About

The Leipzig Kings are an American football team in Leipzig, Germany, that plays in the European League of Football (ELF). The Leipzig franchise was announced along with Berlin Thunder and Cologne Centurions in March 2021, as part of the inaugural season of the European League of Football. In April, ELF commissioner Patrick Esume praised the potential of Leipzig for growing the sport and the athletes in the university, despite the relatively short time for the Kings to prepare for the first season. The Kings introduced their first head coach, Fred Armstrong, who previously coached the national teams of Sweden, the Czech Republic and Austria, and also gained coaching experience with Stuttgart Scorpions and two NFL teams, New York Jets and New York Giants. On May 7, 2021, the Kings signed Japanese wide receiver Yoshihito Omi who would be the first Asian player playing in ELF. In 2019, Omi led in receiving with 33 catches and 544 yards for IBM Big Blue in X League, and acted as captain for the Japan national American football team. The Kings were removed from the league amid the 2023 season. This came after a two week saga, which include the team suggesting they will "most likely have to stop competing in the European League of Football" after their loan requested was denied by the league and cancelling the upcoming week 6 home match with Prague Lions. The Kings would later announce their withdrawal from the league on July 11, 2023. A day later the ELF announced that the team will be taken out of the league for the remainder of the 2023 season and their license to participate in the European League of Football was "withdrawn", but would like to accept the team back for the 2024 season, if a suitable new owners will be found.