American football evolves every year, and with it, the illusion of facing new challenges from all corners of Europe. Each season, the European League of Football welcomes more followers who believe in this project. Teams with nostalgia or created from scratch; everyone has a place. And they all have a story to tell. For this reason, we want to bring you, the fans, a little piece of each one of them. So that you put a face and eyes on the rivals who are going to fight with the Barcelona Dragons to travel a path to Duisburg.

HISTORY

Today we travel to one of the closest and most beautiful cities that we will visit this season: Paris. The city of art, and love. The long-awaited French franchise was announced on September 23, 2022 to join the European League of Football. Its General Manager is Marc-Angelo Soumah, a former NFL Europa player and one of the biggest names in French American football. Soumah also participated in the preseason with the Cleveland Browns of the NFL. The franchise started the season announcing that they would be called Paris Saints, but in February they decided to change their name.

The squad is made up of a roster that knows each other perfectly. A very united block with a parallel differentiation: on the one hand, a large part of its players come from the same origin as La Courneuve Flash, a historic French American football franchise that has been withdrawing, not only the greatest talent in the country, but also great national successes in its almost 40 years of existence. In addition, the Musketeers have also targeted high-profile ELF profiles, including several former Barcelona Dragons players.

PLAYERS TO HIGHLIGHT

1. Old acquaintances: among which last year’s pairing in Dragons stands out: Zach Edwards and Kyle Sweet. The quarterback was the one with the most passing yards in the season, while the Wide Receiver acquired the triple crown: player with the most touchdowns, passing yards, and completions of the entire ELF. However, to this we must also add important players who crossed the northern border such as Celestin Ngimbi, Eduardo Sánchez, Remi Bertellin or Edwin Elio (in the case of the last two, they returned to their native country).

2. Adrià Botella: we are not going very far because there is a Spaniard who must be highlighted. One of the most sought-after Tight Ends in the league. The Barcelona native shone in his first season with the Hamburg Sea Devils, where he amassed 750 receiving yards and six touchdowns that earned him the ELF-All Star and All-Europe selection. The following season, he signed with the would-be league champions, the Vienna Vikings where injury problems plagued the player. All in all, he made a big impact, catching 24 passes for 324 yards and three scores.

3. Cam Hilton: versatile American who has practiced different disciplines, such as basketball, futsal, athletics, etc. Fact that allows him to have incredible physical gifts. In his stage as a football player, he can act as Wide Receiver, Defensive Back and Return Specialist. In his Junior stage, he managed to accumulate 63 tackles, three sacks and seven interceptions on the defensive field, and 54 catches for 922 yards and 14 touchdowns on offense, drawing the attention of the entire country. Hilton continued to accumulate stratospheric statistics year after year, which allowed him to be awarded many times and even participated in the Training Camp of the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL.

4. Cheikhou Sow: Wide Receiver from Frankfurt Galaxy. The French player caught 31 passes for 335 yards last season, surpassing the previous year’s stats with the German side, where they came out as ELF champions. In 2019, Sow played for the Dresden Monarchs of the German Football League, where he racked up 79 receptions for 962 yards and 12 touchdowns, as well as adding 165 return yards, making him one of the best European weapons in the league.