Canadian Football League

Nine teams play in the CFL.

These teams are in Canada. Some are in the East. Some are in the West.

Teams play many games each year. They play to win a big trophy. This trophy is the Grey Cup.

It is a very big event.

Fans love to watch these games. Many people watch on TV. They go to big stadiums to cheer. It is a fun sport for Canada.

The Canadian Football League, or CFL, is a pro league. It is the top level of football in Canada. The league has nine teams. Four teams are in the East Division. Five teams are in the West Division.

Teams play a long season. It lasts 21 weeks. Each team plays 18 games. After the regular season, six teams go to the playoffs. They play to win the Grey Cup. This is a famous trophy. The Grey Cup game is a huge event in Canada.

The CFL began in 1958. It was made by joining two older leagues. These were the Big Four and the WIFU. Long ago, people played rugby in Canada. Over time, the game changed. It became more like the American game.

Fans love to watch the games. Many people watch on TV. Some teams play in very large stadiums.

Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium is the biggest one. In 2005, over 2.3 million people went to games. This was a record for the league.

The Canadian Football League, or CFL, is the highest level of professional football in Canada. It is a huge part of Canadian sports culture. The league is made up of nine teams. These teams are split into two groups called divisions. The East Division has four teams. The West Division has five teams.

Fans love to watch these teams compete for glory. The biggest prize is the Grey Cup. This championship game happens every year in late November. It is one of the largest sports events on television in Canada.

A CFL season is a long and busy time. It lasts for 21 weeks. During the regular season, each team plays 18 games. Teams also get three bye weeks, which are weeks where they do not play. The season usually starts in mid-June and ends in late October. After the regular season is over, six teams move on to the playoffs. These teams fight through rounds of games to reach the final. The winner of that last game gets to hold the Grey Cup trophy.

The history of the game goes back a long time. People began playing rugby football in Canada in the 1860s. Early groups like the Canadian Rugby Football Union helped organize the sport. In 1909, a man named Earl Grey donated a trophy called the Grey Cup. At first, the game was very much like rugby. Later, new rules made it look more like the American version of football. Two main groups eventually formed to run the sport. One was the Big Four, founded in 1907. The other was the WIFU, which started in March 1936.

These two groups joined together to create the modern CFL. This official merger happened on January 19, 1958. Before this, the teams were often amateur. By 1954, the game had become fully professional. The league has had many different teams over the years. Some teams, like the Toronto Argonauts, have very old names. The Argonauts got their name from a rowing club in Toronto. Other teams have changed names or moved to different cities. For example, the Montreal Alouettes have had a few different starts and stops.

Watching the CFL is a way for many Canadians to connect. It is a very popular sport across the country. In 2006, a survey showed it was the second most popular sports league in Canada. Many fans enjoy going to the games in person. Some stadiums are very large and can hold many people. Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium is the largest venue in the league.

In 2005, more than 2.3 million people went to see CFL games. This was a record for the league and showed how much people love the sport.

The Canadian Football League, commonly known as the CFL, is the highest professional level of Canadian football. Headquartered in Toronto, the league serves as a major pillar of Canadian sports culture. It currently consists of nine professional teams organized into two distinct groups. The East Division contains four teams, while the West Division contains five teams.

The ultimate goal for every player is to win the Grey Cup. This championship game takes place in late November and serves as one of Canada's largest annual sports and television events.

A standard CFL season follows a specific, structured timeline. The season lasts for a total of 21 weeks, typically running from mid-June to late October. During the regular season, each of the nine teams plays 18 games. To manage the physical demands of the sport, each team is granted three bye weeks, which are scheduled periods without games. Once the regular season concludes, the top six teams advance to the playoffs. These teams compete in a series of elimination games to determine who will face off in the Grey Cup final.

The league's modern structure is the result of a significant merger between two historical organizations. Before 1958, professional football in Canada was split between the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union, known as the "Big Four," and the Western Interprovincial Football Union, or WIFU. The Big Four was founded in 1907, while the WIFU began in March 1936. In 1956, the Montreal Alouettes threatened to move from the Big Four to the WIFU. This tension led to the creation of the Canadian Football Council to modernize management. On January 19, 1958, this council officially reorganized into the Canadian Football League.

Tracing the roots of the sport reveals a long evolution from rugby to the modern game. Rugby football began being played in Canada during the 1860s. Early organizations like the Canadian Rugby Football Union, founded in 1880, helped govern the sport. In 1909, Governor General the Earl Grey donated the Grey Cup to the winner of the Senior Amateur Football Championship of Canada. Over time, the introduction of the Burnside rules caused the Canadian game to diverge from rugby. It began to look more like the American style of football. By 1954, the game had transitioned into a fully professional era where only professional teams contested the Grey Cup.

The league has experienced various shifts in its membership and geography. For a long time, the league remained stable with nine franchises, including the BC Lions and the Saskatchewan Roughriders. In the 1990s, the CFL attempted an expansion into the United States. This experiment included teams like the Sacramento Gold Miners and the Baltimore Stallions. The Stallions became the only non-Canadian team to win the Grey Cup in 1995. However, the rise of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens and financial difficulties led the CFL to return to an all-Canadian format in 1996.

Despite these changes, the CFL maintains a massive and dedicated following. In 2005, the league set an all-time attendance record with more than 2.3 million fans attending games. During the 2000s, the CFL held the third highest per-game attendance of any North American sports league. A 2006 survey from the University of Lethbridge showed the CFL was the second most popular sports league in Canada. It held a 19% following among the adult population. This was significantly higher than the 11% following for the NFL at that time.

The league's growth is also visible in its physical infrastructure and media presence. Under Commissioner Mark Cohon from 2007 to 2015, the league saw widespread stadium renovations and new constructions. For example, the Montreal Alouettes added 5,000 seats to Percival Molson Memorial Stadium in 2010. Other teams, such as the Edmonton Eskimos and Calgary Stampeders, also upgraded their facilities. To reach more fans, the league launched CFL Broadband in 2006 to provide internet streaming. This allowed fans to watch games live beyond traditional television broadcasts on TSN and CBC.