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Canadian Major Football League

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Canadian Major Football League
SportCanadian football
Founded1999
No. of teams15 (as of 2021 season;
AFL and NFC)
CountriesCanada
Most recent
champion(s)		GTA All Stars
Most titlesCalgary 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]

In 2024 the two leagues reaffirm the agreement,[2] after several teams split from the NFC and founded the Ontario Power 5 Football League.[3]

Trophy

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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,[4] who died in 1994. The trophy stays in possession of the game winner for the year following their victory.

Rules

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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

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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[5] 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[6] Montreal Transit
2014 Calgary Wolfpack 26–49 Montreal Transit
2015 Calgary Gators 38–39 GTA All-Stars
2016 Fort McMurray Monarchs 59–45[7] GTA All-Stars
2017 Calgary Gators 17–18[8] GTA All-Stars
2018 Fort McMurray Monarchs 22–17 GTA All-Stars
2019 Calgary Wolfpack 0–28[9] GTA All-Stars
2020 Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
2021
2022 Cold Lake Fighter Jets 35–18[10][11] GTA All-Stars
2023 Cold Lake Fighter Jets 7–11[12] GTA All-Stars
2024 Calgary Gators 35–0[13] 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, travelled to Ontario to play the NFC champion and defending Canadian champion Oakville Longhorns.

Champions

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Forster Memorial Trophy appearances[14]
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 1 3 4
Edmonton Stallions AFL 0 2 2
Calgary Thunder AFL 0 1 1
Thunder Bay Storm MFL 0 1 1

* Active franchise in bold.

  1. ^ Including one game as the Toronto Titans.
  2. ^ As the Lloydminster Vandals.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "2015 CMFL Agreement" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-10-06.
  2. ^ "After much discussion and deliberation, the AFL and NFC are proud to jointly announce that the CMFL Championship game will continue on, in the spirit of the longstanding agreement that has seen this game played since 1999". Canadian Major Football League News.
  3. ^ "The Sault Steelers one of four franchises to join the Ontario Power 5 Football League". The Sault Star.
  4. ^ "Sidney Forster Class of 2001".
  5. ^ "Sault Steelers win second CMFL championship". YouTube. 20 September 2009.
  6. ^ "Calgary Gators @ Transit 2013 09 28". YouTube. 9 October 2013.
  7. ^ "TSN Original Documentary - The Fort McMurray Monarchs". YouTube. February 2017.
  8. ^ "Calgary Gators @ GTA All-Stars". YouTube. 19 September 2017.
  9. ^ "Calgary Wolfpack @ GTA All Stars". YouTube. 24 September 2019.
  10. ^ "𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 GTA All Stars at Cold Lake Fighter Jets". Facebook.
  11. ^ "2nd Half of the National Championship is underway!". Facebook.
  12. ^ "National Championship — Cold Lake Fighter Jets @ GTA All Stars". YouTube. 16 September 2023.
  13. ^ "GTA All Stars vs Calgary Gators CMFL 2024 National Finals". YouTube.
  14. ^ "Canadian Men's Senior Football Championship; Sid Forster Memorial Trophy".
  15. ^ "Lloydminster Vandals re-brand, move to Cold Lake". 15 May 2019.
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