The BAFANL (BAFA National Leagues) are the primary
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
domestic League competition in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
. The League is run by the
British American Football Association
The British American Football Association (BAFA) is the national governing body for the sport of American football and non-contact Flag Football in the United Kingdom since 1985. It is affiliated to the International Federation of American ...
to coordinate
contact football within England, Scotland and
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
.
Originally formed in the 1980s, the League was reformed in 2010 following the collapse of the
British American Football League
The British American Football League (BAFL) was the United Kingdom's primary American football league from 1998 until 2010. It was formerly known as the British Senior League (BSL) until 2005. BAFL was the trading name for Gridiron Football Lea ...
, which had run in a number of different guises since the early 1980s. Previous names of the League were the UKAFL (UK American Football League), the
Budweiser
Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States.
''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrela ...
League and the BNGL (British National Gridiron League). From 1998 until 2005 the League was known as the BSL (British Senior League). Tensions grew between the directors of BAFL and those of the British American Football Association, the governing body throughout 2009 and at the beginning of 2010, BAFL formally, but unconstitutionally, withdrew from BAFA. This led to uproar from the teams within BAFL, ultimately signalling the end for BAFL as an entity. The league ceased operations on 1 April 2010 and was replaced by the BAFA Community Leagues for the 2010 season, rebranding in 2011 to become the BAFNL. Notable players to have come from the BAFANL who have gone on to play in the
NFL are
Efe Obada
Efe Obada (born April 13, 1992) is a Nigerian gridiron football defensive end for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He was raised in the Netherlands and England and was the first player to go straight from a Europ ...
,
Aden Durde,
Jermaine Allen
Jermaine Allen (born November 30, 1983) is an American Football running back who plays for the London Warriors of the BAFA National Leagues.
He has previously played in the NFL for Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Sa ...
and
Marvin Allen.
Pete Ackerley currently heads the day-to-day operations of the BAFANL, The League operates is a
summer season and begins in April and plays through until August, with Play-off games running into September. There are currently 70 teams who compete in 12 regional divisions across three levels of football. The 12 teams who contest both the two BAFA Premier Division's compete to reach the annual
Britbowl
The Britbowl is the championship game of the British American Football National League, and formerly the British American Football League (BAFL) in the United Kingdom. It is the most prestigious of the league's three bowl games that constitut ...
final, whereas teams in the second and third level aim to earn promotion to the Division above attempting to reach one of the six regional bowl finals. The current champions are the
Manchester Titans
The Manchester Titans are an American football team based in Manchester, England, that competes in the BAFA National Leagues Premier Division North, the highest level of British American Football. The team operate from the National Speedway St ...
who won the 2022 Britbowl as well as the Premier Division North, they are first times winners after knocking off the
London Warriors
The London Warriors are an American football club based in Thornton Heath, London, England, they compete in the BAFA National Leagues Premier Division South, the highest level of British American football. They operate from Selhurst Sports Arena ...
in the 2022 Britbowl final.
History
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
was introduced to the United Kingdom during the early part of the 20th century by American servicemen stationed in the country. The first recorded match took place on 23 November 1910 at
Crystal Palace, London
Crystal Palace is an area in south London, England, named after the Crystal Palace Exhibition building, which stood in the area from 1854 until it was destroyed by fire in 1936. Approximately
south-east of Charing Cross, it includes one of ...
, where a team made up of the crew from
USS ''Idaho'' defeated their counterparts from
USS ''Vermont'' 19–0. During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, matches were played by American and Canadian servicemen stationed in the UK at venues throughout the country. This included the 'Tea Bowl' game played at the
White City Stadium
White City Stadium was a stadium located in White City, London, England. Built for the 1908 Summer Olympics, it hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and other sports like swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock ...
in 1944, and this was followed by the creation of the United States Armed Forces Europe (USAFE) league in 1946. This league consisted of teams from American military bases throughout Europe, with one of the league's three conferences made up of teams based in the UK – teams from this conference won the league championship thirteen times until the competition ceased in 1993.
The first teams open to British players were established in 1983, and competition began the following year in the form of a series of one-off games. The match results were compiled into a 'Merit Table', with teams playing more than three games eligible for the championship—the first champions were the London Ravens, who won all ten of their matches.
