Danish American Football Federation

The Danish American Football Federation (DAFF; Danish: Dansk Amerikansk Fodbold Forbund) is an American football organization in Denmark founded in 1988. Its headquarters are located in Brøndby. DAFF organizes Denmark's national American football team, which competes in the International Federation of American Football.

Since 2000, DAFF has seen a huge increase in membership, influenced by Danish television station TV2 Zulu broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games on Sunday evenings. The sudden popularity of the sport in Denmark has been dubbed "the Zulu effect" after the name of the TV station.^[1] As of the 2007 season, Viasat obtained the rights to broadcast the NFL in Denmark on both 3+ and TV 2 Sport (Viasat owns 49 percent of TV 2 Sport).

The popularity of American football in Denmark can also be attributed to the nation's interest in the long career of Danish placekicker Morten Andersen, the NFL's all-time leader in points.^[2]

National League teams

Team	City	Stadium	Coordinates	Founded (Lineage)	Head Coach	Top Executive
AaB 89ers	Aalborg, North Denmark Region	89ers Field	57°02′36″N 10°01′10″E / 57.0434°N 10.0195°E / 57.0434; 10.0195 (AaB 89ers)	March 1989	Jacob Zinck Thellufsen	Simon B. Nielsen
Triangle Razorbacks	Vejle, Region of Southern Denmark	Vejle Athletic Stadium	55°42′50″N 9°33′33″E / 55.7139°N 9.5591°E / 55.7139; 9.5591 (Triangle Razorbacks)	2000
Aarhus Tigers	Aarhus, Central Denmark Region	Bøgeskov Sports	56°07′09″N 10°07′38″E / 56.1192°N 10.1271°E / 56.1192; 10.1271 (Aarhus Tigers)	2012	Thomas Pedersen	Jesper Christensen
Søllerød Gold Diggers	Nærum, Rudersdal Municipality	Rundforbi Stadion	55°49′33″N 12°32′26″E / 55.8258°N 12.5405°E / 55.8258; 12.5405 (Søllerød Gold Diggers)	2003	Troels Vestergaard	Casper Reinhardt
Copenhagen Towers	Gentofte, Capital Region of Denmark	Gentofte Sportspark	55°45′26″N 12°31′38″E / 55.7571°N 12.5272°E / 55.7571; 12.5272 (Copenhagen Towers)	1990	Peter Herbild	Jakob Munksgaard
Odense Badgers	Odense, Region of Southern Denmark

Danish American Football Federation Hall of Fame

DAFF opened the Danish American Football Federation Hall of Fame on February 5, 2006, the day of Super Bowl XL.

Players

Morten Andersen (Inducted 2006) - First Dane in NFL. Former kicker for New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings.
Michael Boed (2006) - Quarterback, Receiver, Kicker for Copenhagen Vikings and Copenhagen Towers
Morten Hertz (2008) - Odense Swans, Aarhus Tigers, Copenhagen Towers and Kronborg Knights
Robert Nederby (2006) - Receiver, Quarterback, Runningback, Linebacker, Cornerback for Herning Hawks, Aarhus Tigers
Alexander Littau (2009) - Safety, Cornerback for Aarhus Tigers, Odense Swans
Peter Overlade (2008)- Roskilde Kings
Allan Pedersen (2006) - Lineman for Victoria Dolphins (Canada), Odense Swans, Kronborg Knights, Copenhagen Towers, Hvidovre Blackfoots
Jens Bo Poulsen (2006) - Receiver, Runningback for Copenhagen Vikings, Copenhagen Towers
Michael Weien (2007) - Linebacker/running back for Odense Swans, Aarhus Tigers, and Viby Troopers

Coaches

Ron Da Costa (Inducted 2006) for Copenhagen Vikings, Roskilde Kings, Kronborg Knights, Herlev Rebels, Vestegnen Volunteers.
John Lawson (2007) for Roskilde Kings, Aarhus Tigers, Herning Hawks. Appeared in five consecutive Mermaid Bowls with an overall 5-1 Mermaid Bowl record
John Martinko (2006) for Copenhagen Towers.

Contributors

Jimmy Bøjgaard (Inducted 2007) - play-by-play commentator with Claus Elming through 7 years on Zulu.
Claus Elming (2006) - Color commentator for NFL on Denmark's TV2 Zulu. Also a coach for Avedøre Monarchs and Wide receiver for Herning Hawks and Aarhus Tigers also a founder of Aarhus Tigers.
Torben Elming (2006) - Chairman of the Danish American Football Federation
Menno Hilverdink (2006) - Started American Football in Denmark - Copenhagen Vikings
Agnar Nielsen (2006) - Executive of Danish American Football Federation
Tommy Terp (2006) - Executive of Esbjerg Hurricanes

References

^ Masculine, action-packed American import gains popularity Archived 2011-07-12 at the Wayback Machine, The Copenhagen Post, 24 February 2007.
^ Say Danish cheese, The Toronto Sun, 10 December 2008.

External links

DAFF's homepage (in Danish)
Copenhagen Post article about the growing popularity of American football in Denmark Archived 2007-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
The official website of the Copenhagen Towers

Sports governing bodies in Denmark (DEN)

Summer Olympic sports