As week 8 is upon us in the European League of Football, it seems that financial problems have struck yet another team. Several sources including Ransport have reported that the Prague Lions are the latest ELF team to be on the verge of folding due to impending money issues.
It was only three weeks ago that the Leipzig Kings initially made a statement about their withdrawal from the league. It appears that the Prague Lions are next.
Initially reported by ELF insiders such as Nate Morris, and Sebastian Mühlenhof, and Around the ELF, the Prague Lions have apparently had ongoing financial issues since the start of the ELF season.
Prague Lions safety Jan Krs hauling down Thunder WR Robin Wilzeck
According to a current Prague Lions player who wished to remain anonymous, it seems that there have been several serious developments in Prague.
For starters, long time head coach and general manager Zach Harrod has allegedly stepped down. On top of that, the Lions players had a meeting Friday evening in which they apparently decided not to play this Sunday’s road game against the Fehérvár Enthroners. Expect a statement from the league or the Lions today on the matter. As of Friday, the ELF denied this stating the game will take place.
According to this Lions player, the team was expecting a influx of investment through certain sponsors, however due to contractual oversights no time frame was put in place for these payments, which have yet to be made. The lack of liquidity in the organization has resulted in no players being paid for June and several are without their May salaries.
via Prague Lions Facebook page
According to Nathaniel Morris, the Prague Lions new quarterback, 6’9 Nate Cox has been advised by his agent to leave and has done so.
Prague QB left organization… quit last night. “Unprofessional” was the key word used.
— Nathaniel Morris (@Nate_Morris_) July 21, 2023
The Lions player did state that the team’s other imports have at least, at this point, decided to stay with the team. The Lions players have also not practiced all week as many players have lost trust in management stating several issues, such as the late salaries, late equipment, and several unpaid debts around the organization’s various operating costs.
Ich höre es schon seit einigen Tagen: Die Lage bei den Prag Lions soll alles andere als rosig sein. Es droht wohl sogar dasselbe Szenario wie bei den Leipzig Kings.
— Sebastian Mühlenhof (@Seppmaster56) July 20, 2023
League commissioner Patrick Esume was reported to have had a call with the Prague players earlier this week encouraging them to play. However, according to this source, the players, led by the homegrown Czech veterans have reached the conclusion they will not play this weekend.
When asked about the future of the Lions in the ELF beyond this weekend, the source cast several doubts stating that the situation is nearly impossible to fix.
Prague’s last home game vs Berlin Thunder via Prague Lions Facebook page
This would be a major blow to the ELF to lose a second franchise during the season in only a month’s timespan. It would also leave the league’s Eastern conference with only four teams, instead of the original six, taking away revenue for several teams as they looked forward to hosting the Prague Lions and Leipzig Kings this summer.