Prague Lions
Czech professional American football team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Prague Lions are an American football team based in the Czech capital of Prague. The team plays in the European Football Alliance. The team was founded in 1991.[1] It formerly played in the European League of Football from 2023 to 2025 and the Czech League of American Football from 1994 to 2022. In 2026 the team joined the European Football Alliance.
| Prague Lions | |||||||||||
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 Current season | |||||||||||
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| General information | |||||||||||
| Founded | 1991 | ||||||||||
| Headquartered |  Prague, Czech Republic | ||||||||||
| Colors | Velvet, White, Gray | ||||||||||
| Personnel | |||||||||||
| Owner | Mason Parker | ||||||||||
| General manager | Mason Parker | ||||||||||
| Head coach | James Brooks | ||||||||||
| Team history | |||||||||||
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| Home fields | |||||||||||
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| League / conference affiliations | |||||||||||
| Czech League of American Football (1994–2022)
European League of Football (2023–2025)
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| Championships | |||||||||||
League championships: 6
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History
Czech League of American Football (1994-2022)
The Prague Lions won Czech League of American Football (Czech Bowl) six times: 1998, 2004–2006, 2019 and 2022.
European League of Football (2023-2025)
2023 season
| 2023 Prague Lions season | |
|---|---|
| President | Michal Kozlíček 🇨🇿 |
| Head coach | Zach Harrod 🇺🇸 |
| Home stadium | eFotbal Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 1-11 |
| Playoffs | DNQ |
The 2023 season was the first season of the Prague Lions in the European League of Football for the 2023 season, after winning the Czech Bowl multiple years and the year prior.[2]
Coming into the season, the team reorganized into an ELF franchise. President of the club, Michal Kozlíček, was promoted to serve as president of the newly private organization. The team also re-signed with longterm head coach Zach Harrod. The Lions continue maintain a development team in the Czech league.[3] Several players from the club team later signed contracts with the franchise for the 2023 season, including homegrown wide receiver Josef Janota.[4]
| Pos | Team | GP | W | L | CONF | PF | PA | DIFF | STK | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Vienna Vikings | 12 | 12 | 0 | 10–0 | 414 | 180 | +234 | W12 | Automatic playoffs (#2) |
| 2 |  Berlin Thunder | 12 | 8 | 4 | 7–3 | 378 | 188 | +190 | W2 | Advance to playoffs (#5) |
| 3 |  Panthers Wrocław | 12 | 8 | 4 | 7–3 | 385 | 221 | +164 | W2 | Advance to playoffs (#6) |
| 4 |  Fehérvár Enthroners | 12 | 3 | 9 | 3–7 | 218 | 424 | –206 | L2 | |
| 5 | Leipzig Kings | 12 | 2 | 10 | 2–8 | 189 | 387 | –198 | L9 | |
| 6 | Prague Lions | 12 | 1 | 11 | 1–9 | 155 | 441 | –286 | L7 | |
Source: europeanleague.football[failed verification]
Reference[5]
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
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Rookies in italics | ||||||
2024 season
2025 season
| 2025 Prague Lions season | |
|---|---|
| General manager |  Mason Parker |
| Head coach | Dave Warner |
| Offensive coordinator | Dave Warner |
| Defensive coordinator | James Brooks |
| Home stadium | FK Viktoria Stadion |
| Results | |
| Record | 7-5 |
| Playoffs | DNQ |
The 2025 Prague Lions season was the third season of the Prague Lions in the European League of Football for the 2025 season.
After finishing the previous season 1-11, Lions signed Dave Warner as head coach for the 2025 season.[6] Warner won the 2014 Rose Bowl and the 2015 Cotton Bowl with Michigan State. In 2024 he was Offensive Coordinator of the Madrid Bravos. Defensive Coordinator was former defensive end James Brooks.[7]
For Quarterback they signed Javarian Smith from the Hamburg Seas Devils.[8] Other notable signings include Wide Receiver Willie Patterson, defensive back Ken Hike Jr., and defensive back Ja'Len Embry.[9] The Lions also managed to sign some players from the Prague Black Panthers, winners of the 2024 Austrian Bowl, and a partner of the Czech Association of American Football (ČAAF).[10]
After two home losses against Vienna and Hamburg, the Lions won 40-0 versus the Fehérvár Enthroners, the only team the Lions had won against in ELF history. In the following weeks, Prague won in Wrocław, Hamburg, and Frankfurt, so for the first time, the Prague Lions had a positive record. After a loss to division leader Vienna, the Lions missed their very first home win against Wrocław in week 9. But this followed the following week against Fehervar.
After a win at the Helvetic Mercenaries standing at 6-4, the Lions were still in the playoff run. In week 13, they played Frankfurt at home for a decisive game. After a triple lead by the Lions, the game was tied at the end of the regular season. In overtime, Frankfurt won the game.[11] Theoretically, Prague had still a small chance to enter the postseason and ended the season with a 7-5 record after a 69-12 home win versus Helvetic. However, with a rank of 8, they missed the six-team playoffs.
