NO LUCK INVOLVED AS OGBEVOEN COMES HOME
A Blue Bomber has landed, literally, in the heart of the Austrian capital as linebacker Lucky Ogbevoen returns to his home town and the European League of Football.
After graduating from high school, Ogbevoen took his first steps as a professional in the ELF, playing for Stuttgart Surge as a mid-season signing in 2021, and then for the Raiders Tirol in 2022 and ‘23, before the lure of overseas football caught up with him and transferred his skills to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL in 2024. Now, however, home is calling, and the 24-year-old is heading back to Austria to play for the perennial contender Vienna Vikings.
“It feels like a full circle coming back to Vienna, to the place where my football career began,” Ogbevoen said with a smile as he signed his contract alongside head coach Chris Calaycay and franchise owner Robin Lumsden.
For the versatile defenseman, it’s a return to his sporting roots, to the place that shaped him as an athlete. Lucky went through the Vikings’ junior programme and graduated from the team’s academy at the Ballsportgymnasium Wien, before making his debut with the men’s team at just 16.
“He was physically gifted with great instincts,” Calaycay recalls the young Ogbevoen. “Lucky grew up in the ranks of the Vienna Vikings youth programme and now returns to Vienna as one of the top five dynamic defensive players in Europe to add that special play-making ability to our team. His enormous talent was evident from an early age, and his physical skills will be an essential and versatile part of our defense, whether that’s rushing the passer, dropping into coverage or stopping the run. Lucky has already proved to be one of the top young defensive players in the European League of Football and we’re ecstatic to have him back in Vienna.”
Week 1 of the 2025 European League of Football campaign starts on Monday, with the Vikings travelling to meet the Prague Lions for their season-opener on 18th May, a week before taking on the Fehervar Enthroners in the first home game of then year, at the Hohe Warte, on Saturday 24th May.
