The Fehérvár Enthroners are an American football team from Székesfehérvár, Hungary, established in 2007. The Enthroners are competing in the European League of Football (ELF) since 2023.[1]
Previously they played in the Hungarian Football League and won the Hungarian Bowl two times. Since 2018 the club has a team in the lower divisions of the Austrian Football League, where they had an unbeaten record from 2018 until early 2023.
History
After establishing in 2007, the team participated in the lowest league without noticeable success until 2015, reaching play-off for the first time.
In 2016 a new football program started: the team moved to First Field, the first Hungarian American football stadium, and finished runners-up in tier 3, promoted into tier 2. In 2017 the Enthroners won Division I undefeated, and since then they participate in the HFL. In 2018 they finished in the 5th place, but in 2019, after finishing 3rd place in the regular season, they won Hungarian Bowl XIV.[2] In 2021 they lost the final after an undefeated regular season,[3] but in 2022 they won the HFL undefeated.
Since 2018 the Enthroners are participating in the Austrian lower leagues. By the rules they had to compete in Divisions 4, 3 and 2, before promoting to Division 1 (second highest division in Austria). Despite the winning lower divisions the Austrian Federation did not allowed to skip any divisions, so Enthroners had to play in all 4 lower tiers. As the since 2022 the Austrian Federation does not allow to promote teams into top level AFL to stabilize the 10 participating teams' positions, Enthroners were not allowed to play in the top division.[4]
In 2021 they entered the Central European Football League, but because of the Covid-related travel issues the Calanda Broncos won the match without playing.[5]
In 2022 the team participated in the CEFL Cup, won the Southern group and entered the final against Prague Lions.[6] With a 24:20 victory on their home field they won the title.[7]
European League of Football
On May 13, 2022, during a press conference it was announced than the Enthroners will enter the European League of Football in 2023.[8] Jamie Hill continued to be the team's head coach. In addition, the Enthroners second team continued to play in the AFL Division 1. After three defeats in the first three games, the Enthroners fired [3] The Hungarians also struggled both under quarterback Jerod Evans and his successor Kevin Doyle. They received two victories at the green table, after the Prague Lions had canceled the game in Fehervar, and the Leipzig Kings withdrew from the league. On 19. August 2023, the Enthroners were able to celebrate the first victory on the field: 19-3 against the Lions in front of their own audience. A week later, the Enthroners were on the verge of the big sensation: against the reigning champion Vienna Vikings they lost by only one point less. After the 3-9 season, the Enthroners parted ways with Head Coach Hill.
In the spring of 2024, the franchise founded the Fehérvár Enthroners American Football Academy. In this newly founded junior center, young players are to receive both football and school education. The Academy will also provide the team in the AFL Division I. The previous offensive coordinator Joe Ashfield took over as head coach. Jack Mangel, Concord University Mountain Lions, was signed as quarterback. In the 2024 season, the Enthroners won two home wins against the Prague Lions and the Milano Seamen, and were ranked 4th in the Eastern Conference.
Head coach for the 2025 season is Mark Ridgle, previously with the Madrid Bravos.
