AFLE Week 1 Power Rankings

American Football League Europe...

I am attempting to be non-biased. Many will discount my positions because of my affiliation with the EFA; however, I love being right, regardless of who I work with. If this ages well, then it just helps me do that. It may be brutally honest, but it shows my frustration with the predicament we've found ourselves in.

©Hannes Jirgal

8 - Red Lions Firenze

No disrespect, but this team can't play. They have very poor import allocation and selection, and a worse homegrown base than the IFL Firenze team. I cannot stress enough how bad this team is; I think they would comfortably lose to the 1-11 Helvetic Mercenaries in 2024. On the 100 European predictions, I said they would lose every game. I still believe this.

7 - Berlin Thunder (0-1)

Berlin has shown that they refuse to change. They just played the Vienna Vikings and got smoked. They refuse to change the team's culture, refuse to move on from players, refuse to scout, and refuse to elevate young players. Kitchens was the best defensive player in this generation of European American football, and they wasted that, too. It is a catastrophic team with no direction, with a few talented players that they will undoubtedly waste.

I wish Bias Kouanda, Tomiwa Oyewo and Kessawn Abraham had more of a platform to show their worth.

6 - Paris Lights

The Lights are lucky; they have a few players I like to watch. Other than that, they are a very much below-average team and would not be favoured to compete in the FFFA. The homegrown talent is absolutly not where it needs to be to even be considered a shell of a team. Against most teams, they would struggle, but with the lows in the AFLE, they will have a few wins thanks to the acquisitions of talented players such as Brania-Hopp, Weapon X, and Collins.

5 - London Warriors

The pick, I believe, people will dissect the most and foolishly put down to jealousy of not being included in the building of the first pro team since the Monarchs. To think so shallowly is a trapfall. I have scouted professionally, worked with the UFL scouting the top players in Europe, theorised two rosters for a London and a Scottish ELF (at the time), and completed my master's final piece with merit on the revival of a London American football team. I am more qualified than most.

The London Warriors are a sterile, boring team. I love a handful of signings.

• James Faminu

• Tigie Sankoh

• Kadel King

And one or two others. But the rest of the roster is at the regional level, with clear roots in the former BAFA roster, which has just had a few imports added. Are these imports going to bring them up past the elite teams? Not even close.

I hated the Warriors growing up because they were the boogeyman who dominated the UK in a classic black-and-white fit and a dominant style.

In 2026, they are dull, uninspired, and look like a rushed team put on the field just so the AFLE can claim it planted its flag in the UK before the EFA. Bad logo change, too.

4 - Alpine Rams

I think the Rams look like the best of the new teams by a country mile. They are probably the best put-together team since the 2023 Helvetic Guards. I LOVE the Ayo Oyelola pickup, as well as the Kevin Kaya, Chad Walrond, and Timothy Schürmann selections. Overall, the imports are decent, not elite, but of a high quality that everyone lower in the rankings.

They fit into a weird space in the AFLE. They clearly have some talent and familiarity, as these players have basically been the Guards/Mercs roster over the last few years, but they are very clearly not a contender. They should make the play-offs and courteously dip out in the first round.

3 - Wroclaw Panthers

Wroclaw has previously been in the "best of the rest" mix among ELF teams. The AFLE gives them clear direction and an all-but-guaranteed playoff spot. Wang is outstanding, as is Mike Harley. The E-Imports (and AFLE inclusions) are solid. Zozo is still one of the best European Runningbacks there is. However, many of their imports are "ok" and not "wow, he can bring them to a championship level". In an ideal world, they would be battling it out with the Galaxys, Lions and Raiders of the world; sadly, we are not in that world.

A good team. Not a great team, shame they only play Alpine once. Oversight, in my opinion.

2 - Rhein Fire

A silver medal is the floor and simultaneously the ceiling for the Rhein Fire. Which could be tense, or very boring, we will soon find out. The Fire are struggling behind the scenes (ALLEGEDLY), but the roster still has a skeleton of a power house.

It is a talented team, perhaps one of the best in Europe. I liked the Kenji Bahar pick at QB. They still have the base of the offensive line and the elite German talent pool. Hell, they even have All-Europe potential imports. It's a very good team, good enough to put 50 on anyone below them, but sadly, not good enough to stop the inevitable.

1 - Vienna Vikings (1-0)

In Vienna, they have the best roster I have ever covered in European American football. I don't need to run down every name for you, dear reader; you would just be reading 20-odd names in a row with little context. They had third-string players in the 4th quarter against Berlin and were still the better team. Let that sink in.

Amazing homegrowns.

Premier E/I-imports.

Outstanding Americans.

This is the main problem with the AFLE. Remove the top 3 teams, we have a fun league right there. But with the top 3, the only tension is who gets to be bounced in the first round of the playoffs. Even the playoff structure is set up to have Rhein vs Vienna for the final.

Is what it is. Can't wait to see the DMs tomorrow.