“This is the way”: ELF makers satisfied before big finale

Who will win the grand final of the European League of Football (ELF) this year: Vienna or Düsseldorf?
IMAGO/Footrest

Before the big final in front of a record crowd of at least 35,000 spectators in Gelsenkirchen’s Veltins Arena, the home of second division club FC Schalke 04, the makers of the European League of Football (ELF) see their product continuing to grow. “We are marching into the big stadiums. That is the way to make this league a mass magnet,” said ELF boss Zeljko Karajica at a press conference on Monday.

The fourth season of the European football league will end with the final next Sunday (3:30 p.m./ProSieben) between Rhein Fire Düsseldorf and the Vienna Vikings. Almost 500,000 spectators attended, which is a good sign, but for Karajica “not the growth that we would have had without the European Football Championship and the Olympic Games.”

There has been a drop in TV ratings, but they are good for a year “with these major events,” said the ELF boss.

One or two new teams

Nevertheless, one must also talk about the poor attendance average of some teams in metropolises such as Prague or the scandal surrounding the Barcelona Dragons, said the 53-year-old. The team from the Catalan metropolis did not continue the first leg against the Munich Ravens when the score was 0:54 and even lost the second leg 0:90.

NFL Preview Week 2 – Nobody answers here!

Nobody is overreacting here! Or maybe a little…? The first game day of the new NFL season is in the books – and alarm bells are already ringing for some teams. Hosts Kucze, Detti, Michael and Grille will put everything in order for you.

12.09.24 – 13:00
01:06:35 hours

“We are disappointed,” admitted ELF Commissioner and NFL TV expert Patrick Esume. However, Barcelona will remain part of the league next season. They also want to add “one or two new teams” to the European competition and “continue to grow healthily.”

According to Esume, there are no favorites for the final on Sunday. He expects the duel between the champions of 2022 (Vienna) and 2023 (Düsseldorf) to be “an absolute nailbiter,” and he believes the decision will be made in the last two minutes.