Tensions grew between the directors of
British American Football League
The British American Football League (BAFL) was the United Kingdom's primary American football league from 1998 until 2010. It was formerly known as the British Senior League (BSL) until 2005. BAFL was the trading name for Gridiron Football Lea ...
and those of the
British American Football Association
The British American Football Association (BAFA) is the national governing body for the sport of American football and non-contact Flag Football in the United Kingdom since 1985. It is affiliated to the International Federation of American ...
, the governing body throughout 2009 and at the beginning of 2010, BAFL formally, but unconstitutionally, withdrew from BAFA. This led to uproar from the teams within BAFL, ultimately signalling the end for BAFL as an entity. The league ceased operations on 1 April 2010. The league was replaced by the
BAFA Community Leagues
The BAFANL (BAFA National Leagues) are the primary American football domestic League competition in Great Britain. The League is run by the British American Football Association to coordinate contact football within England, Scotland and Wales. ...
for the 2010 season. This organisation, run under the umbrella of the governing body, rebranded in 2011 to become the BAFA National Leagues. Hundreds of clubs have since been formed, playing both full contact football and
flag football
Flag football is a variant of American football where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier ("deflagging") to end a down. The sport has a strong amateur following ...
at senior, university and youth level. Many of these clubs have since folded, renamed or merged with other local teams, but a few of the older clubs survive today.
Season format
![BAFANL_2022](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/BAFANL_2022.png)
The BAFANL is contested by teams from England, Scotland and Wales. Teams from Northern Ireland compete under competition from
American Football Ireland
American Football Ireland (AFI) is the National Governing Body for American football for Ireland and Northern Ireland. Founded in 1984 the AFI is entirely volunteer run and all American football played in Ireland is played at an amateur level.
...
and therefore do not compete with teams from the rest of the United Kingdom. The regular season format consists of two Conferences, the Northern Football Conference (NFC) and Southern Football Conference (SFC), within each Conference there are three levels of competition starting at Premier Division and filtering down to Divisions One and Two. Teams can be switched between the NFC and SFC depending on the geographic location of each teams at the beginning of the season. In the past when Division One has been loaded with teams from the middle of England there has been a designated Midlands Football Conference (MFC), although this is currently defunct. The current format consists of a ten-game season for Premier Division teams and First Division teams, with the Second Division now playing eight games. The League is a summer sport in the UK and runs opposite to the
NFL, with teams beginning pre-season training in January to compete in the regular season that takes place between April and August. The play-off games usually running into September, with the finals taking place towards the middle of the month. Following the climax of the regular season, the eventual winners and runners-up from both Premier Division's make up the semifinal in which they will compete to win a place in the
Britbowl
The Britbowl is the championship game of the British American Football National League, and formerly the British American Football League (BAFL) in the United Kingdom. It is the most prestigious of the league's three bowl games that constitut ...
. Since 2014, The Britbowl winners will automatically qualify to play in the
IFAF Europe Champions League for the following season. European games run aside the clubs domestic season, prior to 2014 qualification was for the
EFAF Cup The EFAF Cup was an international competition for European American Football clubs. It was the second highest level of club competition in the European Federation of American Football (EFAF), behind the European Football League (EFL),.
EFAF Cup ...
.
Unlike American Football competitions in North America such as the NFL,
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
and
CFL
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
, American Football in the UK runs a similar promotion and relegation format to that of
Association football (soccer) in the United Kingdom. Teams from the First and Second Division aim to win promotion to the division above by attempting to reach their respective play-off final. The team that finishes bottom of their Division (excluding Division Two) are relegated to their relevant Regional division in the level below. Although there is no active on-the-field promotion process to Division Two, there are a number of Non-League sides who operate in the "Associate Process" that are active but instead of playing to win promotion to the League they must gain entry by application to the
British American Football Association
The British American Football Association (BAFA) is the national governing body for the sport of American football and non-contact Flag Football in the United Kingdom since 1985. It is affiliated to the International Federation of American ...
in which each applying team must meet a number of different criteria from playing a number of assessed exhibition games, sustainability, facilities and good coaching practice. BAFA have the ability to relegate any BAFANL team back to Associate Status if that club are failing to make the standard expected of them. If a team withdraw from the season but indicate their wish to continue operating then they will spend the following season at Associate level.
