BAFA National Leagues

The BAFA National Leagues (BAFANL, formerly the BAFA Community Leagues) are the primary American football competition in England, Scotland and Wales. They were formed by the British American Football Association in 2010 following the collapse of the British American Football League to coordinate contact football within Great Britain. There are currently 62 teams who compete in 12 divisions across three levels of football. The 10 teams who contest both the Premier Division North and South compete to reach the Britbowl. The current champions are the London Warriors and are also the most successful having won 6 titles. BAFA also operate a flag football, Women's division as well as a Youth league across all age ranges.

BAFA National Leagues

Formerly	BAFA Community Leagues
Sport	American football
Founded	2010 (2010)
Inaugural season	2010
Commissioner	Martin Cockerill
No. of teams	62
Country	England (54 teams)  Scotland (7 teams)  Wales (1 team)
Headquarters	Birmingham, United Kingdom
Most recent champion(s)	London Warriors
Most titles	London Warriors (6 titles)
Official website	britishamericanfootball.org

History

The Leicester Falcons take on the East Kilbride Pirates

American football 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, where a team made up of the crew from USS Idaho defeated their counterparts from USS Vermont 19–0.[1][2] During the Second World War, 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 in 1944,[3] 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.[4][5]

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.[6][7]

Tensions grew between the directors of British American Football League 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. The league was replaced by the BAFA Community Leagues 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 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

The West Coast Trojans offence lines up against the defence of the Dundee Hurricanes

The BAFANL season format consists of a ten-game season for Premier Division teams and First Division teams, with 8 for Second Division. The League operates between April and August with play-off games usually running into September. The winner of top two teams from both the Premier Division North and Premier Division South make up the semi final in which they will play to win a place in the Britbowl. First and Second Division teams 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 are relegated to their Regional division below. (excluding Division Two) [8] 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.

Stadiums

The Sixways Stadium in Worcester is primarily used for the Britbowl

The use of Stadiums in the BAFANL is scarce due to most clubs running on a tight budget. Most clubs operate from Rugby Union clubs, University facilities or High Schools however some teams do play inside stadiums which have seating capacities for spectators. The Britbowl itself has recently been played at Sixways Stadium in Worcester, while Division 1 and 2 finals are hosted at the South Leeds Stadium. At present the Halton Spartans ground share of the Select Security Stadium with Rugby league team Widnes Vikings constitutes as the highest capacity stadium within the BAFANL with 13,350 seats.

Team	Stadium	Capacity
Halton Spartans	Select Security Stadium	13,350
Manchester Titans	National Speedway Stadium	6,700
West Coast Trojans	Meadow Park	5,000
Leicester Falcons	De Montfort Park	4,329
Yorkshire Rams	South Leeds Stadium	4,000
Black Country Vipers	Stourton Park	3,500
Edinburgh Wolves	Meggetland Sports Complex	3,000
Northumberland Vikings	Druid Park	2,500
Nottingham Caesars	Harvey Hadden Stadium	1,600
London Olympians	Well Hall	1,550
London Blitz	Finsbury Park Stadium	1,500
East Kilbride Pirates	Braidholm	1,250
London Warriors	Frant Road	1,000
Farnham Knights	Wilkinson Way	1,100
Gateshead Senators	Monkton Stadium	1,000
Tamworth Phoenix	Pack Meadow	750
Glasgow Tigers	Lochinch Stadium	700
South Wales Warriors	The Dairy Field	700
Sandwell Steelers	Tipton Sports Academy	650
Ouse Valley Eagles	Bedford International Athletics Stadium	600
Oxford Saints	Tilsley Park	550
Clyde Valley Blackhawks	Beltane Park	500
Ipswich Cardinals	Northgate International Sports Centre	400

Teams

Premier Division

The BAFA's Premier Division for the 2020 season comprises twelve teams, split into the North and South Divisions. 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 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.

