BAFA National Leagues

BAFA National Leagues

Formerly	British American Football League (1987–2010)
Sport	American football
Founded	2010; 11 years ago (2010)
Inaugural season	2010
Commissioner	Pete Ackerley
No. of teams	70
Country	England (60 teams)  Scotland (8 teams)  Wales (1 team)
Headquarters	Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England[1]
Most recent champion(s)	Britbowl: London Warriors Premier North: Tamworth Phoenix Premier South: London Warriors Division 1 Bowl: Solent Thrashers NFC North 1: Northumberland Vikings NFC South 1: Sandwell Steelers SFC Central 1: Solent Thrashers SFC East 1: Cambridgeshire Cats Division 2 North Bowl: Inverclyde Goliaths NFC Central 2: Halton Spartans NFC North 2: Clyde Valley Blackhawks NFC South 2: Birmingham Bulls Division 2 South Bowl: South Wales Warriors SFC East 2: Essex Spartans SFC South 2: London Blitz B SFC West 2: South Wales Warriors
Most titles	London Warriors (6 titles)
Related competitions	Britbowl
Official website	britishamericanfootball.org

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.

The League was formed in 2010 following the collapse of the British American Football League, which had run in a number of different guises since the 1980s. Previous names of the League were the UKAFL (UK American Football League), the Budweiser 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, Aden Durde, Jermaine Allen 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 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 London Warriors who won the 2019 Britbowl as well as the Premier Division South, they are also the most successful team having won 6 titles since the League's reformation in its current guise. The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a return to full operations signalled for June 2021.

History[]

The London Blitz prior to their 2011 EFAF Cup match in Spain

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.^[2][3] 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,^[4] 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.^[5][6]

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.^[7][8]

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[]

British counties with BAFA teams in 2020
  NFC (Northern Football Conference)
  SFC Southern Football Conference

The BAFANL 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 Division's 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 semi-final in which they will compete to win a place in the Britbowl. 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.

Unlike American Football competitions in North America such as the NFL, NCAA and CFL, 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 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.^[9]

The game itself is run following the latest NCAA rules,^[10] 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.^[11] 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 Womens 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 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,^[12] this was largely brought in due to Leicester Falcons partnership with US College side Baker Wildcats who in turned signed a significant number of US Athletes to their side following promotion to the BAFA Premier North.^[13] Tamworth Phoenix 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 University masters degree.^[14] 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.^[15]

Famous players to have played in the BAFANL include Efe Obada who played for the London Warriors in 2014, later moving into a career within the NFL.^[16] Aden Durde and Jermaine Allen of the London Olympians 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 also later moved to play in the NFL. Players to have come from the NFL to the BAFANL include Denver Broncos quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt and San Diego Chargers linebacker Jason Brisbane.

England's Rugby Union World Cup winning captain Martin Johnson and GB Olympics sprinter Dwain Chambers also played the sport briefly, as well as Television presenter Vernon Kay and actors Ricky Whittle and Chris Fountain.^[17]

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 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 games ^[18]

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.^[19]

Their social media pages represent the largest online community of British American Football players and fans.^[20]

In 2019, Onside provided the livestream of the U19 Junior National Championship and BritBowl XXXIII for BBC Sport.^[21]

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 clubs, University 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 itself has recently been played at Allianz Park in London and the Sixways Stadium in Worcester, while Division 1 and 2 finals are often 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. Other prominent stadiums that are currently in use in Britball include Manchester Titans home field at the National Speedway Stadium. Notable stadiums that have been used in the past includes Doncaster Mustangs use of the Keepmoat Stadium, London Olympians former home at the Crystal Palace Athletics Stadium, the AJ Bell Stadium by the Manchester Titans and De Montfort Park by Leicester Falcons.

DCBL Stadium, Widnes, Cheshire

Sixways Stadium, Worcester

De Montfort Park, Hinckley

Allianz Park, London

South Leeds Stadium, Leeds

Finsbury Park, London

Crystal Palace, London

Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster

AJ Bell Stadium, Salford

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 (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, Nottingham Caesars, East Kilbride Pirates and the Crewe Railroaders. Although the London Olympians are the most successful British side, the London Warriors hold the title following on from the BAFANL's official formation in 2010.