The game itself is run following the latest
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
rules, this has been in practice since the 2005 season. There is currently no limit on Roster size, unlike the NFL's 53 man setup. Unlike the majority of European leagues, British American football is currently amateur as opposed to semi-professional. Clubs largely operate and turnover financially through sponsorship and player subscriptions. Where as it is not currently illegal for a team to pay a wage to coaches, they are forbidden from paying a wage to players. Players currently have to pay a yearly fee to BAFA as well as contributing to the club they play for, regardless of stature or whether the player has been a professional elsewhere. The transfer window for players being allowed to move teams usually opens in October and closes midway through the season in July. Transfers are all handled through an online portal registration system in which the player requests the move and has to wait for both teams to accept the deal before finalisation is sent to BAFA.
Players
Players in the BAFANL are largely made up of British nationals who due to the League's current amateur status have to pay a subscription fee to both the League and their respective clubs. Clubs are currently not permitted to pay a wage to any player, but coaches and other staff members are able to receive a wage. There are currently no limits on Roster size unlike the NFL's 53 man roster. The minimum age of BAFANL contact player is 18 years old, however players are allowed to play to Youth football until the age of 19. Female players are currently permitted to participate in the League as well as the BAFA ran Women's National Football League. Premier League and some Division One sides tend to operate a try-out basis to recruit potential players over several training sessions, where as other sides tend to operate an inclusive grassroots approach with any player wishing to compete taken on board as long as they are fit enough to do so. A lot of Football recruitment tends to come from other sports largely former
Rugby Union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
players.
In 2019 BAFA announced all Non-British players who play within League have to have a permanent residence address in the UK and had to have been residing in the country for six months and suspended all players who did not meet this criteria, this was largely brought in due to
Leicester Falcons
The Leicester Falcons are an American football team based in Leicester, Leicestershire, England, that competes in the BAFA National Leagues NFC 1 South, the second level of British American football. The club currently operate from the Leicester ...
partnership with US College side
Baker Wildcats
The Baker Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Baker University, located in Baldwin City, Kansas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing as a founding me ...
who in turned signed a significant number of US Athletes to their side following promotion to the BAFA Premier North.
Tamworth Phoenix
The Tamworth Phoenix are an American football team based in Coleshill, Warwickshire, England, who compete in the BAFA National Leagues Premier Division North, the highest level of British American football.
They operate from Pack Meadow in Co ...
flagged an incident with BAFA in which a Baker player had attempted to broker a deal to play with them, with the player reported Leicester had offered to pay a wage of £1,000 per month and a free master's degree. Leicester were forced to cut ties with the Baker athletes prior to the first game of the 2019 season, they were eventually relegated back to Division 1 with a 2–8 record.
Famous players to have played in the BAFANL include
Efe Obada
Efe Obada (born April 13, 1992) is a Nigerian gridiron football defensive end for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He was raised in the Netherlands and England and was the first player to go straight from a Europ ...
who played for the
London Warriors
The London Warriors are an American football club based in Thornton Heath, London, England, they compete in the BAFA National Leagues Premier Division South, the highest level of British American football. They operate from Selhurst Sports Arena ...
in 2014, later moving into a career within the
NFL.
Aden Durde and
Jermaine Allen
Jermaine Allen (born November 30, 1983) is an American Football running back who plays for the London Warriors of the BAFA National Leagues.
He has previously played in the NFL for Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Sa ...
of the
London Olympians
The London Olympians are an American football team based in Greenwich, London, England, who compete in Division 1, the 2nd tier of British American Football. Formed in 1983 and originally from Streatham the team were known as the Streatham Olympi ...
played in both the
NFL Europe and the NFL, with Durde later staying in the NFL as a positional coach.
Marvin Allen of the
London Warriors
The London Warriors are an American football club based in Thornton Heath, London, England, they compete in the BAFA National Leagues Premier Division South, the highest level of British American football. They operate from Selhurst Sports Arena ...
also later moved to play in the NFL. Players to have come from the NFL to the BAFANL include
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
quarterback
Bradlee Van Pelt and
San Diego Chargers linebacker
Jason Brisbane
Jason Brisbane is the Chief Executive Officer of Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby and a former American football player and coach. He was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2008 and spent a year on their practice squad. ...
.
