Germany: Ingolstadt Dukes withdraw from 2024 GFL Season
In a press release issued earlier this week, the 1861 Ingolstadt Dukes have announced they will not be playing in the German Football League this upcoming 2024 season.
The Dukes were recently promoted back to GFL1 in 2022 and were a playoff team last season finishing with a 6-6 record. The club cited financial reasons for their withdrawal from the top league.
Here is the Dukes statement translated from German below:
“Since mid-October 2023, the club has had new management who is committed to the goal of completely restructuring the club and strengthening it for the future. These restructuring efforts now lead us to an important decision: In the 2024 season, no Ingolstadt Dukes team will compete in the top German league, the GFL. This step is part of a strategic reorientation to create a solid financial basis and avoid renewed over-indebtedness.
This is also where our collaboration with Mr. Eugen Haaf as head coach of the first team ends. This decision was made by mutual agreement because the sporting and club goals no longer coincide. We would like to thank Eugen Haaf for his many years of dedicated work and our shared successes. The entire American Football club wishes him all the best for his future.
Despite these changes, the passion for American football in our club remains unwavering. We have already invited our members to a meeting to announce the way forward for 2024. American football will also be played in Ingolstadt next year, but outside of the GFL.
In close cooperation with the AFVD and the AFVBy, a decision is currently being made as to which league the Ingolstadt Dukes’ first men’s team will compete in. We will inform our fans and the public about further developments as soon as they happen.
We thank our fans, members and supporters for their loyalty and ask for your understanding for the decisions made. Together we look forward to an exciting future and look forward to new challenges, opportunities and successes.”
Updates are expected in the coming weeks as to what the Dukes plan to do for the 2024 season. The German Football League will have to make some adjustments to the summer schedule as the Marburg Mercenaries and now Ingolstadt Dukes have both dropped out of the league’s southern conference.
