Canadian Major Football League
| Sport | Canadian football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| No. of teams | 15
(as of 2021 season; AFL and NFC) |
| Countries | Canada |
| Most recent champion(s) | GTA All Stars |
| Most titles | Calgary Wolfpack (4) |
| TV partner(s) | Local TV stations |
| Related competitions | Alberta Football League, Manitoba Football League and Northern Football Conference |
The Canadian Major Football League (CMFL) is the national governing body for semi-pro canadian football (formally known as the Canadian Senior Football League), dedicated to advocating for the promotion of Canadian senior football.
The CMFL was formed in 1999 by the Alberta Football League (AFL) and Manitoba Football League (MFL) in attempt to crown the amateur national champion of Canada, and replaced the Canadian Senior Intermediate championship game. Since 2002 the game has been played between the AFL and Northern Football Conference (NFC) league champions. The two leagues cooperate but remain legally separate entities.[1]
Trophy
The participating teams compete for the Sid Forster Memorial Trophy, emblematic of the Canadian Major Football Championship. The permanent trophy was provided by the NFC in memory of long-time Sudbury Spartans head coach and Canadian Football Hall of Fame member Sid Forester,[2] who died in 1994. The trophy stays in possession of the game winner for the year following their victory.
Rules
CMFL games are played under the host conference Canadian amateur rules.
When the AFL hosts
- Three downs
- One yard line of restraint
- Cut block rule to include; running backs only, within the tackle box, 5 yards deep, on blitzing players though A and B gap, no engaged blitzing player may be cut.
When the NFC hosts
- Four downs
- Zero yard line of restraint
- Cut block rule to include: The Canadian Amateur Rule Book for Tackle Football, which is blocking below the waist is allowed anywhere within the close line play area, which by rule is 2 yards on either side of the line of scrimmage and between the tackles.
Forster Memorial Trophy Games
| Year | AFL team | Score | NFC team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Calgary Wolfpack | 36-28 | Thunder Bay Storm (MFL) |
| 2000 | Winnipeg Mustangs (MFL) | 14-42 | Oakville Longhorns |
| 2001^ | Calgary Thunder | 0-25 | Winnipeg Mustangs (MFL) |
| Calgary Wolfpack | 0-41 | Oakville Longhorns | |
| 2002 | Calgary Wolfpack | 46-54 | Oakville Longhorns |
| 2003 | Calgary Wolfpack | 39-28 | Oakville Longhorns |
| 2004 | Calgary Wolfpack | 27-40 | Milton Marauders |
| 2005 | Calgary Wolfpack | 20-14 | Tri-City Outlaws |
| 2006 | Calgary Wolfpack | 29-43 | Oshawa Hawkeyes |
| 2007 | Edmonton Stallions | 10-59 | Sault Ste. Marie Steelers |
| 2008 | Calgary Wolfpack | 35-7 | Tri-City Outlaws |
| 2009 | Edmonton Stallions | 6-65[3] | Sault Ste. Marie Steelers |
| 2010 | Lloydminster Vandals | 0-32 | Sault Ste. Marie Steelers |
| 2011 | Calgary Wolfpack | 14-31 | Tri-City Outlaws |
| 2012 | Lloydminster Vandals | 25-19 | Toronto Titans |
| 2013 | Calgary Gators | 28-50[4] | Montreal Transit |
| 2014 | Calgary Wolfpack | 26-49 | Montreal Transit |
| 2015 | Calgary Gators | 38-39 | GTA All-Stars |
| 2016 | Fort McMurray Monarchs | 59-45[5] | GTA All-Stars |
| 2017 | Calgary Gators | 17-18[6] | GTA All-Stars |
| 2018 | Fort McMurray Monarchs | 22-17 | GTA All-Stars |
| 2019 | Calgary Wolfpack | 0-28[7] | GTA All-Stars |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 2021 | |||
| 2022 | Cold Lake Fighter Jets | 35-18[8][9] | GTA All-Stars |
| 2023 | Cold Lake Fighter Jets | 7-11[10] | GTA All-Stars |
* Home team in bold.
^ In 2001 the MFL champion Winnipeg Mustangs beat the AFL champion Calgary Thunder 25-0. The 3rd Place AFL team, the Calgary Wolfpack, traveled to Ontario to play the NFC champion and defending Canadian champion Oakville Longhorns.
Champions
| Team | League | Wins | Losses | Total | Last won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary Wolfpack | AFL | 4 | 7 | 11 | 2008 |
| GTA All Stars[a] | NFC | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2023 |
| Oakville Longhorns | NFC | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2002 |
| Sault Ste. Marie Steelers | NFC | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2010 |
| Cold Lake Fighter Jets[b] | AFL | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2022 |
Montreal Transit |
NFC | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2014 |
| Fort McMurray Monarchs | AFL | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2018 |
| Tri-City Outlaws | NFC | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2011 |
| Winnipeg Mustangs | MFL | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2001 |
| Milton Marauders | NFC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2004 |
| Oshawa Hawkeyes | NFC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2006 |
Calgary Gators |
AFL | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| Edmonton Stallions | AFL | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| Calgary Thunder | AFL | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Thunder Bay Storm | MFL | 0 | 1 | 1 |
* Active franchise in bold.
See also
References
- ^ "2015 CMFL Agreement" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-10-06.
- ^ "Sidney Forster Class of 2001".
- ^ "Sault Steelers win second CMFL championship". YouTube.
- ^ "Calgary Gators @ Transit 2013 09 28". YouTube.
- ^ "TSN Original Documentary - The Fort McMurray Monarchs". YouTube.
- ^ "Calgary Gators @ GTA All-Stars". YouTube.
- ^ "Calgary Wolfpack @ GTA All Stars". YouTube.
- ^ "𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 GTA All Stars at Cold Lake Fighter Jets".
- ^ "2nd Half of the National Championship is underway!".
- ^ "National Championship — Cold Lake Fighter Jets @ GTA All Stars".
- ^ "Canadian Men's Senior Football Championship; Sid Forster Memorial Trophy".
- ^ "Lloydminster Vandals re-brand, move to Cold Lake".