American Football Regionalliga
Paderborn Dolphins 51 Bochum Cadets 11
Hermann Löns Stadion
Sunday June 17th 3pm Kick Off
Weather Hot And Sunny +24
Attendance 800 ? ( Cap. 10,222 )
American Football In Germany
The history of American football in Germany, outside the US Army bases in the country, began in 1977, when the Frankfurter Löwen were formed as the first club to play the game in Germany.[3]
In March 1979, the AFBD, the American Football Federation of Germany (German: American Football Bund Deutschland), was formed, the first of its kind in Europe. This organistaion, in 1982, was replaced by the AFVD, the American Football Association of Germany.[4]
A national league, originally the American Football Bundesliga, later to be renamed the German Football League,[5] was formed in 1979, consisting of six clubs, the Frankfurter Löwen, Ansbach Grizzlies, Düsseldorf Panther, Munich Cowboys,Berlin Bears and Bremerhaven Seahawks.[3] The first-ever league game was held on 4 August 1979, played between the Frankfurter Löwen and the Düsseldorf Panther, and ended in a victory for Frankfurt.[4] The first ever German Bowl was held on 10 November 1979 and also ended in a victory for the Frankfurter Löwen.[6]
In 1980 and 1981, the league and American football in Germany saw a split with Düsseldorf and Bremerhaven leaving the competition to take part in a separate, short-lived competition, the Nordwestdeutsche Football-Liga - NFL, but, by 1982, union was restored and the renegade teams returned.[7]
In 1981, the German national team was formed, winning its first-ever international, a game against Italy, 12-6.[3]
On 16 October 1982, the AFVD was officially formed and, in the following year, it was decided to form regional associations as well. The German national team, also from 1983 onwards, started to participate in the European Championships. In 1986, women's American football began to develop, with the first official game held in 1987.[1]
American football started to boom in Germany from the early 1990s onwards, initiated through the Frankfurt Galaxy, which attracted many younger fans to the sport and also provided some media attention.[8]
As of 1 January 2010, the AFVD announced a new record membership of 40,051, and increase of 7.31 percent in comparison to the previous year. The associations growth since the year 2000, when it had 18,875 members, is mainly due to the improved youth programs of its clubs. While, in the early years, very few clubs had a youth team, it is now common place to have a number of junior teams in every club.[9] From Wikipedia
A Stadium Fact
The ground is known for the notorious German Cup contest played between SC Paderborn and First Bundesliga side Hamburger SV on August 21, 2004. Paderbornupset HSV 4:2 and it was revealed in January 2005 that the match referee, Robert Hoyzer, had taken money from Croatiangambling syndicates to fix the match using two wrongly awarded penalties and a questionable red card. It soon developed that the game was only one of a number in which game officials, coaches, and players accepted payment to influence the outcome. The resulting scandal was to become the biggest in German football in over thirty years, and was a major embarrassment to the country during its preparations to host the2006 FIFA World Cup. From Wikipedia