Premier North

Team	Based	Founded	Colours
Edinburgh Wolves	Edinburgh, Scotland	2002	Grey and Red
Manchester Titans	Gorton, Manchester	2003	Royal Blue and Gold
Merseyside Nighthawks	Skelmersdale, Lancashire	1984	Black and Red
Sandwell Steelers	Tipton, West Midlands	2013	Grey and Black
Sheffield Giants	Sheffield, South Yorkshire	2008	Sky Blue and Black
Tamworth Phoenix	Coleshill, Warwickshire	2004	Black and Orange

Premier South

Team	Based	Founded	Colours
Bristol Aztecs	Filton, Bristol	1990	Grey and Orange
Kent Exiles	Bromley, Kent	2004	Black and White
London Blitz	Finsbury Park, London	1995	Navy Blue and White
London Olympians	Eltham, London	1984	White and Burgundy
London Warriors	Thornton Heath, London	2007	Black and White
Solent Thrashers	Southampton, Hampshire	2003	Grey and Gold

Division One

For the 2018 season, the second tier has expanded to 24 teams, now divided into 4 conferences of six: the Northern North, Northern South, Southern Central and the Southern East. Each team plays the others in their conference twice during the regular season as well as all teams playing two opponents on three occasions. There is no inter-conference play until the playoffs.

Top 2 in each of the 4 conference enter North Semi Final & South Semi Final. N#1 v N#4 & N#2 v N#3 (Same in South). North Champ v South Champ for Div 1 Championship. The two teams reaching the final will both win promotion to the Premier.[9]

NFC 1 North

Team	Based	Founded	Colours
Aberdeen Roughnecks	Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland	2012	Red and White
East Kilbride Pirates	Glasgow, Scotland	1985	Black and Red
Glasgow Tigers	Glasgow, Scotland	1986	Orange and Black
Inverclyde Golliaths	Greenock, Renfrewshire	2016	Royal Blue and Black
Northumberland Vikings	Newcastle upon Tyne	2014	Black and Red

NFC 1 South

Team	Based	Founded	Colours
Chester Romans	Chester, Cheshire	1986	Red and White
Halton Spartans	Widnes, Cheshire	2014	Black and Green
Lancashire Wolverines	Preston, Lancashire	1987	Black and Silver
Leicester Falcons	Leicester, Leicestershire	2006	Green and White
Nottingham Caesars	Nottingham, Nottinghamshire	1984	Burgundy and Gold
Shropshire Revolution	Telford, Shropshire	2006	Purple and White
Yorkshire Rams	Leeds, West Yorkshire	1986	Black and White

SFC 1 Central

Team	Based	Founded	Colours
Bournemouth Bobcats	Poole, Dorset	1985	Red and Black
Farnham Knights	Farnham, Surrey	1985	Sky Blue and Red
Oxford Saints	Abingdon, Oxfordshire	1983	White and Navy Blue
Portsmouth Dreadnoughts	Portsmouth, Hampshire	2012	Navy Blue and Grey
South Wales Warriors	Llanharan, Mid Glamorgan, Wales	2001	Green and Black
Sussex Thunder	Brighton, East Sussex	1997	Red and Blue

SFC 1 East

Team	Based	Founded	Colours
Bury Saints	Thetford, Norfolk	2013	Gold and Green
Cambridgeshire Cats	Cambridge, Cambridgeshire	1984	Red and Black
Essex Spartans	South Ockendon, Essex	1998	Black and Gold
Hertfordshire Cheetahs	St Albans, Hertfordshire	1986	Yellow and Black
London Hornets	Camden Town, London	2011	Black and Yellow
Wembley Stallions	Wembley, London	2013	Red and White

Division Two

The third tier consists of two conferences, the Northern and Southern Football Conferences, which are further geographically subdivided into three regions each: the NFC North, Central, and South, and the SFC West, South, and East.[10][11] Each team plays the others in their region twice during the regular season. Within each conference, the playoffs are structured identically to the Division One system described above, with the NFC 2 Bowl and SFC 2 Bowl deciding separate champions.