England's Rugby Union World Cup winning captain
Martin Johnson and GB Olympics sprinter
Dwain Chambers
Dwain Anthony Chambers (born 5 April 1978) is a British track sprinter. He has won international medals at World and European levels and is one of the fastest European sprinters in the history of athletics. His primary event is the 100 me ...
also played the sport briefly, as well as Television presenter
Vernon Kay
Vernon Charles Kay (born 28 April 1974) is an English television and radio presenter, and former model. He presented Channel 4's ''T4'' (2000–2005) and has presented various television shows for ITV, including '' All Star Family Fortunes'' ...
and actors
Ricky Whittle and
Chris Fountain
Christopher Ryan "Chris" Fountain (born 3 September 1987) is an English actor and DJ. He is known for his roles as Damien Jones in Emmerdale, Justin Burton in ''Hollyoaks'' and as Tommy Duckworth in ''Coronation Street''.
Early life
Fount ...
.
Media coverage
The Britbowl as well as the Divisional Play-off finals have been on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
via DblCoverage.com and Onside Productions. The programmes feature in-game commentary and interviews. Onside began operating by streaming
Nottingham Caesars
The Nottingham Caesars are an American football team based in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, who operate in the BAFA National Leagues NFC South 1, the second level of British American football. They are based at the Harvey Hadden Stadi ...
games coined as "Caesars TV" in 2016 before being brought on by DblCoverage.com to broadcast the National finals as well as
Great Britain national American football team
The Great Britain national American football team, known as the GB Lions represents the UK in international gridiron. It is controlled by the British American Football Association.
Men's Senior Team
History
The Men's Senior GB Lions played t ...
games
Double Coverage (DblCoverage.com) was the largest British American Football-focused media outlet and community hub, it featured news, league results and standings for all formats of the contact game, as well as opinion articles and editorials, their social media pages represented the largest online community of British American Football players and fans. however the site was taken down at the end of the 2019 season and the social media platform is now dormant. Sportank (previously Gridiron Hub) is now the UK's main British American football outlet and covers all of the topics that were previously featured on Double Coverage.
In 2019, Onside provided the livestream of the U19 Junior National Championship and BritBowl XXXIII for
BBC Sport
BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...
.
Other popular media platforms include the podcast Exs and O's and Britballin, the latter have also begun streaming games.
Stadiums
The use of Stadiums in the BAFANL is sporadic due to most clubs running on a budget that relies heavily on sponsorship and subscriptions. Most BAFANL clubs operate from
Rugby Union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
clubs,
University
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
or
High Schools sports fields or local athletics parks, however some teams do play inside larger sports stadiums which have seating capacities for spectators. The
Britbowl
The Britbowl is the championship game of the British American Football National League, and formerly the British American Football League (BAFL) in the United Kingdom. It is the most prestigious of the league's three bowl games that constitut ...
itself has recently been played at
Allianz Park in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and the
Sixways Stadium
Sixways Stadium is a stadium in Worcester, England. It is currently used for rugby union and association football matches and is the home stadium of Premier 15s side University of Worcester Warriors and football side Worcester Raiders. Prio ...
in
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
, while Division 1 and 2 finals are often hosted at the
South Leeds Stadium
The John Charles Centre for Sport is a sports facility in South Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It consists of the South Leeds Stadium, Aquatics Centre, Indoor Athletics Centre and Tennis Centre. It was previously named the South Leeds Stadium (a ...
. At present the
Halton Spartans
The Halton Spartans are an American Football team based in Widnes, Cheshire, England, who compete in the BAFA National Leagues NFC 1 Central, the second level of British American Football. They are currently homeless. Formed in 2014 as the R ...
ground share of the
Select Security Stadium
The DCBL Stadium (historically known as Lowerhouse Lane and Naughton Park) is a rugby league stadium in Widnes, Cheshire, England. It is the home of Rugby League side Widnes Vikings of the Betfred Championship, and American football side Halt ...
with
Rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
team
Widnes Vikings
The Widnes Vikings are an English rugby league club in Widnes, Cheshire, which competes in the Betfred Championship. The club plays home matches at the Halton Stadium. Founded as Widnes Football Club, they are one of the original twenty-two r ...
constitutes as the highest capacity stadium within the BAFANL with 13,350 seats. Other prominent stadiums that are currently in use in Britball include
Manchester Titans
The Manchester Titans are an American football team based in Manchester, England, that competes in the BAFA National Leagues Premier Division North, the highest level of British American Football. The team operate from the National Speedway St ...
home field at the
National Speedway Stadium
The National Speedway Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium on Kirkmanshulme Lane, in Gorton, Manchester, England and is the home of the Belle Vue Aces and Belle Vue Colts speedway teams and the Manchester Titans American football team.
