Helvetic Guards

Helvetic Guards
Team logo
Founded2022
Folded2024
Based inSwitzerland Switzerland
Home stadiumLidl Arena Wil
Head coachNorm Chow
General managerToni Zöller
LeagueEuropean League of Football (ELF)
Websitehelveticguards.ch
Uniform

The Helvetic Guards was an American football team based in Switzerland that played in the 2023 season of the European League of Football (ELF).[1]

History

The entry of the newly founded franchise into the professional league was announced on 13 May 2022, during a press conference to open the 2022 ELF season by the team's general manager Toni Zöller. Together with co-owner Mukadder Erdönmez and others they established the first ELF franchise in Switzerland.[2][3]

On 26 August 2022, the team announced Norm Chow as the head coach for the European League of Football 2023 season.[4]

On 30 October 2022 the front office announced that they will play their home games in the Lidl Arena in Wil, Switzerland, about 25 miles (40km) east of Zürich.[5]

On 2 December 2022, the team signed Collin Hill to be their starting quarterback.[6] They added fellow US-American running back and wide receiver Silas Nacita on 17 December 2022.[7]

On 4 April 2024, the team announced the end of operations, to be replaced by another Swiss ELF entry.[8] On 11 April 2024, the new team name, the Helvetic Mercenaries, and the logo was announced.[9]

Roster

Reference[10]

Helvetic Guards roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

  •   Kevin Audétat Switzerland
  •   Dmitri Gfeller Switzerland
  •   Ibony Mbungu Switzerland
  •   Silas Nacita United States
  •   Moritz Stein Switzerland

Wide receivers

  •   Cayman Bailey Jr. Switzerland
  •   Xavier Baudraz Switzerland
  •   Gregorio Calonego Italy
  •   Timo Hager Switzerland
  •   Anton Jallai Sweden
  •   David Marty Germany
  •   Pascal Rüegg Switzerland

Tight ends

  •   Igor Mašlanka Slovakia
  •   Theo Stirnimann Switzerland
 Offensive linemen
  •   Federico Ferretti Switzerland
  •   Wilson Ferretti Switzerland
  •   Pascal Hollenstein Switzerland
  •   Filip Kovljenic Switzerland
  •   Amos Laoye Belgium
  •   Niels Meier Switzerland
  •   Matthias Münger Switzerland
  •   Gabriel Rodriguez Spain
  •   Timothy Schmid Switzerland
  •   Jürg Stalder Switzerland
  •   Raffael Wachter Switzerland

Defensive linemen

  •   Abdur-Rahman Elabed Switzerland
  •   Yannick Friedberg Switzerland
  •   Tim Hänni Switzerland
  •   Philipp Leimgruber Switzerland
  •   Dominik Liechti Switzerland
  •   Emmanuel Kabengele Democratic Republic of the Congo
  •   Michael Kimpiabi Switzerland
  •   Milos Panic Switzerland
  •   Michel Sousa Switzerland
  •   Luca Steiner Switzerland
  •   Dalibor Vuckovic Switzerland
 Linebackers
  •   Andreas Buri Switzerland
  •   Julien Conus Switzerland
  •   Jonathan Falk Switzerland
  •   Adrian Fiedler Germany
  •   Fabio Rothmund Switzerland
  •   Timothy Schürmann Switzerland
  •   Fabian Strahm Switzerland
  •   J. R. Tavai United States
  •   Ludovic Vincent Switzerland

Defensive backs

  •   Labinot Arapi Switzerland
  •   Macéo Beard France
  •   Fabian Bruhin Switzerland
  •   Ken Hike United States
  •   Olivier Marty Germany
  •   Dominic Mischler Switzerland
  •   Chaska Rémy Perron France
  •   Hendrik Rutishauser Switzerland
  •   Florian Ziegler Switzerland

Special teams

  •   Nils Jonkmans Switzerland


Rookies in italics
 Roster updated 14 February 2023
4 A-import, 6 E-import, 47 homegrown
57 active

Staff

Helvetic Guards staff

Front office

  • Owner – Mukadder Erdönmez
  • General Manager – Toni Zöller
  • Head of football operations – Zeki Öztürk
  • Head of administration – Ferhat Kahraman

Head coach

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive coordinator – n/a
  • Quarterbacks – n/a
  • Running backs – Darius Willis
  • Wide receivers – Mike Wilson
  • Tight ends – Pete Metzelaars
  • Offensive line – Bob Palcic
  • Offensive assistant – Rudy Fonkoue, Christian Warzecha
  

Defensive coaches

  • Defensive coordinator – Jim Ward
  • Defensive line – n/a
  • Linebackers – Don Clemons
  • Defensive backs – n/a
  • Defensive assistant – Khaled Bassyouny, Armin Waldherr, Chris Krattiger

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams coordinator – Pete Metzelaars
  • Special teams coach – Glenn Chase


Strength and conditioning

  • Athletic Director – Matt Hammer, J.C. Williams


Staff updated 14 February 2023

References

  1. ^ "European League of Football - Neue ELF-Teams: Mailand, Zürich und Budapest steigen in European League of Football ein". www.ran.de (in German). 13 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  2. ^ "ELF adds Milano Seamen, Fehérvár Enthroners, and Zurich for 2023". American Football International. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  3. ^ Marco Ackermann (23 June 2022). "Mit dem Geist der Schweizergarde – wie in Zürich ein Hotspot für American Football entstehen soll". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Helvetic Guards announce changes in the coaching staff with Super Bowl champions | European League of Football News".
  5. ^ "LIDL Arena Wil announced as Homefield". helveticguards.ch. 30 October 2022.
  6. ^ "Helvetic Guards sign Collin Hill at quarterback | European League of Football News".
  7. ^ "Helvetic Guards sign running back Silas Nacita | European League of Football News".
  8. ^ "Die Helvetic Guards stellen den Betrieb ein - Ersatzteam steht in den Startlöchern". 4 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Schweizer Footballteam heisst neu Helvetic Mercenaries" (in Swiss High German). 12 April 2024.
  10. ^ "ELF: 2023 Helvetic Guards – A Complete Roster Breakdown". American Football International.
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