The Panthers Wroclaw are an American football team in Wrocław, Poland, which was merged from Giants Wrocław and Devils Wrocław (both founded in 2005). They currently play in the newly formed European League of Football since 2021.
 | |
| Founded | 2005, reorganized 2013 |
|---|---|
| Based in |  Wrocław, Poland |
| Home field | Stadion Olimpijski |
| Head coach | Craig Kuligowski |
| League | European League of Football (ELF) |
| Division | Eastern Conference |
| Colours | Blue, black, white |
| Polish Bowl | 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 |
| IFAF Europe Champions League | 2016 |
| Website | pantherswroclaw |
In the past, 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). For the 2021 season they announced their intention to participate in the European League of Football that plans to hold its inaugural season that year.
History
editThe 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
editThe 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.
Roster
editReference[4]
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Rookies in italics | ||||||
Staff
edit|
Front office
Head coach
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
| |||||
Season-by-season records
edit| Season | League | Finish | Wins | Losses | Postseason | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | TopLiga | 1st | 8 | 2 | 1–1 | Lost Polish Bowl (Seahawks) 41–32 | [5] |
| 2015 | 1st | 10 | 0 | 1–1 | Lost Polish Bowl (Seahawks) 28–21 | [6] | |
| 2016 | 1st | 7 | 1 | 2–0 | Won Polish Bowl (Seahawks) 56–13 | [7] | |
| 2017 | 1st | 6 | 0 | 2–0 | Won Polish Bowl (Seahawks) 55–21 | [8] | |
| 2018 | LFA1 | 1st | 8 | 0 | 1–1 | Lost Polish Bowl (Lowlanders) 14–13 | [9] |
| 2019 | 1st | 8 | 0 | 2–0 | Won Polish Bowl (Lowlanders) 28–14 | [10] | |
| 2020 | 1st | 8 | 0 | 2–0 | Won Polish Bowl (Lowlanders) 48–12 | [11] | |
| 2021 | ELF | 2nd (North) | 6 | 4 | 0–1 | Lost Division Finals (Sea Devils) 30–27 | [12] |
| 2022 | 3rd (North) | 5 | 7 | DNQ | |||
| 2023 | (Eastern) | ||||||
Honours
edit- 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
edit- Polish Bowl (PLFA)
- Champions: 2007, 2011, 2013
- Runners-up: 2009, 2010
Devils Wrocław
edit- Polish Bowl (PLFA)
- Champions: 2010
- Runners-up: 2011
References
edit- ^ "Panthers Football". Panthers Wrocław (in Polish). Retrieved 2022-05-19.
- ^ Panthers w finale Ligi Mistrzów!
- ^ Panthers królami Europy!
- ^ "ELF: 2023 Wroclaw Panthers – A Complete Roster Breakdown". American Football International.
- ^ "PLFA".
- ^ "PLFA".
- ^ SuperFinałowa dominacja Panthers
- ^ Perfekcyjny sezon Panthers
- ^ "Pantery upolowane. Lowlanders mistrzami Polski!". Przegląd Sportowy (in Polish). 2018-07-22. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
- ^ Media, Wirtualna Polska (2019-06-29). "Polish Bowl XIV. Tytuł wraca do Wrocławia. Panthers lepsi od Lowlanders Białystok - WP SportoweFakty". sportowefakty.wp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2020-08-26.
- ^ "SPEKTAKULARNY FINAŁ POLISH BOWL XV WE WROCŁAWIU!". Przegląd Sportowy (in Polish). 2020-11-17. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
- ^ "O włos od finału European League of Football. Koniec bardzo udanego sezonu". Panthers Wrocław (in Polish). Retrieved 2022-02-11.