Europe’s largest American football league is targeting wider media exposure via a deal with DAZN as it plans to further expand its presence across the continent.
The European League of Football (ELF) has signed an eight-year deal with the OTT broadcaster, which will broadcast all 101 scheduled games of its 2025 season.
A total of 16 teams compete in the ELF, with participants coming from Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Italy, Hungary, Spain and Switzerland. The league holds events outside of these countries though, hosting its international game in Croatia last year, in a bid to build up a wider fanbase.
In its deal with DAZN, the EFL seems to have taken inspiration from its American contemporaries with the creation of an ‘ELF Game Pass’. In the US, the NFL, NBA and UFC, among others, have launched ‘game pass’ streaming offerings as a way to directly stream to customers – in the case of the NFL also via its deal with DAZN.
“The long-term partnership with DAZN marks a landmark moment in ELF’s history,” said Zeljko Karajica, Managing Director of the ELF. “With DAZN at our side, we can continue to drive forward our vision of establishing American football as an integral part of the European sports scene and popularising it worldwide.
“The combination of an innovative platform and enormous reach will allow us to bring the games and stories of the ELF to millions of fans around the world. This is a huge step for the league, its franchises and football in Europe.
“We are convinced that this collaboration will play a key role in growing our fan base, further igniting passion for the sport and taking the European League of Football to a new level.”
Expansion on the agenda for ELF and DAZN
The ELF expects the ELF Game Pass to play a critical role in its expansion plans by taking its content to over 200 markets via online streaming. DAZN content will include live and on-demand coverage, and the company also plans to localise coverage in ‘key markets’.
Founded in 2021, ELF is a relative newcomer to the European sports sector but seems keen to make a lasting impression in the eyes of both consumers and prospective commercial partners, with the two often interlinking.
Back in 2023, the league signed a deal with Genius Sports, a global sportstech and data provider. The deal sees Genius distribute ELF video content to global sportsbooks, leveraging the company’s experience as a key partner of the National Football League (NFL).
The timing of the league’s creation and expansion could be seen as either ideal timing or terrible timing, given the NFL’s own plans to expand outside of the US in the coming years.
The NFL has a long history of holding games in London, but has also been hosting fixtures in Germany and will play a game in Spain this year, held at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
On the one hand, this could help the ELF by driving further interest in American football among Europe’s extensive sports fandom. Popular American sports like basketball already have a considerable following in Europe, partly in the Baltics, Balkans and large swatches of Eastern Europe – so why not American football too?
On the other hand, the growing presence of the world’s leading American football league which has a monopoly on the sport’s top talent could potentially prove a hindrance to the ELF’s development. Only time will tell.
Meanwhile, for DAZN, the deal shows that the company is not taking its foot off the pedal when it comes to signing new partners across a range of sports. DAZN is keen to achieve profitability and is confident of doing so after years of loss making financial results.
Further growing its profile by adding new sporting partners is key to this, though these deals do come with the added cost of paying more rights fees. Regardless, the company is confident it can grow the reach and popularity of the ELF as its game pass product sits alongside the NFL Game Pass, FIBA’s Courtside 1891, Rally TV, PGA Tour Pass and the English National League on the DAZN roster.
Shay Segev, CEO of DAZN Group, said “The European League of Football is a dynamic newcomer in European sport. As the International Home of NFL Game Pass, DAZN is driving the rapid growth in popularity of American Football in Europe. The ELF has proven its potential to drive this further.
“Our mission at DAZN is to offer the most attractive and diverse experience, and the ELF shares this ambition with its high-energy content. With this partnership, DAZN will create a global home for the ELF, reaching new audiences and growing the popularity of American Football in Europe”.