NFC 2 North

Team	Based	Founded	Colours
Clyde Valley Blackhawks	Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, Scotland	2007	Gold and Black
Darlington Steam	Darlington, County Durham	2014	Black and White
Dumfries Hunters	Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland	2014	Green and Black
Dunfermline Kings	Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland	2016	Purple and Gold
Gateshead Senators	Jarrow, Tyneside	1985	Green and Orange

NFC 2 West

Team	Based	Founded	Colours
Crewe Railroaders	Crewe, Cheshire	1984	Silver and Black
Furness Phantoms	Ulverston, Cumbria	2011	Green and Gold
Morecambe Bay Storm	Morecambe, Lancashire	2016	Black and Blue
Staffordshire Surge	Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire	2008	White and Blue

NFC 2 East

Team	Based	Founded	Colours
Doncaster Mustangs	Doncaster, South Yorkshire	2002	Gold and Green
Humber Warhawks	Hull, East Yorkshire	2014	Grey and Red
Knottingley Raiders	Knottingley, West Yorkshire	2014	Black and White
Leeds Bobcats	Leeds, West Yorkshire	2008	White and Gold
Lincolnshire Bombers	North Hykeham, Lincoln, Lincolnshire	2005	Red and Black

SFC 2 Central

Team	Based	Founded	Colours
Birmingham Bulls	Erdington, Birmingham	1983	Black and White
Hereford Stampede	Hereford, Hertfordshire	2016	Purple and Black
Northants Knights	Northampton, Northamptonshire	2016	Burgundy and White
Ouse Valley Eagles	Bedford, Bedfordshire	2013	White and Grey
Worcestershire Black Knights	Worcester, Worcestershire	2016	Black and Green

SFC 2 West

Team	Based	Founded	Colours
Bristol Apache	Filton, Bristol	1990	Orange and Black
Cornish Sharks	Newquay, Cornwall	2005	White and Gold
Somerset Wyverns	Taunton, Somerset	2017	Burgundy and Gold
Torbay Trojans	Torquay, Devon	1983	White and Black

SFC 2 South

Team	Based	Founded	Colours
Berkshire Renegades	Reading, Berkshire	1985	Red and Black
Hastings Conquerors	Hastings, East Sussex	2012	Black and Light Blue
Jurassic Coast Raptors	Weymouth, Dorset	2016	Green and White
London Blitz B	Finsbury Park, London	1995	White and Navy Blue
Swindon Storm	Swindon, Wiltshire	2012	Navy Blue and Gold

SFC 2 East

Team	Based	Founded	Colours
Colchester Gladiators	Colchester, Essex	1983	Sky Blue and Yellow
East Essex Sabres	Rayleigh, Essex	2016	Orange and White
East Kent Mavericks	Canterbury, Kent	2002	Red and Black
Ipswich Cardinals	Ipswich, Suffolk	1986	Burgundy and Gold
Maidstone Pumas	Maidstone, Kent	1997	Black and Orange
Norwich Devils	Norwich, Norfolk	1984	Navy Blue and Yellow

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 an amount 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.[12][13]

Team	Based	Founded	Colours
Burnley Tornados	Burnley, Lancashire	2016	Claret and Blue
Carlisle Kestrels	Carlisle, Cumbria	2014	Green and Black
DC Presidents	Durham, County Durham	1985	Royal Blue and Red
Dundee Hurricanes	Dundee, Scotland	2002	Blue and White
Highland Stags	Inverness, Scotland	2016	Green and Black
King’s Lynn Patriots	King’s Lynn, Norfolk	2016	Navy Blue and Gold
Scunthorpe Alphas	Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire	2018	White and Navy Blue

Media coverage

The Britbowl as well as the Divisional Play-off finals are live streamed on YouTube via DblCoverage.com and Onside Productions. The programmes feature in-game commentary and interviews. Onside began operating by streaming Nottingham Caesars games in 2016 before being brought on by DblCoverage.com to broadcast the National finals as well as Great Britain national American football team games [14]

