Founded 1991 Based in Landquart, Switzerland Colors Red, Blue and White | League Nationalliga A Stadium Ringstrasse Chur | |
Team history Landquard Broncos
(1991–2008)
Calanda Broncos
(2009–present) | ||
The Calanda Broncos are an American football team from Landquart, Switzerland. The club, formed in 1991 as the Landquart Broncos, changed its name in late 2008 after the Calanda mountain to show the club's desire to represent a larger region of Graubünden then just the community of Landquart. With the move to the stadium in nearby Chur the club was also able to draw larger crowds for its home matches. The club is the best-supported American football club in Switzerland.
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The club plays at the highest level of American football in Switzerland, the Nationalliga A, and has won the national championship game, the Swiss Bowl, on seven occasions, last in 2015.
History
The club was formed as the Landquart Broncos in 1991. Originally, the club opted for the name Grison Broncos, Grison being the English name for Graubünden, but this was vetoed by the Swiss American Football Association. After a slow start with 13 consecutive defeats the Broncos won their first game in 1993, followed by promotion to the Nationalliga A, the highest level of American football in Switzerland.
The Broncos took another three seasons to make their first Swiss Bowl appearance, narrowly losing 14–13 to the Seaside Vipers St. Gallen in 1998. The team faced St. Gallen once more in the Swiss Bowl in 1999 but again lost, this time 16–7. The club came close to financial collapse after this, dropping down to the second tier but making a quick return to Nationalliga A by 2002.
The 2003 season saw the club narrowly reach the play-offs with a 5–4 regional season record. In the semi finals of the play-offs the Broncos then defeated the defending champions Zurich Renegades 29–28, followed by a narrow 2-point Swiss Bowl victory over the Basel Gladiators. What followed was another drop to Nationalliga B after the 2005 season, caused mainly by the loss of quality players. The Broncos played at this level for two seasons before returning to the top level for 2008.
Back at Nationalliga A, the Broncos made another Swiss Bowl appearance, losing 52–27 to the Zurich Renegades in its first season back in 2008. It was to be the club's last game as Landquard Broncos, being renamed Calanda Broncos shortly after. With the new name the Broncos became much more successful, becoming the first club in Switzerland to win five consecutive Swiss Bowls, from 2009 to 2013. In the 2009 Swiss Bowl, the Broncos defeated the Zurich Renegades 35–23 while the following four finals were won against the Basel Gladiators on each occasion. The 2013 final was the closest of those four encounters, with the Broncos winning 46–41. The dominance of the Broncos since 2009 manifests itself in the fact that the club has not lost a league or play-off game in Switzerland since 16 June 2009.
Apart from national success the club also became the first ever Swiss side to win the EFAF Cup in 2010, and the Eurobowl, when it defeated the Vienna Vikings in the 2012 final.
In 2014 the club took part in a new European competition, the BIG6 European Football League, which consisted of three teams from Germany, two from Austria and one from Switzerland, the clubs being Berlin Adler, New Yorker Lions, Dresden Monarchs, Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna, Swarco Raiders Tirol and the Calanda Broncos. The two best teams of this competition advanced to the Eurobowl XXVIII.
Calandas unbeaten run in Switzerland, lasting since 2009, ended on 21 April 2014 when the team lost at home to the Bern Grizzlies. The club finished second in the league but lost the Swiss Bowl to the Basel Gladiators. It won another championship in 2015 when it defeated the Bern Grizzlies in the Swiss Bowl.
Honours
Recent seasons
Recent seasons of the club: