European League of Football, Playoffs

The European League of Football was announced November 4, 2020 by Patrick Esume, former American Football coach and TV commentator, and sports manager Zeljko Karajica. Since 2018, Esume had criticized the American Football Association of Germany (AFVD) for not using the fan potential in Germany, and tried to set up a professionalized structure for American football in Germany and Europe.

The announcement of the league was met with skepticism from AFVD and the German Football League (GFL). AFVD president Robert Huber, said, "...we have experience over the last forty years in running leagues in Germany and in Europe and we have a pretty good insight into what the teams are capable of". However, Esume firmly believes that this league will succeed because "American football is experiencing a boom in Germany".

The first two new franchises to reveal their identity were the Ingolstadt Praetorians and Hanover-based team German Knights 1367, in early December 2020. They were followed by the Spanish team Gladiators Football, who also revealed they will play their games out of Costa Daurada, and will be coached by long-time CFL coach Adam Rita.

In March 2021, the league announced an agreement with the NFL to be able to use the names of former NFL Europe teams. On the same day, it was announced the franchises in Hamburg and Frankfurt would use the previous names of Hamburg Sea Devils and Frankfurt Galaxy. The Sea Devils also introduced their new head coach, Ted Daisher, former special teams coach for multiple NFL teams. It was then announced that the franchises in Ingolstadt and Hannover were not ready to launch in 2021; they were replaced with two new teams in Leipzig and Cologne. The franchises in Cologne, Berlin, and Barcelona would also take on the names from their NFL Europe counterparts.

2021 season

On the June 19, 2021 at 6 p.m. the first kickoff of the ELF took place in Wroclaw. The host Panthers defeated the Cologne Centurions with 55–39. Frankfurt Galaxy won the South Division with only one defeat and defeated division rival Cologne Centurions in the semi-finals. The North Division won the Hamburg Sea Devils, who prevailed in the semi-finals against the division opponent Panthers Wrocław. On the 26th In September 2021, the first final of the ELF took place in front of 22,000 spectators in the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf. In a close game, Frankfurt Galaxy prevailed against Hamburg Sea Devils with 32–30. A week later, an all-star game took place between the ELF all-stars and a US selection.

In June 2021, the league announced a partnership agreement with the Brazilian Football Federation, Brasil Futebol Americano, that will see exchange opportunities for selected players, coaches and officials, as well as the possibility of organizing a match between the ELF and BFA champions in the future.

In July 2021, the league announced its inaugural All-Star Game, which was held one week after the end of the season, on October 3 (German Unity Day), at Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark in Berlin. It will feature a selection of the best players from the ELF, playing against the United States men's national American football team. Similar to the rules for rosters of individual teams, the all-star team was limited to a maximum of four Americans, only two of whom can be on the field at any given time.

2022 season

In September 2021, the first indications of new teams for the second season became known. 12 to 16 teams were announced for the 2022 season. On September 12, 2021, the Vienna Vikings from the Austrian Football League announced their interest in joining the ELF in a press conference. The Austrian rival Raiders Tirol also confirmed entry into the league the day before the first ELF final. On the same day, Rhein Fire from Düsseldorf was presented, taking over another name from the NFL Europe. On October 15, 2021 the league welcomed the Istanbul Rams, finalising the field of twelve teams for the 2022 season was completed.

In the 2022 season, the two Austrian expansion teams, Vienna Vikings and Raiders Tirol, were immediately among the strongest teams in the league. The Vikings won the Central Conference with 10 victories and 2 defeats, the Raiders Tirol qualified with 8–4 as the best conference second for the play-offs. Surprisingly the Barcelona Dragons won the Southern Conference with 8–4. Hamburg Sea Devils were the best team of the regular season and won the Northern Conference. After a 39–12 in the semi-final against the Dragons, the Vienna Vikings also won the Championship Game 2022 against the Sea Devils with 27–15.

2023 season

Three expansion teams for the 2023 season were already announced prior to the 2022 season: Milano Seamen from the Italian Football League, Hungarian team Fehérvár Enthroners from the Austrian Football League Division 1, and the newly founded Helvetic Guards. In addition, on August 3, 2022 Munich and in September 2022 Paris and Prague were introduced as new franchises. On December 16, 2022 the Istanbul Rams withdrew from the league. The 2023 season thus started with 17 teams from nine countries. During the regular season, Leipzig Kings had to withdraw on July 10, 2023.

On the first weekend of the 2023 season, Rhein Fire set a new attendance record for the regular season in the Germany derby against Frankfurt Galaxy with 12665 spectators. The record was broken in the second week by the Hamburg Sea Devils, who played a game for the first time in Volksparkstadion (capacity 57,000). 32,500 spectators came to the game against Rhein Fire. The regular season was dominated by Rhein Fire in the Western Conference and the Vienna Vikings in the Eastern Conference. Stuttgart Surge was able to secure the Central Conference under the new head coach Jordan Neuman. Frankfurt Galaxy, Panthers Wroclaw and, for the first time, Berlin Thunder, qualified for the playoffs. In the Wild Card Round, which was held for the first time, Frankfurt against Berlin and Stuttgart against Wroclaw used the home advantage. Rhein Fire also prevailed against Frankfurt Galaxy in the semi-finals in its own stadium. Opponent in the final was Stuttgart Surge, who were able to teach the Vienna Vikings the first home defeat in the ELF with the 40–33. Rhein Fire won the final.

2024 season

In the run-up to the 2023 season, Madrid was announced as expansion city. Leipzig Kings dropped out during the 2023 season. Helvetic Guards were replaced by a new Swiss team in April 2024. Such, 17 teams are supposed to start in the 2024 season, with the championship game played in the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen on September 22, 2024.