Hungarian American Football League

Hungarian Football League
Formerly Hungarian American Football League (MAFL)
Sport American football
Founded 2005
Founder Hungarian Federation of American Football (MAFSZ)
Inaugural season 2005
No. of teams 6 (HFL)
5 (Division I)
12 (Division II)
Country  Hungary
Most recent
champion(s)
Budapest Wolves (7th title)
Most titles Budapest Wolves (7 titles)
TV partner(s) Digi Sport
Official website MAFSZ Online

The Hungarian Football League (HFL) is the top tier national american football competition in Hungary organized by the Hungarian Federation of American Football (MAFSZ). The competition was formerly called Hungarian American Football League (MAFL) (Hungarian: Magyarországi Amerikai Futballcsapatok Ligája), the top tier as MAFL Division I and the second tier as MAFL Division II; since 2012 the top tier is HFL, the 2nd tier is MAFSZ Division I and the 3rd tier is MAFSZ Division II.

History

The Hungarian American Football League (MAFL) began in 2005 under the guidance of the Hungarian Federation of American Football (MAFSZ) with 4 teams (Budapest Wolves, Győr Sharks, Debrecen Gladiators, Nagykanizsa Demons. The game rules are the standard gridiron football (NCAA) rules. The first winner of the first Hungarian Bowl became the Wolves.

In the next 2 years the Wolves participated only in the Austrian league, this 2 years has been won by the Sharks. In 2006 eight teams participated, in 2007 the championship had been split into two divisions (6 teams at Division I and 9 at Division II).

In 2008 the Wolves returned, and they won 3 more championships undefeated. In 2009 totally 26 teams participated so Division III had been introduced (this year 5+12+9 teams have been played in the three tiers). In 2010, they returned into the 2 tier format.

In 2011 MAFSZ restructured the championship format with the introduction of Hungarian Football League (HFL) which intended to be an international competition with the top 4 Hungarian teams and 4 from abroad. Division I and Division II became the 2nd and 3rd tier competitions, which were played in the spring season. The HFL was scheduled at tall season but only 3 teams were willing to participate, so in 2011 the Hungarian Bowl was cancelled.

In 2012, the HFL finally started, and this year the Budapest Wolves suffered their first ever defeat against a Hungarian team (against Budapest Hurricanes), but in the final Wolves defeated the Hurricanes. However, in 2013 the Hurricanes, in 2014 the Újbuda Rebels and in 2015 the Bratislava Monarchs defeated the Wolves in the Hungarian Bowl. The 2015 season was the only one when a foreign team participated, and with the Monarchs' win the official Hungarian champion were the HFL runners-up Wolves.

In 2016, the Miskolc Steelers became the first team in HFL history which is a non-capital city and participated in the finals, and they won the trophy as well, becoming the 6th team to win HFL in the 6 years' HFL history. In 2017 the Cowbells won the trophy, being technically the 7th team to win the HFL but as they are the successor of Újbuda Rebels, they are the first team to win 2 HFL trophies.

Hungarian American Football League System

SeasonHFLDivision IDivision IIDivision IIICup
2005I. Hungarian Bowl
2006II. Hungarian BowlI. Blue Bowl
2007III. Hungarian BowlI. Pannon Bowl
2008IV. Hungarian BowlII. Pannon Bowl
2009V. Hungarian BowlIII. Pannon BowlI. Duna Bowl
2010VI. Hungarian BowlIV. Pannon Bowl
2011(Fall Bowl)V. Pannon BowlII. Duna Bowl
2012VII. Hungarian BowlVI. Pannon BowlIII. Duna BowlII. Blue Bowl
2013VIII. Hungarian BowlVII. Pannon BowlIV. Duna Bowl
2014IX. Hungarian BowlVIII. Pannon BowlV. Duna Bowl
2015X. Hungarian BowlIX. Pannon BowlVI. Duna Bowl
2016XI. Hungarian BowlX. Pannon BowlVII. Duna Bowl
2017XII. Hungarian BowlXI. Pannon BowlVIII. Duna Bowl