Season summary
Hungarian championship
| Year | Division | Finish | Games | W | L | PF | PA | Postseason |
| 2009[9] | Div III | 7th | 4 | 1 | 3 | 105 | 150 | — |
| 2010[10] | Div II | 3rd | 6 | 4 | 2 | 170 | 34 | — |
| 2011[11] | Div II | 10th | 5 | 0 | 5 | 45 | 127 | — |
| 2014[12] | Div II | 11th | 4 | 0 | 4 | 47 | 104 | — |
| 2015[13] | Div II | 5th | 4 | 2 | 2 | 60 | 79 | Lost WC: Zala Predators (7–14) |
| 2016[14] | Div II | 2nd | 4 | 4 | 0 | 116 | 14 | Won SF: Dabas Sparks (53–12) Lost DB VIII: Budapest Eagles (13–35) |
| 2017[15] | Div I | 1st | 7 | 7 | 0 | 248 | 45 | Won PB XI: Budapest Eagles (28–7) |
| 2018[16] | HFL | 5th | 7 | 2 | 5 | 123 | 210 | — |
| 2019[17] | HFL | 3rd | 5 | 3 | 2 | 117 | 67 | Won WC: Miskolc Steelers (33–28) Won SF: Budapest Cowbells (16–13) Won HB: Kyiv Capitals (14–12) |
| 2021 | HFL | 1st | 4 | 4 | 0 | 109 | 21 | Lost HB: Budapest Wolves (7–18) |
| 2022 | HFL | 1st | 4 | 4 | 0 | 150 | 51 | Won SF: Miskolc Steelers (26–13) Won HB: Budapest Wolves (31–24) |
- WC = Wild card
- SF = Semi finals
- HB = Hungarian Bowl
- PB = Pannon Bowl
- DB = Duna Bowl
Austrian championship
| Year | Division | Finish | Games | W | L | PF | PA | Postseason |
| 2018[18] | Div 4 (Group B) | 1st | 6 | 6 | 0 | 302 | 6 | Won SF: Wörgl Warriors (75–0) Won MB IV: Upper Styrian Rhinos (44–6) |
| 2019[19] | Div 3 (Group B) | 1st | 8 | 8 | 0 | 276 | 24 | Won SF: Pinzgau Celtics (37–6) Won CB XVI: Upper Styrian Rhinos (32–6) |
| 2021[20] | Div 2 (Group A) | 1st | 6 | 6 | 0 | 274 | 35 | Won SF: Styrian Hurricanes (70–0) Lost IB XIII: Schwaz Hammers (no game) |
| 2022 | Div 1 (Group A) | 1st | 8 | 8 | 0 | 262 | 38 | Won SF: Hohenems Blue Devils (49–18) Won SB: Amstetten Thunder (42–7) |
| 2023 | Div 1 (Group A) | 4th | 8 | 1 | 7 | 59 | 232 | – |
| 2024 | Div 1 | 6th | 8 | 5 | 3 | 207 | 176 | Lost WC: Vienna Knights (0-18) |
- SF = Semi finals
- MB = Mission Bowl
- CB = Challenge Bowl
- IB = Iron Bowl
- SB = Silver Bowl
International
| Year | Division | Finish | Games | W | L | PF | PA | Postseason |
| 2021[21] | CEFL | - | - | - | - | - | - | Lost QF Calanda Broncos (no game)[22] |
| 2022[23] | CEFL Cup (South) | 1. | 1 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 12 | Won F: Prague Lions (24–20) |
European League of Football
| Year | Division | Finish | Games | W | L | PF | PA | Postseason |
| 2023 | ELF (East) | 4. | 12 | 3 | 9 | 218 | 422 | – |
| 2024 | ELF (East) | 4. | 12 | 2 | 10 | 168 | 422 | – |
| 2025 | ELF (East) |
- QF = Quarter finals
- F = Final
See also
References
- ^ "European League of Football - Neue ELF-Teams: Mailand, Zürich und Budapest steigen in European League of Fotball ein". www.ran.de (in German). 2022-05-13. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
- ^ "Fehérvár Enthroners survive scare, capture first ever Hungarian crown". American Football International. 2019-07-09.
- ^ "Budapest Wolves stun Fehérvár Enthroners to capture 8th Hungarian title". American Football International. 2021-07-12.
- ^ "Austrian Football League wird auf zehn Teams aufgestockt" (in German). 2021-11-25.
- ^ "Calanda Broncos — Fehervar Enthroners". 2021-05-29.
- ^ "CEFL Cup refueled". 2022-03-05.
- ^ "CEFL Cup final game recap". 2022-07-24.
- ^ "ELF adds Milano Seamen, Fehérvár Enthroners, and Zurich for 2023". American Football International. 2022-05-13. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
- ^ "2009 Divízió III. eredmények".[permanent dead link]
- ^ "2010 Divízió II. eredmények". Retrieved 2016-10-18.
- ^ "2011 Divízió II. eredmények".
- ^ "2014 Divízió II. eredmények".
- ^ "2015 ESA Divízió II. eredmények".
- ^ "2016 Fezen Divízió II. eredmények".
- ^ "2017 Fezen Divízió I. eredmények".
- ^ "2018 HFL eredmények".
- ^ "2019 HFL eredmények". Archived from the original on 2019-04-25. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ "Archiv Division 4" (in German).
- ^ "Archiv Division 3" (in German).
- ^ "Archiv Division 2" (in German).
- ^ "Restructuring the Championship". 2021-04-20.
- ^ "Calanda Broncos — Fehervar Enthroners". 2021-05-29.
- ^ "CEFL Cup refueled". 2022-03-05.
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