Get into American Football

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Types of American Football available to play in Great Britain

How do you get into the game?

There are two types of American Football you can play in Great Britain – contact and non-contact. Contact is the term for the version of the sport where protective wear (helmets and pads) is worn – otherwise known as tackle or kitted. Non-contact is the term for the version of the sport called ‘Flag’ or Flag Football.

The field

Learn about American Football field...

Watching and understanding a game

This section explains how to understand a game...

Scoring and penalties

Understand scoring and penalties during a game...

The Equipment

Learn about the equipment you need to play American Football...

Types of teams and positions in a team

An American Football team needs many diferent types of athlete. Looking at a sideline in Great Britain, you will often see between twenty and fifty players kitted up ready to play. Take a look here to learn more about Offense, Defense, Special teams and the position players play...

How to play by age and gender...

You can play American Football if you are a boy or a girl from an early age – you can play the non-contact version of American football (known as Flag Football) from the age of seven. Flag Football is a good place to start as it will teach you some of the basic skills needed to play the contact version of the sport – as well as being a great game to play on its own!

The contact version of the sport is played at clubs from the age of twelve.

The role of BAFA in Great Britain

The British American Football Association (BAFA) is the national governing body for the sport of American Football in Great Britain. Through our competitions, we offer participation for both the contact and non-contact versions of the sport and we have two associations who deliver on refereeing and coaching.

Competitive structures in Great Britain

In Great Britain, there is a BAFA members that offer competitions for all age-groups and disciplines, called the BAFA Community Leagues (click here for website) and a department that offers competitions for students, called BUAFL (click here for website).

Teams you can join

There are many clubs in Great Britain. Take a look at the list to find your local team. For more information on the British American Football Community League (BAFACL): www.bafacl.com

Teams you can join if you are a student at University

If you are a student at University, below are a list of the teams who play in the BUAFL. For more information on the teams – click here

About Flag Football

Flag Football is the non-contact version of the sport – similar to Tag Rugby. For more information on the sport, take a look here.

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