Temporary Alignment 2021[]

Having missed the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 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.^[22]

Premier Division[]

The BAFANL Premier Division for the 2020 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 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[]

Team	City	Stadium / Home Field	Founded	Head Coach	Temporary 2021 Division
Edinburgh Wolves	Edinburgh, Scotland	Meggetland Sports Complex	2002	Martin Harrison	BAFANL Scotland A
Manchester Titans	Gorton, Manchester	National Speedway Stadium	2003	Jon Homer	BAFANL North West
Merseyside Nighthawks	Skelmersdale, Lancashire	JMO Sports Park	1984	Craig Pennington	BAFANL North West
Sandwell Steelers	Tipton, West Midlands	Tipton Sports Academy	2013	Maxwell Petitjean	BAFANL Mercia
Sheffield Giants	Sheffield, South Yorkshire	Sheffield Olympic Legacy Stadium	2008	Toby Chesters	BAFANL North East
Tamworth Phoenix	Coleshill, Warwickshire	Pack Meadow	2004	Jason Scott	BAFANL Mercia

Premier South[]

Team	City	Stadium / Home Field	Founded	Head Coach	Temporary 2021 Division
Bristol Aztecs	Filton, South Gloucestershire	Stoke Gifford Stadium	1990	Ben Herrod	BAFANL West
Kent Exiles	Bromley, Greater London	Beaverwood Club	2004	John Moore	BAFANL London
London Blitz	Finsbury Park, London	Finsbury Park Stadium	1995	Damian Anderson	BAFANL London
London Olympians	Greenwich, London	Well Hall Stadium	1984	Riq Ayub	BAFANL London
London Warriors	Thornton Heath, London	Frant Road	2007	Tony Allen	BAFANL London
Solent Thrashers	Southampton, Hampshire	Solent University Test Park Sports Ground	2003	Steve Rains	BAFANL Wessex

Division One[]

The BAFANL Division One is the second tier of British American Football, for the 2020 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 Play offs 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.^[23] The team who finishes bottom of each division is relegated to Division Two.

NFC 1 North[]

Team	City	Stadium / Home Field	Founded	Head Coach	Temporary 2021 Division
Aberdeen Roughnecks	Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland	Hazlehead Park	2012	Vacant	BAFANL Scotland A
East Kilbride Pirates	Glasgow, Scotland	Braidholm	1985	Jamie McLaughlin	BAFANL Scotland A
Glasgow Tigers	Glasgow, Scotland	Nethercraigs Club	1986	Ryan McCluskey	BAFANL Scotland A
Inverclyde Golliaths	Greenock, Renfrewshire	Fort Matilda	2016		BAFANL Scotland A
Northumberland Vikings	Newcastle upon Tyne	Druid Park	2014	Bryce Stevenson	BAFANL North Hadrians

NFC 1 South[]

Team	City	Stadium / Home Field	Founded	Head Coach	Temporary 2021 Division
Chester Romans	Chester, Cheshire	Cheshire County Sports Club	1986	Levi Edwards	BAFANL North West
Halton Spartans	Widnes, Cheshire	DCBL Stadium	2014	Simon Wainwright	BAFANL North West
Lancashire Wolverines	Preston, Lancashire	UCLan Sports Arena	1987	Lea Hall	BAFANL North West
Leicester Falcons	Leicester, Leicestershire	Leicester Forest East Rugby Club	2006	Mike Grossner	BAFANL Mercia
Nottingham Caesars	Nottingham, Nottinghamshire	Harvey Hadden Stadium	1984	Vanden Warner	BAFANL Central East
Shropshire Revolution	Telford, Shropshire	Telford Athletics Stadium	2006	John Angell	BAFANL Mercia
Yorkshire Academy Rams	Leeds, West Yorkshire	South Leeds Stadium	1986	Jason Shaw	BAFANL North East

SFC 1 Central[]

