Canadian Junior Football League

For years offensive lineman Theren Churchill patrolled the trenches for the Edmonton Huskies in the CJFL and was a highly decorated player.  He was a Prairie Conference All-Star and won multiple team awards.

Fast forward to 2020 and following three successful seasons with the University of Regina, Churchill heard his name at the CFL Draft.  Due to the pandemic the traditional bright lights of the Draft were dimmed but that didn’t stop the excitement.  When the Toronto Argonauts were on the clock for the ninth overall pick, the moment came.    The Argos took the former Huskie.

Earlier this week Churchill put pen to paper and officially signed a contract with the Argos to begin his path to getting on the turf and BMO Field in Toronto.   He talks with Ryan Watters about the contract, draft day and dealing with the pandemic.

Football Canada is proud to welcome the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) as an Associate Member.

The approval of the CJFL marks the fourth Associate Member to join Football Canada in the last year, joining the Canadian Football League, U SPORTS and the Canadian Football Officials Association.

“Football Canada is now the hub of communications for our national contact football organizations to connect, collaborate and partner with grassroots football across the country,” Football Canada President Jim Mullin said.

“Coming out of this pandemic, it is critical that all football organizations within Canada work together as one instead of against each other to get all of our teams and players back on the field safely,” added CJFL Commissioner Jim Pankovich.  “I’m excited to be able to share best practices and ideas across the country to not only build our CJFL game, but football as a whole.  This partnership with the other organizations will give more opportunities for young men and women to play this game.”

The alliance creates pathways for expanded work on CJFL teams to participate in developing the game at the community level with Football Canada programming like First Down and CFL Futures focused on participation for youth under-12. It is also a catalyst for discussion with the CFL and U SPORTS to align areas of operations and events.

“We have already started a dialogue between the partners about how we can work together as a football community to maximize our high-performance events and contribute to minor football, and the CJFL is at the centre of that discussion,” continued Mullin.

The CJFL’s membership in Football Canada was facilitated by the recent ratification of Ontario Football Conference (OFC) Juniors return to the Ontario Football Alliance (OFA), the responsible body for football’s governance in Ontario. The OFC is set to host the CJFL championship Canadian Bowl this November, showcasing the talent and level of enthusiasm for junior football in the province and across the country.

ABOUT FOOTBALL CANADA: Established in 1880 and reconstituted in 1884, Football Canada is the national governing body of amateur football in Canada and a proud member of the International Federation of American Football (IFAF). Working closely with the provincial football associations, we develop programs and resources for players, coaches, officials in the three disciplines of Tackle, Flag and Touch Football. Football Canada’s vision statement is “from playground to stadium” where players can participate in the game of football throughout a lifetime recreationally, competitively and internationally.