Origins ...
. Notable stadiums that have been used in the past includes
Doncaster Mustangs
The Doncaster Mustangs are an American football based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England who compete in the BAFA National Leagues NFC 2 South, the third level of British American football. They play their games at Wheatley Hills Rugby Unio ...
use of the
Keepmoat Stadium
The Eco-Power Stadium (formerly known as Keepmoat Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Doncaster, England, with a capacity of 15,231. It cost approximately £20 million to construct, as part of the wider Lakeside Sports Complex that i ...
,
London Olympians
The London Olympians are an American football team based in Greenwich, London, England, who compete in Division 1, the 2nd tier of British American Football. Formed in 1983 and originally from Streatham the team were known as the Streatham Olympi ...
former home at the
Crystal Palace Athletics Stadium, the
AJ Bell Stadium
Salford City Stadium (referred to as the AJ Bell Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a rugby stadium in Barton-upon-Irwell, England, built to replace Salford rugby league club's ground the Willows for the 2012 season. Sale Sharks rugby unio ...
by the
Manchester Titans
The Manchester Titans are an American football team based in Manchester, England, that competes in the BAFA National Leagues Premier Division North, the highest level of British American Football. The team operate from the National Speedway St ...
and
De Montfort Park
De Montfort Park was the first name given to a football stadium built off Leicester Road in Hinckley, Leicestershire. It was the home of Hinckley United, an English football club from the town, until it was dissolved in October 2013. The main ...
by
Leicester Falcons
The Leicester Falcons are an American football team based in Leicester, Leicestershire, England, that competes in the BAFA National Leagues NFC 1 South, the second level of British American football. The club currently operate from the Leicester ...
.
Teams
There are currently 70 teams in the BAFANL who have full membership status. Over the years many teams have formed and folded with only a small handful of original teams from the early 1980s remaining. A lot of teams trace their heritage back through predecessor teams and a large number of BAFA sides have changed their identity on one or sometimes two occasions.
Colchester Gladiators
The Colchester Gladiators are an American Football team competing in the South East National League of British American Football League (BAFL). They play their home games at the Corporal Budd VC Gymnasium. The club was first formed in 1983 an ...
(formed in 1983) of Division Two are the oldest team to be operating in their original identity. Other original sides include the
Birmingham Bulls,
Chester Romans
The Chester Romans are an American Football team based in Chester, Cheshire, England, who compete in the BAFA National Leagues NFC 1 South, the second level of British American football. The club operate from Cheshire County Sports Club an ...
,
Nottingham Caesars
The Nottingham Caesars are an American football team based in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, who operate in the BAFA National Leagues NFC South 1, the second level of British American football. They are based at the Harvey Hadden Stadi ...
,
East Kilbride Pirates
The East Kilbride Pirates are an amateur American Football team based in Glasgow, Scotland, who compete in the BAFA National Leagues Premier North, the highest level of British American football. The club although formed in East Kilbride currentl ...
and the
Crewe Railroaders
The Crewe Railroaders are an American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field w ...
. Although the
London Olympians
The London Olympians are an American football team based in Greenwich, London, England, who compete in Division 1, the 2nd tier of British American Football. Formed in 1983 and originally from Streatham the team were known as the Streatham Olympi ...
are the most successful British side, the
London Warriors
The London Warriors are an American football club based in Thornton Heath, London, England, they compete in the BAFA National Leagues Premier Division South, the highest level of British American football. They operate from Selhurst Sports Arena ...
hold the title following on from the BAFANL's official formation in 2010.
Having missed the 2020 season due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, BAFA announced that for the 2021 season the BAFANL would be not using the three tier league system and operating from localised Divisions to minimize travel. This means that clubs will not return to their respective divisions until the 2022 season.
Premier Division
The BAFANL Premier Division for the 2022 season comprises twelve teams, split into the North and South Divisions. The BAFA Premier Division North and the BAFA Premier Division South. Within each division each team plays each other twice. There will be 2 rounds of playoff football with the top ranked team in the North will host the second ranked team in the South whilst the top ranked team in the South will host the second ranked team in the North. The winners will then compete for the
BritBowl
The Britbowl is the championship game of the British American Football National League, and formerly the British American Football League (BAFL) in the United Kingdom. It is the most prestigious of the league's three bowl games that constitut ...
