With the coronavirus holding Europe in a firm grip, the list of American football leagues that have postponed all activity is long but more and more are canceling the season.
The most recent is France although an official announcement has not yet been made. The Swiss American Football Federation was the first nation to cancel the league although they may hold some form of competition in another format.
The German Football League will remain suspended until late April at which time an announcement will be made although it is more likely that a decision will be made sooner than that now. Austria is mulling over three different scenarios while the league is suspended and the same situation applies to Italy. The Czech Republic, Great Britain, Spain, Holland, Portugal, Belgium, Turkey, Serbia, as well as Denmark, Norway and Finland (whose seasons have not started the season yet) have all suspended all activities. Most of these countries are in lockdown so the likelihood of a return to normal activities in the near future seems small.
Russia, the Ukraine and Belarus have all put their American football activities on hold and since their seasons were not scheduled to start, all three have stated they will hold off making a final decision for now.
Status of European countries affected by COVID-19
Austria – Suspended
Belarus – Suspended
Belgium – Suspended
Bosnia and Herzegovina – Suspended
Croatia – No information
Czech Republic – Suspended
Denmark – Suspended
Finland – Suspended
France – Cancelled
Germany – Suspended
Great Britain – Suspended
Holland – Suspended
Hungary – Suspended
Ireland – Suspended
Israel – Suspended
Italy – Suspended
Norway – Suspended
Poland LFA – Suspended
Portugal- Suspended
Romania – Suspended
Russia – Suspended
Serbia – Suspended
Slovakia – Suspended
Slovenia – No information
Spain – Suspended
Sweden – Suspended
Switzerland – Cancelled
Turkey – Suspended
Ukraine – Suspended (Some activity taking place)
Current situation
The World Health Organization has proclaimed this to be a pandemic and instead of abating, it seems to be picking up steam, at least in Europe. As of March 22, a total of almost 310,000 COVID-19 cases were confirmed in almost 190 countries. A total of 13,068 people have died throughout from the virus with Italy now accounting for the highest number of fatalities, 4,825.
American Football International will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they come in. If there are updates to this list, please notify us by sending a message on Facebook or emailing us at rkelly@americanfootballinternational.com or info@americanfootballinternational.com.