The Central Canadian Women's Football League (CCWFL) is a full-contact

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

league supported by Football Quebec and Football Ontario. Originally founded in 2014, the league played its first season in 2022. It thus became the third cross-province league for women's football in Canada, alongside the

Western Women's Canadian Football League The Western Women's Canadian Football League (WWCFL) is a full-contact women's Canadian football league which began play in the spring of 2011. The league plays an annual season in the spring or summer, and with eight teams it is the largest wome ...

and the Maritime Women's Football League. In French, the league is named the ''Ligue centrale canadienne de football féminin'' ''(LCCFF)''.

History

The Central Canadian league was first formed in 2014, intending to play a 2015 season.

Football Canada Football Canada is the governing body for amateur gridiron football in Canada headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. Football Canada focuses primarily its own Canadian form of the sport, and is currently the world's only national governing body for ...

made the announcement in April 2014 of an over-18s' women's tackle football league. Its official launch in July was attended by the premier of Ontario,

Kathleen Wynne Kathleen O'Day Wynne ( ; born May 21, 1953) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 25th premier of Ontario and leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 2013 to 2018. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2003 and sat as the ...

, and members of the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

gave continuing support to the players. Aaron Ellis had founded the project so that his daughter Tianna could continue to play football after high school. Teams would have been based in Mississauga,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

and

York Region The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Simcoe and Toronto. The region was established after the passing of then Bill 102, An Act to Establish The Regional M ...

. However, the planned league did not materialize in 2015 due to lack of registered players. The Montreal Blitz had been established in 2001 and won the American

Independent Women's Football League The Independent Women's Football League (IWFL) was the first Women's American football league established by women players for women players. The league was founded in 2000, began play in 2001, and played its last season in 2018. Members of th ...

championship in 2012. The Ottawa Capital Rebels were founded in early 2020. The Blitz and Rebels were co-founders of the CCWFL when it announced its re-formation in 2021. The Ottawa team's co-founder Sonia Rodi, a football coach and former

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

player, said, "When I go to these oachingclinics, I’m always the only female", and made an effort to find female coaches. She wanted the team to become a source of inspiration to girls who play football and are excluded: "It’s easier for men because it’s a sport for them. But for women, we just have to work harder for everything." The league's first game was the Montreal Blitz versus the Quebec City Phoenix on May 14, 2022, at Stade Hébert, a 25–0 win for the Blitz,
who were undefeated by the end of the season on June 25. The Montreal team is coached by former quarterback

Saadia Ashraf Saadia Ashraf is an American football coach for Team Canada, Team Quebec, and the Montreal Blitz Football Organizations. She is also a former championship quarterback of Team Canada, Team Quebec and the Montreal Blitz. She has a Bachelor of Educ ...

. The ''Phoenix de Québec'', from

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

, were newly founded in 2022. Ottawa played their 2022 home games at Matt Anthony Field,

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

. Because some team rosters were undersized, the 2022 games were played as 9-versus-9 players. The CCWFL commissioner is Andréanne Dupont-Parent, the Montreal Blitz's general manager and a former player for Canada in the 2010 World Championship. Male CFL players who have been involved in training the CCWFL's players include Eddie Brown,

Antoine Pruneau Antoine Pruneau is a Canadian football defensive back for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Prior to being drafted into the CFL, he played Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) football for the Montreal Carabins. Unive ...

, and Samuel Thomassin. A 2023 season has been announced by the league, which aims to expand to include teams in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

and

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...

, and elsewhere in Quebec and Ontario within five years. In May 2022, ten CCWFL players were selected for the primary Canada team roster at the American football 2022

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

References

{{Sports leagues of Canada Canadian football Canadian football leagues Women's sports in Canada Women's American football leagues Canadian football leagues in Quebec Sports leagues established in 2014