Team	City	Stadium / Home Field	Founded	Head Coach	Temporary 2021 Division
Bournemouth Bobcats	Bournemouth, Dorset	The Bourne Academy	1985	Simon McLean	BAFANL Wessex
Rushmoor Knights	Farnham, Surrey	Wilkinson Way	1985	Peter Fields	BAFANL Wessex
Oxford Saints	Abingdon, Oxfordshire	Tilsley Park	1983	Andrew Day	BAFANL Thames Valley
Portsmouth Dreadnoughts	Gosport, Hampshire	Gosport Park	2012	Luke Head-Rapson	BAFANL Wessex
South Wales Warriors	Llanharan, Mid Glamorgan, Wales	The Dairy Field	2001	Geraint Roberts	BAFANL West
Sussex Thunder	Brighton, East Sussex	Brighton Rugby Club	1997	Ian Ellis	BAFANL Wessex

SFC 1 East[]

Team	City	Stadium / Home Field	Founded	Head Coach	Temporary 2021 Division
Cambridgeshire Cats	Cambridge, Cambridgeshire	Coldhams Common	1984	Marco Fasulo	BAFANL East Anglia
Essex Spartans	South Ockendon, Essex	Thames Rugby Football Club	1998	Sean Benton	BAFANL South East
Hertfordshire Cheetahs	Watford, Hertfordshire	Sun Postal Sports & Social Club	1986	Craig Barnes	BAFANL Thames Valley
London Hornets	Camden Town, London	Mill Hill Rugby Club	2011	Paul Holmes	BAFANL Thames Valley
Wembley Stallions	Harrow, London	LPOSSA Club	2013	Warren Smart	BAFANL Thames Valley

Division Two[]

The BAFA Division Two is the third tier of British American Football with 2020 holding 34 teams across 7 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 SFC 2 Central, 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 Play offs will win promotion to Division One and then face other for the Division Two Bowl game in order to take home the trophy.^[23]

NFC 2 North[]

Team	City	Stadium / Home Field	Founded	Head Coach	Temporary 2021 Division
Clyde Valley Blackhawks	Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, Scotland	Beltane Park	2007	Gary Orr	BAFANL Scotland B
Darlington Steam	Darlington, County Durham	Blackwell Meadows	2013	Darren Mitchell	BAFANL North Hadrians
DC Presidents	Chester-le-Street, County Durham	Riverside Leisure Complex	1985	Mark Quinn	BAFANL North Hadrians
Dumfries Hunters	Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland	David Keswick Centre	2014	Luke Summers	BAFANL Scotland B
Dunfermline Kings	Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland	Duloch Leisure Centre	2016	Alistair Choat	BAFANL Scotland B
Gateshead Senators	Jarrow, Tyneside	Monkton Stadium	1985	Gary Marshall	BAFANL North Hadrians
Highland Stags	Inverness, Scotland	Parklea Fields	2016	Billy Mill	BAFANL Scotland B

NFC 2 West[]

~ Denotes B/Reserve Team affiliated to another BAFANL team.

Team	City	Stadium / Home Field	Founded	Head Coach	Temporary 2021 Division
Crewe Railroaders	Crewe, Cheshire	Cheshire College Sports Field	1984	Jason Smith	BAFANL Mercia
Leigh Miners	Tyldesley, Greater Manchester	St George's Park	2020	James Higham	BAFANL North West
~ Manchester Bees	Gorton, Manchester	National Speedway Stadium	2018	Chapman	BAFANL North West
Morecambe Bay Storm	Morecambe, Lancashire	Trimpell Sports Club	2016	Scud Fairhurst	BAFANL North Hadrians
Staffordshire Surge	Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire	Trentham Fields	2008	Jon Wyse	BAFANL Mercia

NFC 2 East[]

