Finnish record champions Haller GFL will visit Helsinki Roosters on April 23

It’s been planned for two years, and now it should finally work: the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns will play against Helsinki Roosters and thus against one of the best teams in European football. On April 23, Hallers will be guests in Finland.

When the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns meet the Helsinki Roosters on April 23, the German ruling Schwäbisch Hall runners-up and record champions of the Finnish Maple League will herald the 2022 football season with an international match at the highest level. Unicorn head coach Jordan Neumann and Helsinki head coach Juha Hakala tried to make this showdown take place two years ago. The Finns were supposed to be in Schwäbisch Hall as early as April 2020, but the coronavirus outbreak thwarted that planning. Last year, too, due to travel restrictions, such a meeting was out of the question. Now it should already be operational in April 2022 when these two major titles in European football will meet.

For the Finns, this will be the first international match outside of Scandinavia since 2018. Back then, the Finns stunned with a 41:37 victory over the Vienna Vikings in a charity match in Vienna. International experiences of rhinos are more recent. In 2021, they became the first German team to win the final of the Central European Football League (CEFL), which has been around for 15 years, in Innsbruck and previously defeated Calanda Broncos in the semi-finals in Switzerland.

Helsinki coach Juhha Hakala is excited about the match that is now scheduled: “We are really looking forward to the match against the Unicorns. It is one of the best programs in European football as it is well trained and has many strong players. We will have to give our best when we face the Unicorns. in April. Universality is a central value to our organization and we are proud to host this prestigious meeting.”

“I am very happy that after two years of planning we can finally finish the game against Helsinki and we can open the 2022 match against the Roosters,” said Hull coach Jordan Neumann. “Our aim was to create the best sporting challenge and at the same time enable our players to play an attractive international match away from their home. We achieved both with the match in Helsinki. It will not be a normal preparatory or friendly match, because both teams will have a great motivation to present themselves as a great European team.”

Source/graphic: © schwäbisch hall unicorn – Axel Streich + Juha Hakkala