Nationals to begin quest for NFLEL glory in Tampa
Published on February 4, 2004 under National Football League Europa (NFLE) News Release
MORE than 70 of the leading home-grown players from Europe, Mexico and Japan will compete for roster spots in the NFL Europe League when National Player Camp kicks off in Tampa, Florida, on Monday February 23.
Athletes from 13 countries around the world will be put through two practices per day under the unforgiving Florida sun and be exposed to early-morning wake-up calls and endless meetings ahead of the 2004 NFL Europe League season.
Several young prospects who rose to prominence with the Team Europe junior all-star squad such as Russian wide receiver EVGENY SIGAEV and German linebacker RICHARD ADJEI will compete alongside fan favourites such as wideouts SCOTT COUPER, MARCO MARTOS and JÃRG HECKENBACH.
Also participating in the four-day camp at Jefferson High School in Tampa are NFLEL veterans who spent this past summer on the preseason rosters of NFL teams such as wide receiver CARLOS ROSADO (Amsterdam Admirals/New York Jets), defensive end DANIEL BENETKA (Frankfurt Galaxy/Kansas City Chiefs), wide receiver MARC SOUMAH (Frankfurt Galaxy/Cleveland Browns) and offensive lineman PETER HEYER (Rhein Fire/New Orleans Saints).
NFL Europe Director of Game Development TONY ALLEN will oversee the National Camp and will be assisted on the field by a host of American and European coaches, including new Berlin Thunder defensive coordinator JIM TOMSULA.
Allen said: "We are taking more players to camp than ever before and almost half of that group are with us for the first time. We will be evaluating them for the upcoming season and also exposing them to the rigours of a professional football training camp.
"We have a much younger group than in previous years and the talent level is much higher than ever before. That bodes well for the future of the national player programme."
The national player prospects will hit the field for the first time on February 23, following a soul-testing 5:30 a.m. wake-up call. They will practice twice a day until Thursday February 26. The top 42 players will be announced a day later and allocated to the six NFL Europe League teams.
Each NFLEL team will feature eight national players in 2004. The remaining six roster spots for national players will go to home-grown kickers, with the likes of ROB HART (Scottish Claymores) and RALF KLEINMANN (Frankfurt Galaxy) set to return for another season in NFL Europe.
The nationals selected for the 2004 campaign will join their American team-mates when full squad practices begin throughout the Tampa Bay area on Monday March 1. Training camp concludes with game-condition scrimmages on Sunday March 21. The six teams will then depart for Europe in preparation for the season kickoff on April 3-4.
Countries represented at National Camp 2004
Austria, England, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Japan, Mexico, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.
National Football League Europa Stories from February 4, 2004
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