EFA SITUATION ‘DYNAMIC’ AS TALKS CONTINUE?
Rumours of a rift within the European Football Alliance membership refuse to go away, but one team at least sounds somewhat optimistic that a resolution can be found to prevent the nascent alternative to the European League of Football from eating itself.
According to football-world, the Stuttgart Surge — who notably called for calm heads amid the initial break-up between the ELF and the original eight defectors that founded the EFA — have attempted to rationalise the reported disagreement that has seen five members of the latter organisation, including Stuttgart themselves, split off from a seven-team group that now includes new franchises in both London and Milan.
The division has reportedly been cause by disagreements over how the EFA should be funded. The eight teams that orchestrated the breakaway from the ELF did so, in large part, because of controversies over funding and the centralised control-cum-decision making in the five-year old league, but now appear to have found out, first-hand, that the matter remains very subjective. The ten existing teams — neither the London or Milan franchises are operational at this stage — are divided between adopting a financial system akin to that of the NFL, in which the teams have full control, or inviting external investment, with a rumoured 20 percent ownership stake being handed to whoever stumps up the cash. It is notable that those teams in favour of the latter are generally European-owned, with the other five teams — and likely both London, with David Gandler at the helm, and Milan — having American influence.
“Intensive discussions are taking place with all parties involved to ensure we can present European football at the highest level,” a Surge spokeman told football-world. “The situation is very dynamic at the moment. The EFA aims to establish a new league. Everyone agrees on the general goal — however, when it comes to the specifics, it’s perfectly normal for several options to emerge during the process, which are then discussed.”
The only other team to have commented publicly on the situation are the Nordic Storm, which hastily issued a statement denying rumours that it had quit the EFA altogether. Unlike Stuttgart, the Scandinavian outfit is still shown as being aligned alongside US-owned franchises including Prague and Paris.
“We are aware of the rumours about Nordic Storm allegedly leaving the European Football Alliance (EFA),” the team noted. “These claims are false. Nordic Storm remains fully committed to the further development of professional American football in Europe and maintains a constructive dialogue with its partners to create the best possible conditions for the future of the sport.”
While the thought of the teams exercising control over their league — as opposed to the ELF making decisions without consultation — is admirable, the current dispute underlines the major weakness of the pseudo-NFL system that makes consensus difficult to reach, especially with vested interests involved. And that is before the teams — none of whom have achieved profitability in five years — realise that they will have to contribute financially to ensure the league’s sustainability.
To that end, the thought of an outside investor taking on the financial load, as has been championed by Vienna Vikings owner Robin Lumsden and supported by others, including double ELF champions Rhein Fire, is understandably preferable to teams, especially those that have struggled financially in recent years — except for the fact that there would likely be an 11th (or 13th following recent expansion) voice in any debate.
According to Germany’s Rheinische Post, and in line with the claims coming from reigning ELF champion Stuttgart, ‘the franchises are developing proposals on how they might still reach an agreement’, although it has not been reported what this compromise will entail.
Whilst the internal row has been brewing within the EFA, rumours of a new team forming in Switzerland — allegedly in the wake of the plucky Helvetic Mercenaires folding — have come to the fore, with the expectation that the Alpine Rams will join either the ELF or EFA for next season. Little is known of the potential newcomer bar its name and location, which were apparently revealed at an NFL watch party over the weekend, according to FootBowl.
What is particularly intriguing about that development, however, is that the Mercenaries social media remains alive and well — to the point of this very weekend publishing details of events geared towards their involvement on the field next season.
Although Gridiron has reached out for comment on the various storylines included here, none has yet been forthcoming.