BAFA National Leagues

BAFA National Leagues

Formerly	British American Football League (1985–2010)
Sport	American football
Founded	(1983) reformed in 2010
First season	reformed 2010
Commissioner	Joe Walker
No. of teams	60
Country	England (52 teams)  Scotland (7 teams)  Wales (1 team)
Headquarters	Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England[1]
Most recent champion(s)	Britbowl: London Warriors Premier North: Manchester Titans Premier South: London Warriors Division 1 Championship: Nottingham Caesars NFC 1 Scotland: Glasgow Tigers NFC 1 North: Scunthorpe Alphas NFC 1 South: Nottingham Caesars SFC 1 East: East Kent Mavericks SFC 1 West: Bristol Apache Division 2 Championship: Colchester Gladiators NFC 2 East: Darlington Steam NFC 2 West: Sandwell Steelers SFC 2 East: Colchester Gladiators SFC 2 West: Sussex Thunder
Most titles	London Warriors (7 titles)
Related competitions	Britbowl
Official website	britishamericanfootball.org

The BAFANL (BAFA National Leagues) is the primary American football domestic league competition in Great Britain. Originally formed in 1983, the league is run by the British American Football Association to coordinate contact football within England, Scotland and Wales. The top level is the Premier Division and the BritBowl is the annual final championship game. The league was reformed in 2010 following the collapse of the British American Football League, which had run in a number of different guises since the early 1980s. Previous names of the league were the UKAFL (UK American Football League), the Budweiser League and the BNGL (British National Gridiron League). From 1998 until 2005 the league was known as the BSL (British Senior League). Tensions grew throughout 2009 between the directors of BAFL and those of the governing body the British American Football Association, and at the beginning of 2010 the BAFL formally, but unconstitutionally, withdrew from BAFA. This led to uproar from the teams within BAFL, ultimately signalling the end for BAFL as an entity. The league ceased operations on 1 April 2010 and was replaced by the BAFA Community Leagues for the 2010 season, rebranding in 2011 to become the BAFANL. Notable players to have come from the BAFANL who have gone on to play in the NFL are Efe Obada, Aden Durde, Jermaine Allen and Marvin Allen.

Pete Ackerley currently heads the day-to-day operations of the BAFANL. The league operates a summer season and begins in April and plays through until August, with play-off games running into September. There are currently 60 teams who compete in 12 regional divisions across three levels of football. The 12 teams who contest both the two BAFA Premier Divisions compete to reach the annual Britbowl final, whereas teams in the second and third level aim to earn promotion to the Division above, attempting to reach one of the Divisional bowl finals. The current champions are the Manchester Titans who won the 2023 Britbowl as well as the Premier Division North, after defeating the London Warriors for the second successive time in the 2023 Britbowl final.