Inside look at the HFL, Hungary’s American Football League

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Americans heading to Europe already know that football means something very different beyond the US borders. In most places around the world, football is played with feet rather than hands.

NFL fans bound for Europe are in luck, though. There are healthy, steadily-growing leagues of American football popular in countries like Hungary, Poland, Austria, Finland, Germany—the list goes on.

Hungary is currently building its own American football league, known as the Hungarian Football League or HFL. 

The idea was first brought over in the 90s by a handful of passionate Hungarian fans who couldn’t forget their experience in American football stadiums. Since then, groups of passionate players, fans, and sports professionals have slowly built a strong league.

Unlike the HFL, the American League has only one tier: the NFL itself. Those looking to wager on NFL betting odds can choose from 32 squads across the country to cheer on every Sunday versus the HFL’s six teams.

The Budapest Wolves, the star team in the Hungarian league, is comparable to the Kansas City Chiefs. Much like the Chiefs, the Wolves have up-and-coming talent with a deep roster—though they haven’t won a Championship Bowl since 2018.

Uniquely HFL

The Hungarian Football League is overseen by the Hungarian Federation of American Football. Originally started in 2005 with only four teams, the league took a few years to establish itself and find a functional format.

In 2012, the HFL restricted seasonal play and the championship series format.

The Hungarian Bowl was re-established that same year after lagging in popularity and competition was expanded from the four original squads.

While the Budapest Wolves have the most Hungarian Bowl wins, they’ve now got competition with the Budapest Cowbells, who have taken two best-record titles (2017 and 2018). Most excitingly, the league has expanded to include other international clubs. In the US, the international play doesn’t occur given Canada has its own Canadian Football League (CFL).

The Bratislava Monarchs from Slovakia have been playing as a squad since 1995, but only recently joined the HFL. The Monarchs aren’t the only team working to establish themselves as a top talent in the HFL. Recent additions from Ukraine, the Kyiv Capitals, were runners-up for the champion title in 2019 despite being a newly-formed franchise.