Team	City	Stadium / Home Field	Founded	Head Coach	Temporary 2021 Division
Doncaster Mustangs	Doncaster, South Yorkshire	Wheatley Hills Rugby Club	2002	Paul Coley	BAFANL North East
Humber Warhawks	Hull, East Yorkshire	Costello Playing Fields-West	2014	Alex Moore	BAFANL North East
Knottingley Raiders	Knottingley, West Yorkshire	Marsh Lane	2014	Zak Constance	BAFANL North East
Leeds Bobcats	Leeds, West Yorkshire	West Leeds Rugby Club	2008	Chris Peel	BAFANL North East
Lincolnshire Bombers	North Hykeham, Lincolnshire	North Hykeham Rugby Club	2005	Michael Etheridge	BAFANL Central East
Scunthorpe Alphas	Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire	Quibell Park Stadium	2018	Alex Robson	BAFANL Central East
South Lincs Lightning	Bourne, Lincolnshire	Bourne Rugby Club	2020	Dan Harriss	BAFANL Central East

SFC 2 Central[]

Team	City	Stadium / Home Field	Founded	Head Coach	Temporary 2021 Division
Birmingham Bulls	Hopwood, Worcestershire	Hopwood Park	1983	Matthew Sheldon	BAFANL West
Hereford Stampede	Hereford, Herefordshire	Greyhound Rugby Club	2016	Paul Kent	BAFANL West
Northants Knights	Wellingborough, Northamptonshire	Wellingborough OG's Rugby Club	2016	Wayne Gumbs	BAFANL Central East
Ouse Valley Eagles	Bedford, Bedfordshire	Bedford International Athletics Stadium	2013	Nick Benning	BAFANL East Anglia
Worcestershire Black Knights	Worcester, Worcestershire	Perdiswell Leisure Centre	2016	Ian Hughes	BAFANL West

SFC 2 West[]

~ Denotes B/Reserve Team affiliated to another BAFANL team.

Team	City	Stadium / Home Field	Founded	Head Coach	Temporary 2021 Division
~ Bristol Apache	Filton, South Gloucestershire	SGS Sports Field	1990	Pete Jones	BAFANL South West
Cornwall Monarchs	Newquay, Cornwall	Newquay Sports Centre	2005	Richard Atkinson	BAFANL South West
Somerset Wyverns	Taunton, Somerset	Victoria Park	2017	Lydon Ward-Best	BAFANL South West
Torbay Trojans	Torquay, Devon	Foxhole Community Centre	1983	Sean Harris	BAFANL South West

SFC 2 South[]

~ Denotes B/Reserve Team affiliated to another BAFANL team.

Team	City	Stadium / Home Field	Founded	Head Coach	Temporary 2021 Division
Hastings Conquerors	Hastings, East Sussex	Freshfields	2012		BAFANL South East
Jurassic Coast Raptors	Dorchester, Dorset	Dorchester Rugby Club	2016	Billy Heinrich	BAFANL South West
~ London Blitz B	Finsbury Park, London	Finsbury Park Stadium	2015	Anthony Coverdale	BAFANL Thames Valley
Swindon Storm	Swindon, Wiltshire	Southbrook Playing Fields	2012	Richard Westley	BAFANL West
~ Sussex Thunderbolts	Brighton, East Sussex	Brighton Rugby Club	2020	Ian Ellis	BAFANL South East

SFC 2 East[]

~ Denotes team who withdrew from the season who have folded during 2020.

Team	City	Stadium / Home Field	Founded	Head Coach	Temporary 2021 Division
Colchester Gladiators	Colchester, Essex	Corporal Budd VC Gymnasium	1983	Karl Bourke	BAFANL East Anglia
East Essex Sabres	Rayleigh, Essex	Deanes School	2016	Kirk Beacham	BAFANL South East
East Kent Mavericks	Canterbury, Kent	Simon Langton Grammar School	2002	Glenn Lindley	BAFANL South East
Ipswich Cardinals	Ipswich, Suffolk	Northgate Sports Centre	1986	Ian Girling	BAFANL East Anglia
Norwich Devils	Norwich, Norfolk	Thorpe High School	1984	Andy Starling	BAFANL East Anglia
South East Squadron	Maidstone, Kent	TBC	2020	TBC	BAFANL South East

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.^[24][25]

~ Denotes B/Reserve Team affiliated to another BAFANL team.

