular-season losses to the Limburg Shotguns and the Brussels Black Angels, both by only three points, Amsterdam were right on the edge of perfection.
Though their championship run erased their regular season losses, especially when in their third meeting with the Brussels Black Angels in the championship game, the Crusaders picked up the win 17-7.
Brussels Black Angels: 2023 record 7-1 – BNL Runner Ups
The Black Angels finished with the best record in the BNL at 7-1 but with a regular season and a championship game loss to the Crusaders, it was not to be for the Brussels-based side. With four shutout victories on their 2023 record, the Black Angels will be looking to continue their dominance but finishing the season with their names etched in championship history.
Limburg Shotguns: 2023 record 5-3 – BNL Semifinalists
The third-place side in the BNL wants their name mentioned in the same breath as the Black Angels and the Crusaders but have some work to put in, as they were unable to topple Brussels but they did manage to pull out a victory over the Crusaders during the regular season.
Limburg now find themselves in a tricky situation as they have the two new teams encroaching on their land and may risk becoming a gate-keeper team if they cannot take some wins away from the three new squads to the BNL this year.
Kasteel Nitros (Izegem Tribes): 2023 record 2-6 – Finished 4th
Not a season covered in glory for Kasteel last year with only wins over the Ghent Gators and suffering five shutout losses to the three teams who are in the top flight of the BNL. More so than Limburg, the Nitros need to get firing if they wish to not just become the litmus test for the two new squads to the 2024 BNL season as they could run the risk of suffering the same fate as the Ghent Gators did last year by not winning a game.
Brussels Tigers: New team
A team that BNL fans should recognize as they have not just sprouted up from nowhere having been a dominant factor in the BAFL for many years. The Tigers will be looking to make an impact as they engage with old foes at the highest level of American football in Belgium and the Netherlands.
The 3x Belgian American Football League champions enter the league with their eyes set on some old foes. The Tigers have locked horns with some of the top flight clubs in the BNL before, namely the Limburg Shotguns and the Black Angels.
Rotterdam Trojans: New team
Rotterdam enter the BNL after a tumultuous season in the Netherlands American Football League, finishing with a 3-4 record. Though the Trojans made the playoffs they fell in the semi-finals to the Lelystad Commanders in a 29-6 loss.
The Trojans three regular season wins came against Groningen 21-10, Hilversum 20-10 and then Lelystad 21-14. It will be a big step up for competition for Rotterdam but they have accepted the challenge so there must be a level of faith from the back office of the Trojans if they think a leap of this magnitude could result in them winning a championship in the BNL,
