BAFA National Leagues

Sport	American football
Founded	2010
No. of teams	70
Country(ies)	England, Scotland, Wales
Official website	http://www.bafanl.co.uk

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 to coordinate contact football and flag football across all age ranges. A total of 70 teams compete within the leagues.

Teams

Senior contact

Like most sports in Europe, but unlike most American football leagues, the BAFA senior league uses the system of promotion and relegation, with the league divided into three divisions, "Premiership," "Division 1" and "Division 2".^[1]

Premier

The BAFA's Premier Division for the 2011 season comprises six teams, including the Tamworth team who won the previous year's Division One play-off final.^[2] Each team plays each other once at home and once away, with the top four teams qualifying for the post-season play-offs.

• Bristol Aztecs
• Coventry Cassidy Jets
• Farnham Fast Lane Knights
• London Blitz
• London Warriors
• Tamworth Phoenix

Division 1

Division 1 comprises 18 teams split into three regional conferences. These include Sussex Thunder, who were relegated from the Premier Division, while three teams were promoted from Division Two; Edinburgh Wolves enter the North conference, Manchester Titans enter the Central conference, and London Olympians enter the South conference after winning the divisional play-off. Each team plays each other once at home and once away, with the top two teams in each conference qualifying for the play-offs together with the two best third-placed teams.

Division 1 North	Division 1 Central	Division 1 South
Doncaster Mustangs East Kilbride Pirates Gateshead Senators Manchester Titans Merseyside Nighthawks Yorkshire Rams	Birmingham Bulls Cambridgeshire Cats Leicester Falcons Nottingham Caesars Oxford Saints Peterborough Saxons	Colchester Gladiators East Kent Mavericks Hampshire Thrashers Ipswich Cardinals London Olympians Sussex Thunder

Division 2

Division 2 comprises 27 teams split into four regional conferences. This includes the Bournemouth Bobcats, Bristol Apache and Carlisle Border Reivers who were accepted into the league as its newest members, plus the Dundee Hurricanes, Kent Exiles and South Wales Warriors who dropped down from Division 1. Each team plays each other once at home and once away. The top two teams in each conference qualify for the play-offs.

Division 2 North	Division 2 Central	Division 2 East	Division 2 West
Carlisle Border Reivers Clyde Valley Blackhawks Dundee Hurricanes Edinburgh Wolves Glasgow Tigers Highland Wildcats West Coast Trojans	Chester Romans Hull Hornets Lancashire Wolverines Lincolnshire Bombers Sheffield Predators Shropshire Revolution Staffordshire Surge	Bedfordshire Blue Raiders Essex Spartans Kent Exiles Maidstone Pumas Milton Keynes City Pathfinders Norwich Devils Watford Cheetahs	Berkshire Renegades Bournemouth Bobcats Bristol Apache Cornish Sharks South Wales Warriors

Junior contact

The junior contact league (competed by players between the ages of 16 and 19) comprises 26 teams divided into four regional divisions.^[1]

North	Central	East	South
Forth Valley Fusion Gateshead Senators Lanarkshire Longhorns Lancashire Wolverines Leeds Varsity Bobcats Manchester Titans	Birmingham Bulls Coventry Jets Nottingham Caesars Leicester Falcons Sheffield Tomahawks Tamworth Phoenix	Cambridgeshire Cats Colchester Gladiators East Kent Mavericks Kent Exiles Maidstone Pumas Peterborough Saxons	Bristol Aztecs Farnham Knights Hampshire Thrashers London Blitz London Warriors Reading Rebels Sussex Thunder

Youth contact

The youth contact league (competed by players between the ages of 14 and 17) comprises 16 teams divided into three regional divisions.^[1]

North	Scotland	South
Balby Carr Mustangs Bolton Bulldogs Burnley Tornadoes Chorley Buccaneers Sheffield Tomahawks Woodham Warriors	Clyde Valley Falcons Edinburgh Wolves Glasgow Tigers Highland Wildcats Inverclyde Nix	Coventry Jets Kent Exiles London Blitz London Warriors Marlow Wolves

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Football (Contact)". BAFA Community Leagues. http://bafacl.com/page.do?id=8933365. Retrieved 12 April 2010. 
2. ^ Thomson, Paul (22 September 2010). "Britbowl jitters get the better of Pirates". East Kilbride News. http://www.eastkilbridenews.co.uk/lanarkshire-sport/other-sport-lanarkshire/2010/09/22/britbowl-jitters-get-the-better-of-pirates-68653-27314027/. Retrieved 2011-01-07. 

External links

• Official league website