Zürich_Helvetic_Guards
Helvetic Guards
European American football team
The Helvetic Guards were an American football team based in Switzerland that played in the 2023 season of the European League of Football (ELF).[1]
Founded | 2022 |
---|---|
Based in | Switzerland |
Home stadium | Lidl Arena Wil |
Head coach | Norm Chow |
General manager | Toni Zöller |
League | European League of Football (ELF) |
Website | helveticguards |
Current uniform | |
2023 Helvetic Guards season |
The entry of the newly founded franchise into the professional league was announced on 13 May 2022, during a press conference to open the 2022 ELF season by the team's general manager Toni Zöller. Together with co-owner Mukadder Erdönmez and others they established the first ELF franchise in Switzerland.[2][3]
On 26 August 2022, the team announced Norm Chow as the head coach for the European League of Football 2023 season.[4]
On 30 October 2022 the front office announced that they will play their home games in the Lidl Arena in Wil, Switzerland, about 25 miles (40km) eastern of Zürich.[5]
On 2 December 2022, the team signed Collin Hill to be their starting quarterback.[6] They added fellow US-American running back and wide receiver Silas Nacita on 17 December 2022.[7]
On 4 April 2024, the team announced the end of operations, to be replaced by another Swiss ELF entry.[8] On 11 April 2024, the new team name, the Helvetic Mercenaries, and the logo was announced.[9]
Reference[10]
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers Tight ends |
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen |
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams |
Rookies in italics |
Front office
Head coach
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
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- "European League of Football - Neue ELF-Teams: Mailand, Zürich und Budapest steigen in European League of Football ein". www.ran.de (in German). 13 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
- "ELF adds Milano Seamen, Fehérvár Enthroners, and Zurich for 2023". American Football International. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
- Marco Ackermann (23 June 2022). "Mit dem Geist der Schweizergarde – wie in Zürich ein Hotspot für American Football entstehen soll". NZZ.ch (in German). Retrieved 3 December 2022.
- "LIDL Arena Wil announced as Homefield". helveticguards.ch. 30 October 2022.
- "Schweizer Footballteam heisst neu Helvetic Mercenaries" (in Swiss High German). 12 April 2024.
- "ELF: 2023 Helvetic Guards – A Complete Roster Breakdown". American Football International.