Prague Lions head to the European Football League
Down, set, hut - those aren’t words you hear often when it comes to athletics in Czechia. The American football club the Prague Lions, formed in 1991, has been growing in strength and is headed to the European Football League this season.
Down, set, hut - those aren’t words you hear often when it comes to athletics in Czechia. The American football club the Prague Lions, formed in 1991, has been growing in strength and is headed to the European Football League this season.
The Prague Lions are composed of both international and homegrown talent amongst their players and coaching staff, and are the oldest American football club in the country. With their recent qualification into the European League of Football, it's the perfect opportunity for the team to play at the highest European level and show that the Lions have what it takes.
At a press conference this week, Coach Dan Disch talked about the tough competition the team is about to face.
“This is without a doubt the best American football in Europe, the competition is going to be really high and I hope our kids are up for the challenge. But we’ve been working hard, we’ve got some good players, so it will be fun to see.”
Taking a step up in a new league means that training gets tougher, but quarterback of the team Shazzon Mumphrey says the team is working hard to up their game in every practice.
“The way we’re training is a lot like college football in the US. I think adding the extra guidance from more coaches has been really helpful. Everyone knows that we’re going to be playing at a higher level, so practice is a little more intense than it previously was, but the structure is still the same- we’re focusing on getting better everyday.”
As the reigning 2022 Czech league champions, the Lions are getting ready for what Mumphrey describes as a completely different ball game they are about to enter.
“It’s a completely different ball game now, but we branched out a little bit last year when we played some international competition, like the Hungarian team, who will actually be in our division in the European Football League. So we know the teams are going to be tougher than what we’ve seen in the past, but we’re tougher. We’ve added some new faces, and we have some great homegrown talent too, so I think it’s going to workout just fine.”
Regardless of the new competition the Lions will face, Disch is confident in the team's ability to give it their best shot as they adapt to this new challenge.
“You do expect to go out and play your best and give yourself a chance to win every game, that’s always the hope. But we’ve all been in this long enough to know that it doesn’t always work out that way. So we’ll just go out there and give it our best shot and see what happens. The first year is always hard to predict.”
The team will be kicking off their season with their first game in the European League of Football this Sunday, June 4, against the Leipzig Kings at the Viktoria Žižkov stadium.