Team	City	Stadium / Home Field	Founded	Head Coach
Carlisle Kestrels	Carlisle, Cumbria	Sheepmount Sports College	2014	Paul Brady
Berkshire Renegades	Reading, Berkshire	University of Reading Sports Park	1985	Paul Gordon
Burnley Tornados	Burnley, Lancashire	Colne & Nelson Rugby Club	2016	David Robins
Bury Saints	Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk	Red Lodge Sports Pavilion	2013
King's Lynn Patriots	King's Lynn, Norfolk	West Lynn Sports Club	2016	Chris Wallis
~ Leicester Falcons B	Leicester, Leicestershire	Leicester Forest East Rugby Club	2018	Mike Grossner

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.

Team	City	Founded	Folded	Notes
Bedfordshire Blue Raiders	Bedford, Bedfordshire	2006	2013	Merged with the Milton Keynes Pathfinders to form the Ouse Valley Eagles.
Carlisle Border Reivers	Carlisle, Cumbria	2009	2013	Following their demise, former members formed the Carlisle Sentinels (renamed Kestrels) in 2014.
Coventry Jets	Coventry, Warwickshire	2004	2018	All Jets teams transferred to the Etone Jaguars Youth Academy. The former Jets Adult team folded in 2019.
Dundee Hurricanes	Dundee, Scotland	2002	2019	Resigned League status in 2018, dropped into Associate Process and are now dormant.
Etone Jaguars	Nuneaton, Warwickshire	2018	2019	Absorbed the Jets team but folded mid 2019. Club renamed to Nuneaton and youth football continues.
Furness Phantoms	Ulverston, Cumbria	2011	2020	Resigned from the League prior to the 2020 season.
Gloucester Centurions	Gloucester, Gloucestershire	2007	2015	Adult side folding in 2015 with the rest of the programme wound up in 2016.
Grimsby Scorpions	Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire	2013	2014	Merged with fellow Associate side Kingston Warhawks to form the Humber Warhawks.
Hull Hornets	Kingston upon Hull, East Yorkshire	2005	2010	Former members later formed the Kingston Warhawks.
Maidstone Pumas	Maidstone, Kent	1997	2020	Assets handed to the Kent Phoenix Youth side who in turn formed the South East Squadron.
Northumberland Lightning	Ashington, Northumberland	2012	2017	Merged with fellow BAFANL side Newcastle Vikings to form the Northumberland Vikings.
Peterborough Saxons	Peterborough, Cambridgeshire	2001	2016	Some former members went on to former the South Lincs Lightning in 2020.
West Coast Trojans	Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland	2004	2018	Full programme wound up in 2018.

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 in the United Kingdom.

Player	Team	Notes
Phil Alexander	Farnham Knights	Kicker for the London Monarchs, former professional association football player for Norwich City and chief executive of Crystal Palace.[26]
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
Marcel Bellefeuille	Crawley Raiders	OC at CFL sides including Montreal Alouettes, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers[27]
Roderick Bradley	London Blitz	Played "Spartan" on ITV game show Gladiators
Jason Brisbane	London Blitz	Played in the NFL for San Diego Chargers.
Dwain Chambers	Farnham Knights	British Olympic Athletics track sprinter and former NFL Europe player with Hamburg Sea Devils
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
Victor Ebubedike	London Ravens, London Olympians	NFL Europe player with the London Monarchs.[27]
Mike Grossner	Nottingham Caesars, Leicester Falcons	Former NCAA coach with Western Colorado Mountaineers
Christian Holmes	Tamworth Phoenix (2016)	Played in NCAA Division 1 for Mississippi State from 2011 to 2014.
Stephen Hutchinson	London Blitz	Played in NFL Europe for London Monarchs and Hamburg Blue Devils
Martin Johnson	Leicester Panthers	Professional Rugby Union player and World Cup winning captain of the England team.[28]
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.
Ricky Whittle	Manchester Titans	Actor who notably had lengthy roles in Hollyoaks and Dream Team.

Winners[]

BritBowl[]

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

Division One Bowl[]

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

Division Two Bowl[]

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

See also[]

• Britbowl
• NFL Europe
• American football in the United Kingdom
• British Universities American Football League

References[]

External links[]

• Official league website