TEAMS
The British Football League consists of sixteen professional teams across two conferences: the British Conference and the United Conference that were introduced for the 2025 BFL Season. This page lists every active BFL team, organised by conference and division. Select any team name to view the full conference breakdown.
Learn more about the BFL Expansion Roadmap: 2026–2028.
British Conference
North Division
- Caledonian Knights
- Humberside Destroyers
- Scottish Claymores
- Tyneside Mariners
Scottish Division (2028)
West Division
- Manchester Demons
- Merseyside Centurions
- Sheffield Surge
- Yorkshire Vikings
United Conference
Central Division
Rebranded as the Midlands Division in 2028.
- Birmingham Bandits
- Leicester Stallions
- Sherwood Forest Outlaws
- Thames Valley Thunder
Coast Division (2028)
South Division
- Avon Fire
- London Monarchs
- Sussex Pirates
- Welsh Dragons
BFL Expansion
2019 Expansion
League expanded to 10 teams with the addition of Caledonian Knights and Sherwood Forest Outlaws.
Playoffs expanded to six teams made up of three per division.
2021 Expansion
League expanded to 12 teams with the addition of Merseyside Centurions and Thames Valley Thunder.
Playoffs expanded to six teams made up of three per division.
2025 Expansion
League expanded to 16 teams with the addition of Avon Fire, Humberside Destroyers, Leicester Stallions and Sheffield Surge.
Conferences re-alignment introduced British Conference made up of North and West (new) divisions and United Conference made up of Central(new) and South divisions.
Playoffs expanded to eight teams made up of four per division based on seedings.
2026-2027 Changes
The BFL is entering the most ambitious era in its history.
2026
BFL Draft introduced to better organise the NFL affiliates system.
Division logos will be rolled out to provide a visual identity to each division based on red for British Conference's divisions and navy for the United Conference's divisions.
Division Champions per conference will get the top seeds #1-2, followed by the wild card teams seeds #3-4 with the next best records regardless of division.
2027
2027 NFL affiliates will be matched to seedings from the previous season as a fairer system to recognise team performance.
2028 Expansion
2028 will introduce an additional eight expansion teams to be bring the league to its expansion limit of 24 teams, which will be announced in due course.
Further Conferences re-alignment to included British Conference made up of North, Scottish (new) and West divisions and United Conference made up of Coast (new), Midlands (renamed from Central) and South divisions.
Teams will be realigned to ensure all divisions have four teams.
2028 BFL Draft will be based on seedings for the current BFL teams based on performance from the previous season, and four additional slots based on alphabetical order of NFL city/region for the remaining four slots per conference.
From 2028, the BFL Playoffs will expand to six teams featuring the top three Division Champions who get seeds #1-3, three wild card teams with the next best record regardless of division and an additional Wild Card round.
This expansion will transform the BFL's competitive landscape, market reach, and long‑term identity.
Expanding from 16 teams to 24 teams is the cleanest way for expansion as it avoids teams being moved to temporary divisions for at leats one season and then moving to a new season for the next season.
Here are the realignments that will take place for the 2028 BFL season for the current BFL teams:
| Team | Division in 2027 | Division in 2028 |
|---|---|---|
| Avon Fire | South Division | Coast Division |
| Caledonian Knights | North Division | Scottish Division |
| Scottish Claymores | North Division | Scottish Division |
| Sussex Pirates | South Division | Coast Division |
| Thames Valley Thunder | Central Division | South Division |
| Yorkshire Vikings | West Division | North Division |
Complete Expansion teams and new divisional alignments including new divisions will be announced in April/May 2027.
Current divisions - Central, North, South and West Divisions - will add one expansion team each.
New divisions - Coast and Scottish Divisions will add two expansion teams each.
Timeline
Both the 2026 and 2027 BFL seasons will continue with the current 16‑team format. In April/May 2027, the league will officially announce the eight expansion franchises that will debut in 2028 when the NFL schedule is released.
The 2028 BFL Draft will then determine the updated NFL affiliate assignments. These affiliates will be based on:
- the eight seeded teams from the existing BFL clubs
- the additional four affiliate slots per conference created by expansion
This process ensures fans know exactly which NFL affiliates will be tied to each BFL team heading into the 2028 BFL season.
Expansion beyond 24 teams is only possible after a full structural review including a revised postseason and divisional format. The BFL considers 24 teams the maximum for the Modern Era, with any future expansion requiring exceptional circumstances.
Expansion policy
Announced June 2026
This follows BFL Rule 3 in order to determine
BFL restricts expansion to 32 teams, the number of teams in the NFL, but its upper limit to maintain competition is 24 teams.
Approval of teams
- Teams will be approved based on location to current BFL teams and meeting a minimum stadium capacity of 10,000 seats.
- Cities maybe chosen to represent a region if there is no suitable stadium in that region.
Expansion cycles
- First cycle will include four teams to ensure equal divisional alignment and maintain the current league alignment.
- Second cycle will include a final four teams but introduce three divisions and mean teams joining new/previous divisions to maintain four teams per division. No teams will move to a new conference so that the British Conference represents Northern UK cities/regions including Scotland and United Conference representing Southern UK cities/regions including Wales.
Playoffs
- First cycle: 8 playoff teams per conference and keep the current seeding system
- Second cycle: 8 playoff teams per conference using the current seeding system but involving three division champions per conference and one wildcard team with the next best record.
Playoffs are remaining at 8 teams, four per conference, to keep the Playoffs featuring elite teams.