| Pos | Team | GP | W | L | DIV | PF | PA | DIFF | STK | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vienna Vikings | 12 | 11 | 1 | 6–0 | 463 | 232 | +231 | W7 | |
| 2 | Prague Lions | 12 | 7 | 5 | 3–3 | 357 | 240 | +117 | W1 | |
| 3 | Panthers Wrocław | 12 | 5 | 7 | 3–3 | 372 | 376 | -4 | L4 | |
| 4 | Fehérvár Enthroners | 12 | 1 | 11 | 0–6 | 184 | 509 | −325 | L1 | |
Source: europeanleague.football
| Week | Date | Opponent[A] | Result | Record | Venue | Att. | Recap |
| 1 | May 18 | Vienna Vikings | 6-28 | 0–1 | Stadion FK Viktoria Žižkov | 1000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | May 24 | Hamburg Sea Devils | 13-28 | 0-2 | Stadion FK Viktoria Žižkov | 600 | |
| 3 | May 31 | at Fehérvár Enthroners | 40-0 | 1–2 | First Field, Székesfehervar | 1200 | |
| 4 | June 8 | at Panthers Wrocław | 45-13 | 2–2 | Stadion Olimpijski, Wroclaw | 2850 | |
| 5 | bye | ||||||
| 6 | June 22 | Hamburg Sea Devils | 19-14 | 3–2 | Stadion Hoheluft, Hamburg | 1800 | |
| 7 | June 29 | at Frankfurt Galaxy | 37-16 | 4–2 | PSD Bank Arena, Frankfurt | 6221 | |
| 8 | July 5 | at Vienna Vikings | 0-34 | 4–3 | Datenpol Arena, Maria Enzersdorf | 3827 | |
| 9 | July 13 | Panthers Wrocław | 37-41 | 4-4 | Stadion FK Viktoria Žižkov | 1061 | |
| 10 | July 19 | Fehérvár Enthroners | 10-6 | 5–4 | Stadion FK Viktoria Žižkov | 708 | |
| 11 | July 27 | at Helvetic Mercenaries | 60-20 | 6-4 | Lidl Arena, Wil | 1452 | |
| 12 | bye | ||||||
| 13 | August 10 | Frankfurt Galaxy | 21-28 OT | 6-5 | Stadion FK Viktoria Žižkov | Gamebook | |
| 14 | August 17 | Helvetic Mercenaries | 69-12 | 7-5 | Stadion FK Viktoria Žižkov | ||
Source: elfdata.eu
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Rookies in italics | ||||||
European Football Alliance (2026)
On September 9, the team announced their participation in the newly formed European Football Alliance.[12]
2026 season
The 2026 Prague Lions season is the fourth season of the Prague Lions on European level and the inaugural season of the European Football Alliance.
| 2026 Prague Lions season | |
|---|---|
| General manager | Mason Parker |
| Head coach | James Brooks |
| Offensive coordinator | Fred Armstrong (until week 2) Dave Warner (from week 3) |
| Defensive coordinator | James Brooks |
| Home stadium | FK Viktoria Stadion |
After the 2025 season, the Prague Lions left the European League of Football together with almost all other top clubs.[13] The Lions joined the newly founded European Football Alliance.[14]
New Lions Head Coach for the 2026 season is James Brooks, former Lions defensive coordinator and previously Lions player.[15] As starting quarterback, the Lions signed Jaylon Henderson, who played for the Paris Musketeers in 2025.[16] Fred Armstrong joined as Offensive Coordinator.[17]
The Lions started the season with two away losses in Copenhagen and Paris. Due to personal reasons Offensive Coordinator Armstrong left after week 2, and was replaced by former head coach Dave Warner.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | z – Nordic Storm | 10 | 9 | 1 | 411 | 141 | +270 | Qualification to BIG4 |
| 2 | x – Munich Ravens | 10 | 9 | 1 | 396 | 228 | +168 | |
| 3 | x – Frankfurt Galaxy | 10 | 4 | 6 | 233 | 313 | −80 | |
| 4 | x – Paris Musketeers | 10 | 4 | 6 | 215 | 300 | −85 | |
| 5 | e – Raiders Tirol | 10 | 2 | 8 | 264 | 362 | −98 | |
| 6 | e – Prague Lions | 10 | 2 | 8 | 223 | 398 | −175 |
Tiebreaker: Total Wins, Winning Percentage, Head-to-Head Record, Strength of Victory (SOV), Total Points Differential (capped at ±35 points per game), Total Points Scored, Points Differential in Head-to-Head Games, Away Wins, Coin Toss.
Legend
- x — Clinched playoff berth
- z — Clinched regular season winner
- e — Eliminated from playoffs
Source:[18]
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Att. | Recap |
| 1 | May 16 | at Nordic Storm | 13-47 | 0-1 | Gladsaxe Stadion, Søborg | 1,800 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | May 23 | at Paris Musketeers | 9-30 | 0-2 | Stade Bauer, Saint-Ouen | 2,592 | |
| 3 | bye | ||||||
| 4 | June 7 | Nordic Storm | 14-40 | 0-3 | Ďolíček Stadium | ||
| 5 | June 14 | at Munich Ravens | 13-45 | 0-4 | Uhlsport Park, Unterhaching | 3,161 | |
| 6 | June 21 | at Frankfurt Galaxy | 18-31 | 0-5 | PSD Bank Arena, Frankfurt am Main | 4,519 | |
| 7 | June 27 | at Raiders Tirol | 45-44 | 1-5 | Tivoli Stadion Tirol, Innsbruck | 2,326 | |
| 8 | bye | ||||||
| 9 | July 11 | Paris Musketeers | Stadion FK Viktoria Žižkov | ||||
| 10 | July 18 | Munich Ravens | Stadion FK Viktoria Žižkov | ||||
| 11 | bye | ||||||
| 12 | August 2 | Raiders Tirol | Stadion FK Viktoria Žižkov | ||||
| 13 | August 9 | Frankfurt Galaxy | Stadion FK Viktoria Žižkov | ||||
Notes
- Intra-Conference opponents are in italics