How Europe could use a draft.
- Matt Bressington
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
This is taking a lot of liberties with the current landscape of European American football, given the division between the EFA and AFLE. Think of this as a "perfect world".
The team's lack of transparency.
It is important to make clear that teams in Europe are too secretive with their player signings. Teams will hide signings until the last second or literally sign them without telling the public. There have been many occasions this season when teams have signed imports, only for us to find out the day of the game when we see them warming up. No fan fair, no hype, no attention. These practises cannot continue; fans will feel less included in their team and less emotionally attached to players. It is hard to be excited about a player when we only know their name; we don't know their trials and tribulations on the way here, their motivations, or their experiences. That is the first big change needed.
EFA and AFLE Draft order.
If we take a perfect selection of teams from the 2026 season, made up from the EFA and AFLE, including planned clubs and removing the fluff, and rank them, we can create a draft order. When taking into account the competition, player quality, coaching, etc., it can look a little something like this.
Vienna Vikings
Nordic Storm
Munich Ravens
Paris Musketeers
Rhein Fire
Wroclaw Panthers
Frankfurt Galaxy
Raiders Tirol
Prague Lions
Berlin Thunder
Alpine Rams
London Warriors
EFA London (First season)
EFA Milan (First season)
You may disagree with the order; that doesn't really matter. What matters is that we have a hypothetical "draft order" using the same system the NFL uses, where the worst team picks first.
Florence is a joke of a team, Benelux may be feasible in 2028, and there is no Madrid comeback as of now. The Paris sphere can not hold two competitive teams, maybe in the south of France (Call it Monaco if you want, but it should be clear that it's the south of France). Against what many might expect, I am keeping the London Warriors; the UK can support two teams, and there is an opportunity to create a rivalry. Now onto the more difficult part, import rules and homegrowns.
Import Rules.
There needs to be a disparity and flexibility in import rules. The Vienna Vikings do not need the same level of import support as the Prague Lions. If you have watched the past 5 seasons of European American football, that is very clear.
Your draft position should also reflect your import status for the upcoming year. But to avoid making it overly complicated, we can further segment the league.
The Final Four
Vienna Vikings
2 Americans on either side of the ball.
4 Europeans/Africans/Oceanians/South Americans not from Austria.
Nordic Storm
2 Americans on either side of the ball.
4 Europeans/Africans/Oceanians/South Americans not from Denmark/Sweden.
Munich Ravens
2 Americans on either side of the ball.
4 Europeans/Africans/Oceanians/South Americans not from Germany.
Paris Musketeers
2 Americans on either side of the ball.
4 Europeans/Africans/Oceanians/South Americans not from France.
The Borderline Challengers
Rhein Fire
2 Americans on either side of the ball.
6 Europeans/Africans/Oceanians/South Americans not from Germany.
1 "Flex", taking inspiration from the AFLE "I" Players. Japanese, Canadians or Mexicans.
Wroclaw Panthers
2 Americans on either side of the ball.
6 Europeans/Africans/Oceanians/South Americans not from Poland, including extra territories to the east and Ukraine, not including Czechia.
1 "Flex", taking inspiration from the AFLE "I" Players. Japanese, Canadians or Mexicans.
Frankfurt Galaxy
2 Americans on either side of the ball.
6 Europeans/Africans/Oceanians/South Americans not from Germany.
1 "Flex", taking inspiration from the AFLE "I" Players. Japanese, Canadians or Mexicans.
Raiders Tirol
2 Americans on either side of the ball.
6 Europeans/Africans/Oceanians/South Americans not from Austria.
1 "Flex", taking inspiration from the AFLE "I" Players. Japanese, Canadians or Mexicans.
The Play Off Hopefuls.
Prague Lions
2 Americans on either side of the ball.
7 Europeans/Africans/Oceanians/South Americans not from Czechia and surrounding areas, including Hungary, but not Poland.
1 "Flex", taking inspiration from the AFLE "I" Players. Japanese, Canadians or Mexicans.
1 American slot on the offensive line.
Berlin Thunder
2 Americans on either side of the ball.
7 Europeans/Africans/Oceanians/South Americans not from Germany
1 "Flex", taking inspiration from the AFLE "I" Players. Japanese, Canadians or Mexicans.
1 American slot on the offensive line.
Alpine Rams
2 Americans on either side of the ball.
7 Europeans/Africans/Oceanians/South Americans not from Switzerland.
1 "Flex", taking inspiration from the AFLE "I" Players. Japanese, Canadians or Mexicans.
1 American slot on the offensive line.
The First Pick Contenders.
London Warriors
2 Americans on either side of the ball.
8 Europeans/Africans/Oceanians/South Americans not from Great Britain.
2 "Flex", taking inspiration from the AFLE "I" Players. Japanese, Canadians or Mexicans.
1 American slot on the offensive line.
EFA London
2 Americans on either side of the ball.
8 Europeans/Africans/Oceanians/South Americans not from Great Britain.
2 "Flex", taking inspiration from the AFLE "I" Players. Japanese, Canadians or Mexicans.
1 American slot on the offensive line.
EFA Italy
2 Americans on either side of the ball.
8 Europeans/Africans/Oceanians/South Americans not from Italy.
2 "Flex", taking inspiration from the AFLE "I" Players. Japanese, Canadians or Mexicans.
1 American slot on the offensive line.
Please note THIS IS VERY LOOSE AND IS A FLEXIBLE TABLE. EFA London is expected to be a stronger team than Prague, but it's ok because they can move up in these rankings.
The last important addition is that all kickers are counted as their own category. Kicking in the top leagues in Europe has not been of high quality, which has brought down the leagues' watchability. Sign a kicker from whatever country you want.
Finally, teams are allowed to have imports as backups in case of injury.
Import Draft.
No more secret singings. If you want to play in this league as an import, you have to declare for the draft through a league system. Teams can approach players and convince them to declare in order to be selected, but they must do so to create a player draft pool. If a player declares, they accept that they must travel to an unfamiliar country. Europeans who want to be imports can declare themselves as such; if they are not selected, they can still be homegrown if their country is represented.
Scouting, organisation and due process of roster construction would take leaps and bounds. Fans can also see who has declared, players can generate hype, and media outlets can discuss. This is a marketing DREAM. Do the London Warriors draft a new American WR, or do they try to secure the best European offensive lineman in the draft? It's an amazing discussion.
Then, based on our draft order, players from that draft pool can be selected to play for them for that season. After that year, they can resign if they choose. If they are not resigned after the season, they can declare for the draft again or be signed as a different team's import spot.
Teams with established imports do not have to draft.
Ben Holmes, for example, established the Vienna Vikings Quarterback as an import sport. If Vienna feel they already have their 2 Americans and 4 Europeans, they can skip their pick.
Critical Evaluation.
The worst teams will have to pay players the most because they will need more visas, accommodations, and other expenses. It's a clear problem, but that's why we have a revenue share. This idea would improve the overall quality of European American football, American football media in Europe, scouting, and fan engagement. What is the point of everyone saying how much investment they have if we never see any active changes to the structure? I am very passionate about this. Feel free to message me; anyone from either side is welcome.