The Leipzig Kings have been withdrawn from the 2023 season of American football’s European League of Football (ELF) due to a shortfall in required funding.
The ELF confirmed the revocation of the franchise’s license to participate in a statement today (July 12), noting that a deadline had passed for the Kings’ ownership group to provide evidence of required finances and a maintainable plan.
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The statement continued: “Thus, the league lacked the necessary basis to seriously assess the situation and work with the owner group on a short-term continuation of the game operation.
“The license to participate in the European League of Football was therefore withdrawn from the franchise as announced. All players from the roster are listed as free agents and can be signed by other franchises with immediate effect, provided their contracts have been terminated by the Leipzig Kings. The Competition Committee of the European League of Football will promptly decide on the valuation of the games already played by the Leipzig Kings in the course of the 2023 season to date.”
The ELF added that it regretted the development but reiterated a remark it made some weeks back that it continues to believe in Leipzig as a location and said there was a “clear goal” for the Kings to once again compete in the ELF from the 2024 season under new leadership.
The announcement followed weeks of uncertainty about the future of the Kings in the ELF, with a statement from the league on June 27 having said: “We have been informed by the owners of the Leipzig Kings that the withdrawal from the European League of Football is being considered. We regret this very much.
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By GlobalData“The European League of Football is working in a dialogue with those responsible in Leipzig, and alongside partners, to ensure the operation of the game not only in the short term and to find a good solution for the team and its participating teams.
“We continue to believe strongly in Leipzig as a location.”
Subsequent to that, in an announcement on Monday (July 10), the Kings said: “Unfortunately, after tireless work over the past 14 days, we have to withdraw the Leipzig Kings from the 2023 season. The initially positive discussions with potential investors require more time, which we no longer have due to legal requirements and a lack of interim financing …
“We have been informed by the European League of Football that our current financial gap (of approximately €550,000 [$611,500]) needs to be closed and adequately proven by Wednesday. Otherwise, the league will unilaterally terminate and revoke our franchise agreement and, consequently, our playing rights in the ELF.
“This was and is realistically impossible for all parties involved. In addition, there is additional financial pressure due to threatened penalties by the ELF for not hosting the home game against the Prague Lions.”
The statement goes on to note that a bridging plan has not been provided by the ELF and no plan for the continuation of activities has been discussed with the league. As such, the Kings have said they cannot provide any info about how they may move forward.
They added that “all the necessary steps to have the matter legally examined, wind up the operating company, and actively collaborate with all creditors to fulfill our obligations” have begun.
The Kings are co-owned by Marc Quoadt and Moritz Heisler (pictured, center), who was brought in in early 2022 to help bring stability to the team.
They were established and joined the league in 2021, the inaugural season of the ELF.
The 2023 (and third) season of the ELF began on June 3 and runs through until September 24, with six new franchises – Milano Seamen (Italy), Paris Musketeers (France), Panthers Wrocław (Poland), Fehérvár Enthroners (Hungary), Prague Lions (Czech Republic), and Helvetic Guards (Switzerland).
Six rounds of matches across three conferences (comprising 17 teams in total) have been played.
Following the sixth round, the Kings sat fourth of six teams in the Eastern Conference, having won two and lost four games. They were due to play the Cologne Centurions in their seventh-round match on Saturday (July 15).
The plan is to grow the ELF to 24 teams across Europe in future years.
