Helvetic Guards

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

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.

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

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) eastern of Zürich.

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

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