Panthers Wrocław
Professional American football team in Poland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Panthers Wrocław is an American football team based in Wrocław, Poland, that compete in the European League of Football, the top-tier American football competition in Europe. The team is a result of a merger of Giants Wrocław and Devils Wrocław.
| Panthers Wrocław | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Current season | |||
| |||
| General information | |||
| Founded | 2005, reorganized 2013 | ||
| Stadium | Stadion Olimpijski | ||
| Headquartered |  Wrocław, Poland | ||
| Colours | Blue, black, white | ||
| Website | pantherswroclaw | ||
| Personnel | |||
| Head coach | Dave Likins | ||
| League / conference affiliations | |||
| European League of Football (ELF) East Division | |||
| Championships | |||
| Polish Bowl: 0 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 | |||
| IFAF Europe Champions League: 0 2016 | |||
Previously, they played in domestic leagues PLFA until 2017 and in the LFA (2018–2020); and in international leagues IFAF Europe Champions League (2016) and CEFL (2017–2019). They won the Polish Bowl four times and the IFAF Europe Champions League in 2016.
History
The team was founded in 2013 by a merger of two PLFA teams, Giants Wrocław and Devils Wrocław.[1] In 2014, the club played in the Polish Bowl for the first time, where they lost to Seahawks Gdynia. In 2016, the Panthers dominated every game and won their first Championship. The Panthers won the title by defeating Seahawks, 56–13.[2] After the Panthers won also the 2017 Polish Bowl, the team left the Polish American Football League and joined the new Liga Futbolu Amerykańskiego. In first two seasons in LFA, Panthers won every game in regular season, lost Polish Bowl XIII to Lowlanders Białystok 14–13 in 2018 and won Polish Bowl XIV to Lowlanders 28–14 (both final games were played at Wrocław Olympic Stadium).
The Panthers also became the first Polish team to win the IFAF Europe Champions League.[3]
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Jakub Samel was named new head coach of the Panthers Wrocław. He is the first Polish head coach in club history. It was also announced that the club would be one of the first 8 to join the new European League of Football that is set to start in June 2021.
Uniforms
The Panthers Wrocław's Panther blue home jersey has black numbers, letter outlines and vertical stripes on opposite sides. The away kit consists of a white jersey with dark blue letters and numbers that have orange outlines. Players wear white socks, black helmets with a panther head logo, and black pants to all games.
Season-by-season records
| Season | League | Finish | Wins | Losses | Postseason | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | TopLiga | 1st | 8 | 2 | 1–1 | Lost Polish Bowl (Seahawks) 41–32 | [4] |
| 2015 | 1st | 10 | 0 | 1–1 | Lost Polish Bowl (Seahawks) 28–21 | [5] | |
| 2016 | 1st | 7 | 1 | 2–0 | Won Polish Bowl (Seahawks) 56–13 | [6] | |
| 2017 | 1st | 6 | 0 | 2–0 | Won Polish Bowl (Seahawks) 55–21 | [7] | |
| 2018 | LFA1 | 1st | 8 | 0 | 1–1 | Lost Polish Bowl (Lowlanders) 14–13 | [8] |
| 2019 | 1st | 8 | 0 | 2–0 | Won Polish Bowl (Lowlanders) 28–14 | [9] | |
| 2020 | 1st | 8 | 0 | 2–0 | Won Polish Bowl (Lowlanders) 48–12 | [10] | |
| 2021 | ELF | 2nd (North) | 6 | 4 | 0–1 | Lost Division Finals (Sea Devils) 30–27 | [11] |
| 2022 | 3rd (North) | 5 | 7 | DNQ | |||
| 2023 | 3rd (Eastern) | 8 | 4 | 0–1 | Lost Wild Card (Stuttgart Surge 14–37) | ||
| 2024 | 2nd (Eastern) | 6 | 6 | DNQ | |||
| 2025 | (East) | ||||||
Honours
- Polish Bowl (PLFA)
- Champions: 2016, 2017
- Runners-up: 2014, 2015
- Polish Bowl (LFA)
- Champions: 2019, 2020
- Runners-up: 2018
- IFAF Europe Champions League
- Champions: 2016
The Crew Wrocław/Giants Wrocław
- Polish Bowl (PLFA)
- Champions: 2007, 2011, 2013
- Runners-up: 2009, 2010
Devils Wrocław
- Polish Bowl (PLFA)
- Champions: 2010
- Runners-up: 2011