The league operates a summer season and begins in April and plays through until August, with play-off games running into September.

[2][3] During the Second World War, matches were played by American and Canadian servicemen stationed in the UK at venues throughout the country.

This included the 'Tea Bowl' game played at the White City Stadium in 1944,[4] and this was followed by the creation of the United States Armed Forces Europe (USAFE) league in 1946.

[5][6] The first teams open to British players were established in 1983, and competition began the following year in the form of a series of one-off games.

In the past when Division One has been loaded with teams from the middle of England there has been a designated Midlands Football Conference (MFC), although this is currently defunct.

The league is a summer sport in the UK and runs opposite to the NFL, with teams beginning pre-season training in January to compete in the regular season that takes place between April and August.

Following the climax of the regular season, the eventual winners and runners-up from both Premier Divisions make up the semi-final round in which they will compete to win a place in the Britbowl.

Instead of playing to win promotion to the league these teams must gain entry by application to the British American Football Association and must meet a number of different criteria from playing a number of assessed exhibition games, sustainability, facilities and good coaching practice.

BAFA have the ability to relegate any BAFANL team back to associate status if that club are failing to make the standard expected of them.

Unlike the majority of top European leagues, British American football is currently amateur as opposed to pro or semi-professional.

The transfer window for players being allowed to move teams usually opens in October and closes midway through the season in July.

Transfers are all handled through an online portal registration system in which the player requests the move and has to wait for both teams to accept the deal before finalisation is sent to BAFA.

[clarification needed] Premier League and some Division One sides tend to operate a try-out basis to recruit potential players over several training sessions, where as other sides tend to operate an inclusive grassroots approach with any player wishing to compete taken on board as long as they are fit enough to do so.

In 2019 BAFA announced all non-British players who play within the league have to have a permanent residence address in the UK and had to have been residing in the country for six months and suspended all players who did not meet these criteria,[12] this was largely brought in due to Leicester Falcons partnership with US College side Baker Wildcats who in turned signed a significant number of U.S. athletes to their side following promotion to the BAFA Premier North.

[14] Leicester were forced to cut ties with the Baker athletes prior to the first game of the 2019 season; they were eventually relegated back to Division 1 with a 2–8 record.

Players to have come from the NFL to the BAFANL include Denver Broncos quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt and San Diego Chargers linebacker Jason Brisbane.

England's Rugby Union World Cup winning captain Martin Johnson and GB Olympics sprinter Dwain Chambers also played the sport briefly, as well as television presenters Dermot O'Leary and Vernon Kay and actors Ricky Whittle and Chris Fountain.

Onside began operating by streaming Nottingham Caesars games coined as "Caesars TV" in 2016 before being brought on by DblCoverage.com to broadcast the national finals as well as Great Britain national American football team games [18] Double Coverage (DblCoverage.com) was the largest British American football-focused media outlet and community hub, it featured news, league results and standings for all formats of the contact game, as well as opinion articles and editorials, their social media pages represented the largest online community of British American Football players and fans.

Sportank also offers weekly Livestreams of British American Football games, making them the first media outlet to do such.

[24] The use of Stadiums in the BAFANL is sporadic due to most clubs running on a budget that relies heavily on sponsorship and subscriptions.

Other original sides include the Birmingham Bulls, Chester Romans, Nottingham Caesars, East Kilbride Pirates, Ipswich Cardinals and the Crewe Railroaders.

The winner of both the northern and southern playoffs will win promotion to the Premier League and then face each other for the Division One bowl game in order to take home the trophy.

The top two teams in each division enter into what is potentially a three-game play-off campaign with the initial games being played regionally.

[26] New teams must undergo an indefinite associate period before they are granted full member status of the national leagues.

Winners of the Britbowl since the BAFA National Leagues 2010 formation For some seasons there has been a separate North and South Bowl final.