Champions

SeasonDivision IDivision IIDivision III
2005ARD7 Budapest Wolves
2006Győr Sharks
2007Győr SharksBudapest Cowboys
2008Budapest WolvesNyíregyháza Tigers
2009Budapest WolvesDunaújváros GorillazÚjbuda Rebels
2010Budapest WolvesMiskolc Steelers
SeasonHFLDivision IDivision II
2011Nyíregyháza TigersBudapest Hurricanes
2012Budapest WolvesDunaújváros GorillazBudapest Cowboys
2013Budapest HurricanesBudapest CowboysÚjpest Bulldogs
2014Újbuda RebelsÚjpest BulldogsMiskolc Renegades
2015Bratislava MonarchsEger HeroesGladiators
2016Miskolc SteelersDunaújváros GorillazBudapest Eagles
2017Budapest CowbellsFehérvár EnthronersNyíregyháza Tigers

Championship Games

Hungarian Bowl

The Hungarian Bowl is the Championship Game of the Hungarian American Football League. Between 2005 and 2010 it was the final of the MAFL Division I. In 2011, the new top-tier championship HFL has been postponed, no Hungarian Bowl took place, the Fall Bowl was an unofficial championship. Since 2012 the Hungarian Bowl is the final of the Hungarian Football League.

Hungarian Bowl results

No. Season Winner Opponent Score
I2005, MAFL ARD7 Budapest WolvesDebrecen Gladiators46–0
II2006, MAFL Győr SharksDebrecen Gladiators7–6
III2007, MAFL Div I Győr SharksDebrecen Gladiators42–12
IV2008, MAFL Div I Budapest WolvesBudapest Cowboys20–14
V2009, MAFL Div I Budapest WolvesGyőr Sharks16–12
VI2010, MAFL Div I Budapest WolvesNyíregyháza Tigers58–0
Fall Bowl2011 Budapest WolvesNyíregyháza Tigers28–0
VII2012, HFL Budapest WolvesBudapest Hurricanes65–21
VIII2013, HFL Budapest HurricanesDocler Wolves28–24[1]
IX2014, HFL Újbuda RebelsDocler Wolves19–9[2]
X2015, HFL Bratislava Monarchs SlovakiaBudapest Wolves55–34[3]
XI2016, HFL Miskolc SteelersBudapest Cowbells19–16
XII2017, HFL Budapest CowbellsMiskolc Steelers14–10[4]
XIII2018, HFL Budapest WolvesMiskolc Steelers34–30

Hungarian Bowl Statistics

Position Team Champions Runners-up
1. Budapest Wolves 6 (2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2018) 3 (2013, 2014, 2015)
2. Budapest Cowbells 2 (2014, 2017) 2 (2008, 2016)
3. Győr Sharks 2 (2006, 2007) 1 (2009)
4. Miskolc Steelers 1 (2016) 2 (2017, 2018)
5. Budapest Hurricanes 1 (2013) 1 (2012)
6. Bratislava Monarchs Slovakia 1 (2015)
7. Debrecen Gladiators 3 (2005, 2006, 2007)
8. Nyíregyháza Tigers 1 (2010)

Pannon Bowl

The Pannon Bowl is the MAFSZ's second tier championship game that was first played in 2007.

Pannon Bowl results

No. Season Winner Opponent Score
I.2007, Division II[5]Budapest CowboysNorth Pest Vipers45–0
II.2008, Division II[6]Nyíregyháza TigersZala Predators36–20
III.2009, Division II[7]Dunaújváros GorillazZala Predators10–0
IV.2010, Division IIMiskolc Steelersno playoffs
V.2011, Division IINyíregyháza TigersBékéscsaba Raptors42–7
VI.2012, Division IDunaújváros GorillazBékéscsaba Raptors34–3
VII.2013, Division IBudapest CowboysDunaújváros Gorillaz12–6
VIII.2014, Division I[8]Újpest BulldogsMiskolc Steelers43–36
IX.2015, Division I[9]Eger HeroesDunaújváros Gorillaz19–16
X.2016, Division I[10]Dunaújváros GorillazGladiators AFC28–8[11]
XI.2017, Division I[12]Fehérvár EnthronersBudapest Eagles28–7

Duna Bowl

The Duna Bowl is the third-tier championship game of the MAFSZ.

