In an effort to raise the level of American football in The Bahamas, members of three local organizations have come together with the hope of forming one governing body supporting the sport both locally and internationally. Representatives from the Commonwealth American Football League (CAFL), the Bahamas Flag Football League (BFFL) and the Grand Bahama Flag Football League (GBFFL) gathered yesterday to discuss plans regarding the betterment of the sport in the country, but according to the leaders from the various groups, there is “a major obstacle” standing in the way of their dreams of forming a united governing body.

“As a part of the growth of the sport, we acknowledged that there needs to be one governing body, encouraging the sport of football in The Bahamas as well as the managing of Bahamian teams both nationally and internationally,” said BFFL President Jayson Clarke. “All members are aware of a major hindrance to that goal, in particular international play via the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) being the Bahamas American Football Federation (BAFF).”

For this reason, the Bahamian group representing all active football leagues in The Bahamas reached out to the president of the BAFF, but there has been no response. The BAFF was formed in 2008 as a legal entity and subsequently obtained membership from the IFAF.

“After some activity that led to two youth football teams traveling to play abroad, and some affiliation from the GBFFL, for many years little to nothing has come from the BAFF toward the development of the sport in The Bahamas,” said Clarke. “According to IFAF criteria, the BAFF should have ceased to be recognized as an affiliate for several reasons. These include having at least one championship game every year, representing the entire country, being recognized by government officials or the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and having at least 10 clubs in your league.”

Newly elected CAFL President Melvin “Mel” Ferguson added that despite the emergence of BAFF, the CAFL remains the face of American football in the country and that he hopes both sides can come to an agreement for the benefit of the sport in the very near future. The situation between the parties resembles the conflict between the Bahamas Baseball Federation (BBF) and Bahamas Baseball Association (BBA) that has been going on for more than 30 years, and has drastically affected the productivity of the sport in the country.

“In the past 20 years, I can say that this is the most impressed that I have ever been with football in this country. We have groups from Grand Bahama, Abaco, and obviously New Providence all coming together to form one organization and I don’t think that this has ever happened,” said Ferguson. “I don’t know if it’s as divisive as it may seem. We have a strong group of presidents overseeing flag and youth football and I think with this communication with the BAFF, some things can get sorted out and the unification can continue. Football is on the rise in the country, and you need one body to organize things so that everyone doesn’t run off in their own direction. The last communication that I’m aware of and that I have in my possession is that the CAFL is the governing body of football in the county, and that’s coming from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture.”

The GBFFL was once a part of the BAFF, however, president Craig “George” Smith said that their time under the federation was filled with empty promises, and since departing, he has seen his league flourish.

“The GBFFL was under BAFF for three years. There was a lot of stuff promised to us, which was the reason we joined in the first place, but during the time their promises failed and the league began to suffer,” Smith said. “We started out with four teams and now we have grown to 18 teams since leaving the BAFF. We were paying them funds of $2.50 per player for years, but noticed that although we were putting this money in, we weren’t seeing any results.”

All three organizations are of the view that some kind of agreement can be reached between the two separate entities, and that this move isn’t being made for personal gain, but rather for the development of the sport in the country.