EFA PRESSES AHEAD WITH OWN LEAGUE IN 2026

Craig Llewellyn World Football

The European Football Alliance (EFA) has confirmed that it is to launch its own league for the forthcoming 2026 season, after merger talks with the rival American Football League Europe (AFLE) ended without resolution.

The two parties, once united under the EFA banner following last autumn’s split from the European League of Football (ELF), are divided on several issues, not least the funding model each prefers. Reconciliation attempts have been made on numerous occasions but, with an expected May kickoff on the agenda for both groups, the time has clearly come for both to forge ahead with diminished numbers.

The AFLE has been more active of late, issuing numerous statements regarding its funding and structure, as well as details of roster construction, but still only has five confirmed teams, with a sixth — in Paris — due to be formally announced this Sunday as the league capitalises on the build-up to Super Bowl LX.

The addition of the Munich Ravens earlier this week, meanwhile, took EFA membership to seven teams, with two more — in London and Milan — scheduled to swell numbers for 2027. Each of the existing franchises — Frankfurt Galaxy, Paris Musketeers, Madrid Bravos, Munich Ravens, Raiders Tirol, Nordic Storm and Prague Lions — have shown themselves to be of the highest standard on and off the field, which the EFA hopes will translate into close competition throughout the coming campaign.

To ensure that aim, the EFA Board of Governors has approved a balanced ‘double round robin format’ for 2026 season which, unlike previous legacy formats that relied on uneven conferences or inter-league play against weaker opponents, should prove to be both straightforward to understand and unforgiving to contest.

Under the format, the EFA guarantees that the season will feature the ‘Best vs. Best — Twice’ as each team plays every other franchise at home and away. That translates into 12 games spread over the familiar 14-week European regular season. By consolidating the majority of the continent’s elite organisations into a single table, the EFA also believes that there will be no easy games and no inflated records as a result.

“This schedule represents a grand tour for football players and coaches, testing them in every major European market,” an official statement claimed. “To win the EFA title, a team must prove itself in every hostile environment and defend its home turf against every top contender.”

With the decision to implement its own competition now taken, the EFA’s next steps will be to formulate individual team schedules, details regarding the likely playoff format and a host venue for the 2026 championship game. These details are expected to be released in the coming days.