Duna Bowl results

No. Season Winner Opponent Score
I.2009, Division III[13]Újbuda RebelsJászberény Wolverines33–0
II.2011, Division II[14]Budapest HurricanesÚjpest Bulldogs56–14
III.2012, Division IIBudapest CowboysÚjbuda Rebels II33–7
IV.2013, Division IIÚjpest BulldogsÚjbuda Rebels II41–6
V.2014, Division II[15]Miskolc RenegadesBudapest Hurricanes II38–21
VI.2015, Division IIDebrecen GladiatorsSzekszárd Bad Bones21–14[16]
VII.2016, Division IIBudapest EaglesFehérvár Enthroners35–13[17]
VIII.2017, Division II[18]Nyíregyháza TigersSzombathely Crushers17–7

Blue Bowl

In 2006, the MAFSZ created the Blue Bowl, the national cup game.

Blue Bowl results

Table of Results
Season Winner Loser Score
2006ARD7 Budapest WolvesDebrecen Gladiators63–20
2012[19]Budapest CowboysÚjpest Bulldogs13–6

Teams

Titans
Eagles
Bulldogs
Steelers
Renegades
Heroes
Tigers
Gladiators
Gorillaz
Enthroners
Sharks
Bad Bones
Wolverines
Crushers
Mustangs
Troopers
Sparks
Rangers
Location of the teams

HFL teams

  • Budapest Cowbells (2012–)
  • Budapest Eagles (2018–)
  • Budapest Wolves (2012–)
  • Dunaújváros Gorillaz (2017–)
  • Fehérvár Enthornes (2018–)
  • Győr Sharks (2012–)
  • Miskolc Steelers (2015–)
  • Nyíregyháza Tigers (2013, 2015–2016, 2018–)

Division I teams

Division II teams

  • Boda Troopers
  • Dabas Sparks
  • Dunakeszi Rangers
  • Gladiators 2
  • Jászberény Wolverines
  • Tata Mustangs
  • Újpest Bulldogs (HFL: 2015)

References

  1. HFL: bajnok a címvédő Wolvest legyőző Budapest Hurricanes!
  2. Az Újbuda Rebels a magyar amerikaifutball bajnoka/
  3. HFL: Garzával nem bírtak a Farkasok, a pozsonyiak a bajnokok!
  4. Hungary: Budapest Cowbells Steal Trophy from Miskolc Steelers, capture 2nd Hungarian title
  5. http://www.hafl.hu/2012/div2hirek.php?itemid=983&catid=22&blog_id=15
  6. http://www.hafl.hu/2012/div2hirek.php?itemid=1366&catid=22&blog_id=15
  7. http://www.miskolcsteelers.hu/?pg=hir&id=86
  8. http://mafsz.org/?p=1432
  9. "McDavid Divízió I. 2015".
  10. "Bodri Pincészet Divízió I. 2016".
  11. Stabil játékkal lett bajnok a Gorillaz!
  12. "Fezen Divízió I. 2017".
  13. http://endzonemagazin.hu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=170:az-els-duna-bowl&catid=42:div3&Itemid=53; http://www.rebels.hu/?p=2504
  14. http://hurricanes.hu/hirek/felnott-hirek/275-
  15. http://mafsz.org/?p=1411
  16. Divízió I-II döntők a fővárosban
  17. Fantasztikus Futballfesztivál Fehérváron
  18. 2017 Berény Sport Divízió II
  19. http://www.origo.hu/sport/20121201-blue-bowldonto-amerikai-foci-helyzete-magyarroszagon.html
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