A Canadian football

The Central Canadian Women's Football League (CCWFL) is a full-contact Canadian football league supported by Football Quebec and Football Ontario.[1]

Originally founded in 2014, the league played its first season in 2022.[2][3][4] It thus became the third cross-province league for women's football in Canada, alongside the Western Women's Canadian Football League and the Maritime Women's Football League.[5]

In French, the league is named the Ligue centrale canadienne de football féminin (LCCFF).[4]

History

The Central Canadian league was first formed in 2014, intending to play a 2015 season. Football Canada made the announcement in April 2014 of an over-18s' women's tackle football league.[6][7] Its official launch in July was attended by the premier of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne,[8] and members of the Toronto Argonauts gave continuing support to the players.[8][9] Aaron Ellis had founded the project so that his daughter Tianna could continue to play football after high school.[10] Teams would have been based in Mississauga, Hamilton, Scarborough and York Region.[8] However, the planned league did not materialize in 2015 due to lack of registered players.[11]

The Montreal Blitz had been established in 2001[1] and won the American Independent Women's Football League championship in 2012.[12][13] The Ottawa Capital Rebels were founded in early 2020.[5][14]

The Blitz and Rebels were co-founders of the CCWFL when it announced its re-formation in 2021. The Ottawa team's co-founder Sonia Rodi, a football coach and former rugby player, said, "When I go to these [coaching] clinics, I’m always the only female", and made an effort to find female coaches. She wanted the team to become a source of inspiration to girls who play football and are excluded: "It’s easier for men because it’s a sport for them. But for women, we just have to work harder for everything."[1]

The league's first game was the Montreal Blitz versus the Quebec City Phoenix on May 14, 2022, at Stade Hébert, a 25–0 win for the Blitz,[15] who were undefeated by the end of the season on June 25. The Montreal team is coached by former quarterback Saadia Ashraf.[16] The Phoenix de Québec, from Quebec City, were newly founded in 2022.[2] Ottawa played their 2022 home games at Matt Anthony Field, University of Ottawa.[3][17] Because some team rosters were undersized, the 2022 games were played as 9-versus-9 players.[17][4]

The CCWFL commissioner is Andréanne Dupont-Parent, the Montreal Blitz's general manager and a former player for Canada in the 2010 World Championship.[18] Male CFL players who have been involved in training the CCWFL's players include Eddie Brown, Antoine Pruneau, and Samuel Thomassin.[14]

A 2023 season has been announced by the league, which aims to expand to include teams in Toronto and Trois-Rivières,[4] and elsewhere in Quebec and Ontario within five years.[3]

In May 2022, ten CCWFL players were selected for the primary Canada team roster at the American football 2022 World Championship.[19]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Organizers see world of opportunity w/ women's league". CFL. June 21, 2021. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Women's tackle football returns to Quebec, and they're looking for players". CBC News. March 1, 2022. Archived from the original on July 8, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "New Canadian women's tackle football league comes to the nation's capital". CityNews. Archived from the original on May 15, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Une première saison dans les livres pour les Capital Rebels d'Ottawa". Radio-Canada. June 19, 2022. Archived from the original on July 8, 2022.
  5. 1 2 "'There will be bruises': Capital Rebels tackle male-dominated world of full-contact football". CBC News. February 15, 2020. Archived from the original on July 8, 2022.
  6. ↑ "CCWFL Official Launch". Football Canada. Apr 9, 2014. Archived from the original on Oct 8, 2015. "CCWFL – Lancement officiel". Football Canada. Apr 9, 2014. Archived from the original on Mar 28, 2017.
  7. ↑ "CCWFL Press Release 4-09-2014" (PDF). Football Canada. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 21, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 "Women's football league launched". King Weekly Sentinel. July 2, 2014. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Women, football and Argos". The Chronicle. Durham College. Oct 30, 2014. Archived from the original on July 9, 2022.
  10. ↑ McKnight, Zoe (July 26, 2014). "GTA dad-daughter bond behind women's football league". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on Jul 30, 2014.
  11. ↑ Staffieri, Mark (June 14, 2015). "CCWFL deserves an A for Effort". Fourth and Feminine. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Le Blitz de Montréal remporte le Championnat Mondial de l'IWFL". Football Québec. Archived from the original on Feb 25, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Montreal Blitz are the 2012 IWFL World Champions!". IWFL Sports. Archived from the original on March 8, 2013.
  14. 1 2 "Une ligue féminine de football en Ontario et au Québec dès 2022". Le Droit. Aug 21, 2021. Archived from the original on Jul 8, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Montreal Blitz". Facebook. May 12, 2022. Le premier match contre le Phoenix
    "Montreal Blitz". Facebook. May 15, 2022. une victoire de 25-0 contre le Phoenix
  16. ↑ "Landry: Saadia Ashraf is a true builder of the game". CFL. 8 March 2022. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022.
  17. 1 2 "It's a hit! Canadian girls and women crushing stereotypes by playing tackle football". Ottawa Sun. Archived from the original on May 8, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Dupont-Parent aims to build through Als' experience". CFL. 2 June 2022. Archived from the original on Jul 8, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Team Canada National Women's Team Final Roster Set for Finland". Football Canada. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022.
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