Canada
The Canadian Football League (CFL)
BC vs Edmonton LIVE
Match scheduled:
Date: 05-07-2010
Time 01:00 until :04:00
Week 1 - Canadian Football League CFL
Watch live CFL TV
The Canadian Football League or CFL (Ligue canadienne de football [LCF] in French) is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of Gridiron football.
Its eight teams, which are located in eight cities, are divided into two Conferences of four teams each—East and West. The league's 19-week regular season runs from late June to late November; each team plays 18 games with one bye week. Following the regular season, the six teams with the best records (regardless of Conference) compete in the league's three-week playoffs, which culminate in the late-November Grey Cup championship, the country's largest annual sports and television event.[1]
The CFL was officially founded in 1958. It is the highest level of play in Canadian football, the most popular football league in Canada, and the most popular major sports league in Canada after the National Hockey League.[2]
Although ice hockey is Canada's most popular sport, the CFL has increased the popularity of Canadian football in Quebec and Western Canada.[2] Canadian football is also played at amateur levels (i.e. youth, high school, CJFL, QJFL, CIS and senior leagues such as the Alberta Football League).
In Southern Ontario, the CFL is recovering from the bankruptcy that plagued the Toronto and Hamilton teams in the 2003 season. Having come under new ownership, both teams have improved their attendance figures dramatically since then.[3]
The 2010s will be a significant decade for the CFL in terms of growth, as many teams will see renovated, expanded or entirely new stadiums come to fruition. The Montreal Alouettes will experience this first, with 5000 seats being added to Percival Molson Memorial Stadium in time for the 2010 CFL season.[4] The Edmonton Eskimos and Calgary Stampeders will also have their stadiums and facilities renovated in time for the 2010 season.[5] The following season will see the BC Lions play under a new, retractable roof in BC Place Stadium after spending one year at Empire Field.[6] Then, after another season, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will play in an entirely new stadium at the University of Manitoba, set to open in time for the 2012 CFL season. [7] The Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Saskatchewan Roughriders and the new Ottawa franchise will also be looking at new or extensively renovated stadiums in the following years.[8][9][1