Barcelona Dragons (ELF)

The Barcelona Dragons were an American football team based in Catalonia, Spain, that played in the European League of Football (ELF).

On 11 January 2021, it was announced that a new franchise in Barcelona will be one of the eight teams to play in the inaugural season of the European League of Football. The name chosen for the franchise was Gladiators Football, and the team will be coached by long-time CFL coach Adam Rita After the league was announced in March 2021, an agreement was reached with the NFL to reuse NFL Europe team names, and the franchise was renamed the Barcelona Dragons.

On June 19, 2021, the Dragons played their first game and lost to the Stuttgart Surge at home with 17–21. After four defeats, the first victory against the Berlin Thunder was achieved on the sixth matchday with 48–16. Wide receiver Jéan Constant was awarded as matchday MVP. On matchday 8, quarterback Zach Edwards won the award for best player of the week. After a defeat on the eleventh matchday, the entry into the play-offs was no longer possible. The Dragons finished the season with a record of three wins and seven losses.

In March 2022, the Dragons hired Andrew Weidinger as head coach and offensive coordinator for the 2022 season. Weidinger previously was assistant coach with the Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2008 to 2018. With Weidinger the Dragons won the Southern Conference. They lost at the Vienna Vikings in the semi final.

In April 2022, the Dragons founded the youth project European Football Academy, later renamed to the Dragons Academy. In September 2022, the Dragons Academy and the L'Hospitalet Pioneers started a joint team called Dragons Academy Pioneers in the national junior league Liga Nacional Junior.[15]

for to the playoffs for the first time. the playoffs, the franchise gave on the 13th. September 2022 that she and Weidinger have separated.[12]

In May 2023, the Dragons announced the entry of Elite Sports Equity, which bought 60% of the shares of Big Ten Football SL. The investor group included technology entrepreneur Jason Robinson, Super Bowl XLVIII MVP Malcolm Smith, investor Marcelia Freeman, and former professional golfer Martin Roache. The Dragons moved to the stadium Olimpic de Terrassa, compared to Reus about 100 km closer to Barcelona.

The franchise had released coach Weidinger right after the 2022 season. Hos succesor war previous defensive coordinator Gabriel "Black" Sánchez. The team started the 2023 season with two wins. New quarterback Conor Miller was named MVP of the Week on matchday 2. After that the Dragons could not winn a dingle game. The last game in Munich was lost with 0:55. After the season, general manager Bart Iaccarino resigned from his post. The Dragons also parted ways with head coach Gabriel Sánchez.

New head coach for the 2024 season was David Shelton. His son Dominique Shelton, who played for the Raiders Tirol and Berlin Thunder in 2022, was hired as player. As quarterback the Dragons signed Levi Lewis, who was in the squad of the Seattle Seahawks in 2022. In March 2024, the Estadi Municipal de Badalona was presented as a new venue.

One day before the match in week 7, the Dragons separated with coach Shelton. Except for three coaches, the rest of the coaching staff resigned, and 23 out of 53 players refused to play. With a halftime score of 0:54 for the Munich Ravens, the Dragons decided to cancel the rest of the game. The Spaniard Óscar Calatayud took over as head coach. The Dragons lost all of the remaining teams, including a 0–90 blowout in Munich.

On the 4th In December 2024, the team published a statement that they were working on a continuation of the game operation. However, on the same day, the league announced that the Dragons would drop out of the ELF.

The Dragons were playing their 2024 home games in Badalona, near the city center of Barcelona.

• Official website