German Football League
Current season, competition or edition: 2016 German Football League
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| Formerly | American Football Bundesliga (1979–1999) |
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| Sport | American football |
| Founded | 1979 |
| No. of teams | 16 |
| Country | Germany |
| Most recent champion(s) |
New Yorker Lions |
| Most titles | New Yorker Lions (11) |
| Official website | gfl.info |
The German Football League (GFL) is the elite league for American football in Germany and was formed in 1979. Playing rules are based on those of the American NCAA.
In 1999 the league switched its name from American Football Bundesliga to German Football League.
The GFL is partitioned into north and south conferences, each with eight teams. In each conference, every team plays against every other team of its own conference, both at home and away. Until 2011, each team also played home and away interconference games against the team from the opposing conference that finished the previous season on the same rank. However, this was abandoned with the league expansion to 16 teams. After the end of the regular season, four teams from both conferences enter the playoffs, to determine the German championship. The winner of a conference plays against the 4th place team of the other group, second against third of the other conference. The final is called the German Bowl. The lowest ranked team of each conference plays against the winner of the second division, and may be relegated if they lose.
The league had been expanded from 12 to 14 teams for the 2011 season. It further increased the number of teams to 16 in 2012.
Below the GFL sits the GFL 2, formerly the 2nd Bundesliga, which was formed in 1982. It is also divided into a northern and southern division, with eight teams in each. For the 2011 season, both the northern and the southern champions are promoted, while the runners-up of the two divisions will play the last placed team in the GFL division above for another spot in the league in 2012.
For most of its history, the GFL has been divided into a northern and southern division. Only in 1979 was it played in single division format, while, from 1986 to 1990, it was divided into four regional divisions.
As of 2010, the Munich Cowboys have played more GFL games than any other team, 335, followed by the Berlin Adler with 312, the only other team with more than 300 league games. The Cowboys have played 29 out of a possible 32 seasons at the highest level of the game in Germany, more than any other club.
The history of American football in Germany, outside the US Army bases in the country, began in 1977, when the Frankfurter Löwen were formed as the first club to play the game in Germany. At first, this team was only able to play US Army teams, lacking German opposition. The formation of the league dates back to a German TV interview with Alexander Sperber, son of an U.S. Army soldier and German mother, which created enough interest to form a number of teams and the league, referred to as German-American Football League. In March 1979, the AFBD, the American Football Federation of Germany (German: American Football Bund Deutschland), was formed, the first of its kind in Europe. This organisation, in 1982, was replaced by the AFVD, the American Football Association of Germany (German: American Football Verband Deutschland).
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