Roster for the first preparatory camp is fixed
© Sports report
With the end of the AFL season, the intensive preparation phase for the two games of the Austrian national teams as part of the European Championships, which are scheduled for October 2022. National team head coach Max Sommer has announced the roster for the first preparatory camp, which will take place in Innsbruck from August 5th to 7th.
The two games of the European Championship preliminary round are expected to take place on October 9th and 23rd. The opponents are France (October 9, away) and Hungary (October 23, home). These two games determine the starting position for the final round of the European Championship in 2023. A win in the first game against France is decisive in order to maintain the chance of a possible European title. If Team Austria then also wins against Hungary, there will be two more games in 2023 (semifinals in August, finals in October) for the European Championship title. Therefore it is now best to participate in these two duels.
The coaching staff for the upcoming national team tasks is in place, there are a total of 61 players in the roster of the preparatory camp, who are divided as follows: 27 players come from AFL teams, 33 players from ELF teams, one player comes from Division I.
There are key players from the European League of Football such as Luis Horvath, Thomas Schnurrer, Anton Wegan, Benjamin Straight, Tobias Bonatti, Ruben Seeber and many more.
Benjamin Bräuer, Nico Hrouda and Alexander Thury are three AFL quarterbacks in the quarterback position – 19-year-old Hrouda recently completed his first season as a starting quarterback and led the Dacia Vikings straight into the Austrian Bowl.
Running back Raphael Komeyli-Birjandi and wide receiver Fabian Eder were promoted to the men’s national team practically directly from the U19 national team, which won the fifth European title in July under the leadership of head coach Roman Floredo.
Martin Wallensteiner from the GBG Graz Styrian Bears holds up the Division I flag.
Head coach Max Sommer explains: “We are happy to finally be back with the national team after a 9-month break. At the camp, with the aim of the decisive European Championship game against France in October, we have a clear focus on tactical preparation. It is clear that the focus must be on the fitness and health of the players, since the majority of our squad players are still in the middle of the ELF season. Another special feature of this camp is the location. For the first time we are guests with the men’s national team in the American Football Center Innsbruck. In addition to the expected optimal conditions, we also want to send an important signal to our football community in the west of the country. We want to develop a basis for our European Championship game against France. The outcome of the game in Marseille will decide whether our dream of winning the first European Championship for Austria will live on.”
Media info AFBÖ
08/03/2022