Great Britain is joining the growing alliance of gridiron football nations pledging to work with the Canadian Football League (CFL) to grow the game.

The British American Football Association (BAFA), the national governing body for the sport in Great Britain, is entering into a partnership with the CFL.



“This new relationship will help introduce Canadian Football to a wider audience in the U.K. and allow us to develop all aspects of the British game – not just on the field, but from a business perspective, too,” said BAFA Director Bruce Leatherman.



“There is so much we can learn through sharing knowledge and ideas, and we’re also hugely excited to have new opportunities for our coaches to develop and our players to grow and achieve their full potential. BAFA is delighted to be working in partnership with the CFL to grow the sport we all love.”



BAFA becomes the tenth leading federation or league from various gridiron football playing countries to join the movement spearheaded by the CFL and its Commissioner, Randy Ambrosie.



“BAFA brings a lot of energy, passion and knowledge to the movement, with its more than 10,000 male and female members playing for more than 250 university and club teams,” Ambrosie said.“We’re thrilled to work with our friends there to improve the game in Canada, Great Britain and around the world.”



The CFL had already reached similar agreements with organizations in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Norway and Sweden.



This past January, a CFL Combine and draft was held in Mexico City and various players from Europe were invited to take part.



The CFL regular season kicked off last month with 24 global players (from outside Canada and the United States) on CFL rosters.



“We are expanding our international footprint, expanding our talent pool, and looking to create new broadcast and streaming markets for our games,” Ambrosie said.



“At the same time, we want to contribute to and learn from leagues around the world and provide greater opportunities for Canadian players in other countries. Working together, we can make football even bigger and better everywhere.”