. The team who finishes bottom of each division are relegated to Division 1 for the following season and are replaced by both of the Division 1 winners. Teams can be swapped between the North and South Division's for a following season depending on the geographical location of teams that may be promoted to the division.
Premier North
Premier South
Division One
The BAFANL Division One is the second tier of British American Football, for the 2022 season it holds 24 teams, now divided into 4 Divisions. The Divisions are grouped into a North and South Divide with NFC standing for "Northern Football Conference" and the SFC being the "Southern Football Conference". The current individual names of the each Divisions are the NFC 1 North, the NFC 1 South, the SFC 1 Central and the SFC 1 East. Each team plays the others in their Division twice during the regular season as well as all teams playing two opponents on three occasions. There is no inter-division games until the playoffs with the top two teams in each division entering into what is potentially a three-game Play-off campaign with the initial games being played regionally. The winner of both the Northern and Southern Playoffs will win promotion to the Premier League and then face each other for the Division One Bowl game in order to take home the trophy.
The team who finishes bottom of each division is relegated to Division Two.
NFC 1 North
NFC 1 South
SFC 1 West
SFC 1 East
''~ Denotes B/Reserve Team affiliated to another BAFANL team.''
Division Two
The BAFA Division Two is the third tier of British American Football with 2022 holding 36 teams across 8 Divisions. The Divisions are grouped into a North and South Divide with NFC standing for "Northern Football Conference" and the SFC being the "Southern Football Conference". The current individual names of the each Divisions are the NFC 2 North, the NFC 2 East, the NFC 2 West, the NFC 2 South, the SFC 2 North, the SFC 2 West, the SFC 2 South and the SFC 2 East. Each team plays the others in their Division twice during the regular season as well as all teams playing two opponents on three occasions. There are no inter-division games until the playoffs with the top two teams in each division entering into what is potentially a three-game Play-off campaign with the initial games being played regionally. The winner of both the Northern and Southern Playoffs will win promotion to Division One and then face other for the Division Two Bowl game in order to take home the trophy.
NFC 2 North
NFC 2 East
NFC 2 West
NFC 2 South
SFC 2 North
SFC 2 West
''~ Denotes B/Reserve Team affiliated to another BAFANL team.''
SFC 2 South
SFC 2 East
''~ Denotes team who withdrew from the season who have folded during 2020.''
Associate teams
New teams must undergo an indefinite associate period before they are granted full member status of the national leagues. A number of criteria must be met, involving successfully completing a number of games, recruiting a number of new players, proof of required finances and the creation of a club committee. Associate teams spend their seasons playing each other and League teams in what are essentially friendly fixtures. Some of the current Associate teams are also previous League teams that have dropped out of the BAFANL at some stage.
''~ Denotes B/Reserve Team affiliated to another BAFANL team.''
Defunct teams
Former teams who competed in the BAFANL and have now ceased operating or have merged with other sides to form a current operating side within the present League structure.
Notable people
Notable Players and Coaches who have featured either in the BAFA National Leagues or any of its predecessor Leagues that have at any time represented the domestic game of
American Football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
in the United Kingdom.
Winners
BritBowl
''Winners of the Britbowl since the BAFA National Leagues 2010 formation.''
Division One Bowl
''For some seasons there has been a separate North and South Bowl final.''
Division Two Bowl
''For some seasons there has been a separate North and South Bowl final.''
See also
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Britbowl
The Britbowl is the championship game of the British American Football National League, and formerly the British American Football League (BAFL) in the United Kingdom. It is the most prestigious of the league's three bowl games that constitut ...
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NFL Europe
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American football in the United Kingdom
The sport of American football is played in the United Kingdom in domestic and international levels. Domestic games in England. Scotland and Wales are operated by British American Football Association who run the BAFA National Leagues for Adult ...
*
British Universities American Football League
The British Universities American Football League (BUAFL), is an American football league contested by university teams in the United Kingdom as part of the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) organisation. The league was formed by the ...
References
External links
Official league website
{{European Football Leagues
American football leagues in the United Kingdom
American football leagues in Europe
2010 establishments in the United Kingdom
Sports leagues established in 2010
Professional sports leagues in the United Kingdom