Austria started without NFL exports in EM games
Austria’s national American football team is expected to tackle the European Championship title in October without the red-white-red NFL exports.
Bernhard Raimann (Indianapolis Colts), Sandro Platzgummer (New York Giants) and Bernhard Seikovits (Arizona Cardinals) are not an issue for the European Championship games in France (October 9) and against Hungary (October 23) due to their commitments in the USA. , as team boss Max Sommer said at a media event on Wednesday.
“They have a different priority in their lives right now. But the fact that we’re in contact, that we’re talking about the national team, is the preparatory work for me to pick up the phone and call when one or the other comes back,” explains Sommer and refers to the example of Thomas Schaffer. The defensive player had not been able to assert himself in the NFL, but played for the Raiders Tirol in the European League of Football (ELF) this season and is now in the national team squad.
“If there isn’t a call from the NFL after all,” Sommer qualifies. “The fact that we have a Thomas Schaffer in the national team is a sign of how good our network of coaching staff is.” Also in the 50-man squad for the two European Championship games in autumn are numerous Vienna Vikings players who won the ELF title last Sunday. Austria must win both games in order to maintain a chance of winning the European Championship next year.