LIVE STREAM & PREVIEW: Swarco Raiders v. London Warriors – Battle4Tirol

The Swarco Raiders Take On British Champions the London Warriors

The Swarco Raiders enter the final game of their Battle4Tirol series against the defending British champions, the London Warriors, sporting a perfect 3-0 record. They dominated their first three opponents, Germany’s Stuttgart Scorpions and Dusseldorf Panthers, and the Basel Gladiators from Switzerland. They have also found their stride in Austria.

Although the Raiders struggled early in the Austrian league early losing two in a row, they have rebounded and are challenging for the Austrian title.

However, the London Warriors have won the last two British championships, both times against crosstown rivals the London Blitz and they are a perfect 3-0 in Great Britain this season while shutting out all three opponents.

Raiders head coach Shuan Fatah:

“The Warriors are certainly one of the best teams in Europe. They are physically strong and very athletic. They have a coaching staff with NFL experience and one of their players (Efe Obada) was good enough to get an NFL tryout. We have a lot of work waiting for us.”

One of the Raiders players to watch is running back David Oku (#25) who in his three games has had 28 carries for 319 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught 14 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown and he also scored on an 82-yard punt return touchdown against Stuttgart.

Interestingly, the Warriors squad includes one of Great Britain’s top television personalities in Vernon Kay (#25), host of a variety of shows including an NFL show on Britain’s TV4. Another player who bears watching is veteran running back Joshua Clarke who is having an excellent season.

Head coach Tony Allen who has had a long history in NFL Europe, will pose an interesting dilemma for both teams. He has been serving as an offensive assistant and special teams coordinator for the Raiders this season while interim Warriors head coach Aden Durde has been at the helm of the London club.

Allen is expected to be back on the sideline for the Warriors though, a club he has nurtured since helping to found it back in 2005.

Warriors running back, former NFLer (Chicago Bears) Jermaine Allen, was a member of the 2009 La Courneuve Flash team who lost to the Raiders in the 2009 EuroBowl final.

LIVE STREAM: Swarco Raiders v. London Warriors, June 6, 7p BDT (2p EDT)