An Introduction To CFL Canadian Football For The NFL Fan

In the United States, summertime is when teams get prepared to play football. NFL teams start training camp, and college teams start practice. North of the border in Canada, however, summertime is when their professional football season begins in the form of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

The CFL is almost as old as the NFL, coming into existence in’30. The league’s Grey Cup championship trophy is even older, having been awarded to the best Canadian professional football team since’09. There have been a number of NFL stars who got their start in the CFL including Doug Flutie, Randall Cunningham and Jeff Garcia.

While the CFL plays football at the highest professional level of competition outside of the NFL, there are a few differences in the game:

First of all, the football itself is bigger–the CFL ball is larger than its American counterpart. If you know anything about rugby, its roughly the same as a #3 rugby ball meaning it is somewhat longer and fatter than the NFL ball. The CFL field is also longer (110 yards) and wider (65 yards vs. the NFLs 53.5 yards), and the CFL end zones are 20 yards deep as opposed to 10 yards in the NFL. The CFL goal posts are on the goal line, while the NFLs are on the end line at the back of the endzone.

CFL teams are allowed an extra offensive player (a wide receiver), and on defense they’re allowed an extra defensive back. This means that 12 players can be on the field at one time as opposed to 11 in the NFL. CFL football also differs in that teams only have three downs to gain ten yards, as opposed to four in US football. The phrase “two and out” is as commonplace in CFL football as is “three and out” in the US game.

A major difference in the scoring is the ’single’ which awards CFL teams one point for a kick–usually a punt or missed field goal–that lands in the end zone. This will frequently produce partial game scores of 1-0 or 1-1 that are impossible in the US game.

The rule differences also extend into the front office, where teams are required to have a certain quota of their roster be Canadian born. In an effort to prevent the CFL from becoming an NFL farm system, and to protect the unique identity of Canadian football’ of the 40 players on the roster must be natives.

Many US football fans look at the rules that include more players, a wider field, and fewer downs meant to encourage more passing and expect to see a wide open high scoring style of play similar to Arena Football. That’s not really how it works out–most games end up with final score totals in the 40’s, but the game itself really isn’t much more offensively oriented than its American counterpart. The rules may be different, but as in the NFL you need a solid rushing game and a stout defense to win games and championships.

There’s also more parity in the CFL than even the NFL, which is famous for the competitive equality of their teams. The reason is fairly simple–football at the high school and college level in Canada simply isn’t as competitive as in the US. That means the mandated ratio of native players also serves to facilitate parity within the CFL.

Among the ‘non-Canadians’ on the team, its also important to note that the CFL doesn’t get the highest level US college players. Most with NFL ability are in the NFL, or on a NFL team’s practice or developmental squad. There’s definitely some American players that are uniquely suited to the CFL game, but the general level of talent is similar to that seen in the Arena Football League.

Despite the differences between the CFL and American football, at the end of the day its still high level, professional football. Once you understand the unique aspects of the CFL, it’ll become second nature much as NFL viewers quickly assimilate rule changes there.

In the pre-Internet era, it was often difficult for US fans to find information on the CFL. They don’t get coverage on ESPN, but they receive extensive attention in the Canadian press. Each CFL city has their own sports media, and the official CFL website also has many resources including previews and statistics.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.