2016 regular season record (9-1) Playoff appearances 2015, 2016 BritBowl appearances 1 (2015) | Playoff record (4-1) Divisional Championships 2015, 2016 | |
The Sandwell Steelers are a British American football team based in Tipton, West Midlands who played in the BAFA MFC 1 for the 2016 season. Having been formed in 2013, The Steelers were granted BAFA status in 2014 and the following year saw them record a perfect season and promotion to Division 1 after a 13-0 record year.
Contents
History
The Steelers were formed in 2013 and played their first associate game against Shropshire Revolution in which they were beaten 42-12. They were granted BAFA status the following year and entered the BAFA National League Central along with the Lincolnshire Bombers, Leicester Falcons, Shropshire Revolution, Oxford Saints and Peterborough Saxons. In a difficult first season they finally picked up their first victory by beating the Bombers 19-14 and eventually finished the year with a 2-8 record.
A strong recruitment in the off season left The Steelers in good stead for the 2015 season in the newly aligned BAFA NFC South 2. They would march on to a perfect season winning all of their regular season games in a tough division that saw 2nd place Peterborough and 3rd place Leicester also qualify for the play-offs. Victory once more over Leicester and then the Newcastle Vikings set up a Division 2 Britbowl Final with The Saxons which Sandwell would win after a close fought game. The Bowl win sealed their promotion to Division 1.
In the 2016-2017 season opener, Sandwell beat the Ouse Valley Eagles 24-6 and went on to post a 9-1 record in their debut season in Division 1. Their only regular season defeat was a 6-3 loss by the Doncaster Mustangs which ended a 17 game win streak. After qualfying for the Play-Offs the Steelers knocked out the Manchester Titans before being beaten by the Bury Saints in the semi-finals.
Home ground
The Steelers play their home games at the Tipton Sports Academy which they share with semi-professional association football club Tipton Town F.C.