Helvetic Mercenaries
| Founded | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Based in |  Switzerland |
| Home stadium | Lidl Arena Wil Stadion Kleinfeld Kriens (2024) Stadion Brühl Grenchen (one game 2024) |
| Head coach | Marcus Herford |
| General manager | Chris Rummel |
| Owner(s) | Sonja and Sandro Moor |
| League | European League of Football (ELF) |
| Website | www |
The Helvetic Mercenaries are an American football team based in Switzerland that competes in the European League of Football (ELF).
History
[edit]On 4 April 2024, the owners of the Helvetic Guards, the previous ELF team based in Switzerland, announced that the team would be ceasing operations, and that a new team would be replacing them for the 2024 European League of Football season.[1] On 11 April 2024, the logo and the name Helvetic Mercenaries was announced.[2]
Managing Director is Chris Rummel, who also worked as Head of Finance at the Swiss American Football Association and was responsible for the Swiss national team. Sports director was Matt Hammer, who also held this position with the Guards. Most Guards players and coaches were re-signed by the Mercenaries. In June 2024, Sonja and Sandro Moor took over the franchise as new owners. Jeremy Bryson became the new Director of Sports.
Val Gunn was head coach for the 2024 season, with former Guards head coach Norm Chow acting as advisor. However, on July 11, 2024, after the first win in sex games, Gunn parted ways with the Mercenaries. Defensive coordinator Bryan Billy took over as head coach, but lost all six games. The Mercenaries finished as sixth and last in the Central Conference.
Head coach for the 2025 season is Marcus Herford. American Isaiah Weed was signed for the quarterback position.
Season-by-season
[edit]| Name | Term | Regular season | Postseason | Result | Ø Attendance | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | GP | Won | Lost | Win % | ||||
| 2024 | Val Gunn/Bryan Billy | 12 | 1 | 11 | 0.083 | 6th (Central) | did not qualify | Last in conference | 1,028 | |||
| 2025 | Marcus Herford | (South) | ||||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ Aeberli, Manuel (4 April 2024). "Die Helvetic Guards stellen den Betrieb ein - Ersatzteam steht in den Startlöchern". endzone.ch (in German). Retrieved 14 April 2024.
- ^ "Schweizer Footballteam heisst neu Helvetic Mercenaries" (in Swiss High German). 11 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.