Sandwell Steelers
| Established | 2013 |
|---|---|
| Team Home colours | Black helmets Grey and Yellow jerseys Grey pants Black socks |
| Home field | Tipton Sports Academy, Tipton, West Midlands |
| Conference alignment | British American Football Association National Leagues - MFC Division 1 |
| General Manager | Jay Alexander |
| Head Coach | Jay Alexander |
| 2016 regular season record | (9-1) |
| Playoff record | (4-1) |
| Playoff appearances | 2015, 2016 |
| Divisional Championships | 2015, 2016 |
| BritBowl appearances | 1 (2015) |
The Sandwell Steelers are a British American football team based in Tipton, West Midlands who played in the BAFA MFC 1 for the 2016 season. Having been formed in 2013, The Steelers were granted BAFA status in 2014 and the following year saw them record a perfect season and promotion to Division 1 after a 13-0 record year.
History
The Steelers were formed in 2013 and played their first associate game against Shropshire Revolution in which they were beaten 42-12. They were granted BAFA status the following year and entered the BAFA National League Central along with the Lincolnshire Bombers, Leicester Falcons, Shropshire Revolution, Oxford Saints and Peterborough Saxons. In a difficult first season they finally picked up their first victory by beating the Bombers 19-14 and eventually finished the year with a 2-8 record.[1]
A strong recruitment in the off season left The Steelers in good stead for the 2015 season in the newly aligned BAFA NFC South 2. They would march on to a perfect season winning all of their regular season games in a tough division that saw 2nd place Peterborough and 3rd place Leicester also qualify for the play-offs. Victory once more over Leicester and then the Newcastle Vikings set up a Division 2 Britbowl Final with The Saxons which Sandwell would win after a close fought game. The Bowl win sealed their promotion to Division 1.[2]
In the 2016-2017 season opener, Sandwell beat the Ouse Valley Eagles 24-6 and went on to post a 9-1 record in their debut season in Division 1. Their only regular season defeat was a 6-3 loss by the Doncaster Mustangs which ended a 17 game win streak. After qualfying for the Play-Offs the Steelers knocked out the Manchester Titans before being beaten by the Bury Saints in the semi-finals.
Home ground
The Steelers play their home games at the Tipton Sports Academy which they share with semi-professional association football club Tipton Town F.C.
Team Records
| Year | Division | Wins | Lossess | Ties | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 BAFNL | National Central | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0.200 |
| 2015 BAFNL | Northern Conference South 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10.000 |
| 2016 BAFNL | Midlands Conference 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0.900 |