DblCoverage.com is the largest British American Football-focused media outlet and community hub, featuring news, league results and standings for all formats of the contact game, as well as opinion articles and editorials.[15]

Their social media pages represent the largest online community of British American Football players and fans.[16]

In 2019, Onside provided the livestream of the U19 Junior National Championship and BritBowl XXXIII for BBC Sport.[17]

Notable people

Player	Team	Notes
Jermaine Allen	London Olympians	Played in the NFL for Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints
Marvin Allen	London Warriors (2008-)	Played in the NFL for Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins
Roderick Bradley	London Blitz	Played "Spartan" on ITV game show Gladiators
Jason Brisbane	London Blitz	Played in the NFL for San Diego Chargers
Charles Dagnall	Leicester Falcons	Former professional Cricketer and BBC Radio presenter
Aden Durde	London Warriors	Defensive Coach in the NFL with Atlanta Falcons and played for Kansas City Chiefs
Christian Holmes	Tamworth Phoenix (2016)	Played in NCAA Division 1 for Mississippi State from 2011-2014.
Stephen Hutchinson	London Blitz	Played in NFL Europe for London Monarchs and Hamburg Blue Devils
Vernon Kay	London Warriors (2011-2014)	Television presenter, formerly of Channel 4’s NFL show
Efe Obada	London Warriors (2014)	Played in the NFL with Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers
Phoebe Schecter	Staffordshire Surge, GB Lions Women	Intern Coach in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills.
Bradlee Van Pelt	Leicester Falcons (2010)	Quarter Back in the NFL for Denver Broncos and Houston Texans. Also Colorado State NCAA graduate.

Winners

BritBowl

Main article: BritBowl

Winners of the Britbowl since the BAFA National Leagues 2010 formation.

Team	Season
London Warriors	2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019
London Blitz	2010, 2011, 2012
Tamworth Phoenix	2017

Division One Bowl

In 2015 there was a separate Bowl final for both the Northern and Southern sections.

Team	Season
Solent Thrashers	2019
Bury Saints	2016
Colchester Gladiators	2013
East Kilbride Pirates	2011
Farnham Knights	2015
Leicester Falcons	2018
Manchester Titans	2017
Merseyside Nighthawks	2014, 2015
Sussex Thunder	2012
Tamworth Phoenix	2010

Division Two Bowl

Each year there is both a Northern and Southern Bowl winner.

Team	Season
Aberdeen Roughnecks	2018
Berkshire Renegades	2017
Bury Saints	2015
Hertfordshire Cheetahs	2018
Leicester Falcons	2016
Oxford Saints	2016
Sandwell Steelers	2015
Shropshire Revolution	2017
South Wales Warriors	2019

References

1. "Britball Firsts". Britball Now. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
2. "Britbowl XXV Details Announced" (PDF). Inside American Football. July 2011. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
3. Dobson, Cathy (27 April 2010). "Two Sarnia war heroes to be honoured". Sarnia Observer. Archived from the original on 2017-10-03. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
4. Polvino, Andrew. "2009 USAFE Football Reunion Approaching Fast". Andrews Air Force Base: USAF Germany. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
5. "Military Football in the UK". Britball Now. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
6. "1984 Table of Merit". London Blitz. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
7. "All Time British American Football Tables – 1984". Britball Now. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
8. "BAFANL Adult Contact Standings". BAFA National Leagues. Archived from the original on 28 June 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
9. "BAFANL League Expansion – Update". Double Coverage. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
10. "BAFA confirms National League 2016 structure". British American Football. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
11. "BAFANL Standings 2016". Double Coverage. Archived from the original on 18 May 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
12. Establishing a club
13. BAFA Announces New 2017 League Alignments
14. http://dblcoverage.com/event/britbowl-xxxi/
15. http://dblcoverage.com
16. http://Facebook.com/dblcoverage
17. "Britbowl XXXIII games to be live streamed by BBC Sport". British American Football Association. Retrieved 6 September 2019.

External links

• Official league website