ELF: Barcelona Dragons add former CFL WR Benjamin Plu from France

| American Football | 12/08/2021

The Barcelona Dragons of the European League of Football have added another weapon signing French receiver Benajmin Plu.

The former CFL player is excited to be a part of the Dragons for the 2022 season after seeing how ELF’s lone Spanish franchise played down the stretch last season:

“I followed closely the Elf season last year and that’s why I picked the Dragons. I like the football they showed and how they finished strong. I think the organization is going to grow as one of the best teams in Europe.”

The 6’3″ 190-pound pass-catcher most recently suited up in Finland, playing for the Seinäjoki Crocodiles in the Maple League this past summer.  In seven games, Plu racked up 19 catches for 296 yards and three scores in Seinäjoki’s run-first offense. The Le Mans, France native reached the Canadian Football League in 2019, as he was selected seventh overall in the 2019 CFL Global Draft by the B.C Lions. Plu spent most of the 2019 season on the Lions practice squad before playing in the final four games of the 2019 season.  The Global player was poised to return in 2020 only to have the pandemic cancel the season.

Prior to his CFL experience, Plu was a standout pass catcher for the Thonon Black Panthers in France helping them win the title with a championship game MVP performance in 2019.  As a university student, Plu also spent time with the McGill Redmen of Quebec’s college football scene after getting his start playing football for the Caïmans 72 du Mans.

The Dragons remain busy in the off-season signing the experienced European receiver. Barcelona has also brought back running back Adrian Jimenez, defensive linemen Yago Rivero and Sebastian Bowen, along with linebacker Alex Gonzales. However, it remains to be seen who will be the head coach for Plu and the Dragons come 2022.

Read more about Benjamin Plu’s football story here

Watch Plu’s 2021 highlights

Alex is a former NCAA and semi-pro American football player who is now located in London, where he works in digital marketing. His goal in writing for AFI is to stay involved with the game that has given him so much. Alex enjoys covering leagues and