Central European Football League goes straight to quarterfinal round

The Central European Football League, CEFL, has had to adjust to the pandemic like all other leagues in the world and consequently have had to revamp the schedule.

Initially, the CEFL was set to kick off this weekend, April 24 with a first round of games among the 11 participating teams originally planned.

However, lockdowns have swept through Europe again, imposing limitations on public gatherings and bans on travel. As a result, a number of teams in the tournament have had to pull out.

Rescheduling was hardly an option due to a lack of open weekends and unclear situation in the future. So the decision was made to shorten the tournament to three rounds – quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game. In addition, an eighth team was also needed due to the withdrawals so an invitation was extended to the 2019 Hungarian champions, the Fehervar Enthroners.

With this, the CEFL will consist of eight teams who will battle through three rounds to decide a champion.

Team ranking
1. Swarco Raiders Tirol, Austrian 2019 champions, CEFL 2019 champions, ECTC 2019 champions
2. Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns, German Football League 2019 runners-up
3. Dacia Vienna Vikings, Austrian Football League 2019 runners-up, ECTC 2019 finalists, Austrian 2020 champions
4. Calanda Broncos, Swiss 2019 champions, CEFL 2019 finalists
5. Milan Seamen, Italian 2019 champions
6. Carlstad Crusaders, Swedish 2020 champions
7. Kragujevac Wild Boars, Serbian 2019 champions
8. Fehervar Enthroners, Hungarian 2019 champions

The tournament will still be played in a single-round knockout style with the winners advancing to the next round. Naturally, the pandemic can throw another wrench into these plans.