Lingerie
Football League Canada (LFL Canada) officials announced the first-ever
LFL Canada championship game ‘Lingerie Bowl I’ will be played on Sunday,
November 18th at Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre featuring
the hometown No.2 BC Angels hosting the No.1 Saskatoon Sirens.The
BC Angels advanced to the Lingerie Bowl behind the play of LFL Canada’s
leading rusher Stephanie Manou (pictured) while the Saskatoon Sirens
are enjoying a Cinderella-like season with the inspired play of
quarterback/safety, Anne Erler (pictured).The
LFL Canada Lingerie Bowl will culminate the inaugural season of LFL
Canada which has proven to be an incredible success drawing 20% higher
than projected attendance across all (4) four inaugural season franchise
teams as well as television deal with British Columbia’s CHEK TV.Lingerie Bowl Canada will include weekend-long festivities in Vancouver and Abbotsford to include:LINGERIE BOWL I NATIONAL MEDIA DAY, Thursday, Nov. 15 (Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre)LINGERIE BOWL I OFFICIAL KICKOFF PARTY, Friday, Nov. 16 (Location TBA)LINGERIE BOWL I GAME SASKATOON SIRENS vs BC ANGELS, Sunday, Nov. 18 (Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre)LINGERIE BOWL I OFFICIAL AFTER-PARTY, Sunday, Nov. 18 (Location TBA)
Lingerie
Football League, LLC. (LFL) and PPL Park officials announced LFL’s
back-to-back Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Passion will be
playing their 2013 home games at PPL Park.Since
premiering in 2009, the LFL has become ‘The Fastest Growing Sports
League in the US’ (BusinessWeek) drawing sell-out crowds, acquiring a
national television contract, first-ever video game deal in the history
of women’s sport, named highest-rated LIVE sports series in the history
of MTV Networks’ and incredible growth in the US as well as
internationally with formation and launch of LFL Canada (2012), LFL
Australia (2013) and LFL Europa (2014).“LFL
Football has become one of the fastest growing sports in the country
and its momentum is only getting stronger,” said Global Spectrum’s Mike
Scanlon, General Manager of PPL Park. “We welcome one of the LFL’s most
successful franchises in the Philadelphia Passion to their new home
stadium.”The
Passion have been one of the league’s most successful franchises
on-the-field going to the Playoffs in two of its first three seasons of
play. Despite their on-field success the franchise has struggled to draw
a significant Philadelphia fan base as the past three seasons of home
games were played at New Jersey’s Sun National Bank Center.“We
want to thank the great people of Sun National Bank Center for hosting
Passion Football for the past three seasons. We are however thrilled to
finally bring the Philadelphia Passion where they belong, the great city
of Philadelphia. Our move to PPL Park creates the perfect storm of a
great franchise, a new home stadium and a fanatical sports city,” said
Mitchell Mortaza, Founder & Chairman, Lingerie Football League, LLC.The
move to Philadelphia, as well as a shift in regular season schedule to a
Spring through Summer format, will surely draw a fan base to PPL Park.
The two 2013 home games will be played on Saturday, June 15, 2013 and
Saturday, July 13, 2013.
Lingerie
Football League officials announced today that the league’s first-ever
‘Border War’ will feature one of the league’s most successful
franchises, the Seattle Mist hosting the BC Angels for the 2012 Pacific
Cup on Saturday, December 15, 2012 at ShoWare Center in Kent, WA.
The
Pacific Cup has been developed to further the LFL Global strategy and
will be an annual game played between the Seattle Mist and the BC Angels
with home venues alternating each season. “Our focus in 2012 has been
to brand LFL Football beyond our US borders and the Pacific Cup will be a
great annual rivalry game serving to engage not only our established
Seattle Mist fan base but a growing BC Angels fan nation”, said,
Mitchell Mortaza, Founder & Chairman, Lingerie Football League, LLC.
The
ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington which has drawn some of the LFL’s
biggest crowds will play host to the 2012 annual game. Tickets are to be
released on Monday, September 24th, the game is expected to draw yet
another LFL sell-out crowd.
Tickets go on-sale Monday, September 24, at 10AM. To order call 866.973.9613 or 253.856.6999 or visit tickets.showarecenter.com.
By Marty ONeill (writer for IL Indoor)I
have to admit I was caught off guard this past Saturday night. Cruising
the TV channels with my limited cable plan, I landed on a tape-delayed
Lingerie Football League game between Vancouver’s team, the Angels, and
Regina on CHEK-TV, which is a regular feed here in Victoria, B.C. I
thought it was a gimmick because of an e-mail forward I received in the
past. Secondly, I didn’t know anything about a women’s Lingerie Football
League or a Canadian league. I watched with horror for about 10
minutes. The horror wasn’t that it was women playing football in
lingerie. The horror was that this was a big time production and
everyone was taking this thing seriously, including the gals playing the
game. Here I was watching a football game Saturday night prime time and
it wasn’t the CFL!First
off, there were people in the stands at the Abbottsford Arena watching,
the same arena that would make the most sense for NLL expansion to YVR.
Next up, you can tell that the costs to make this league happen took
some decent cake. Last, while the action wasn’t great, it was
entertaining for a moment and more entertaining than men’s arena
football I’ve watched before.Obviously,
it appeals to women for the spectacle of this type of female
athleticism and men for reasons that don’t need to be spelled out. This
all adds up to more competition for the NLL and other indoor lacrosse
leagues and that’s what’s on my mind and really bothering me as I write.I
started to look online for some facts about Lingerie Football. First
off, the ladies play for free or part of the gate (after expenses). The
franchises start at about $1.5 million, I read, much less than the NLL
and I’m betting the Canadian franchises were much less. They have about
12 USA-based teams across the country and 4 in Canada, now in a
satellite league.They
have had MTV2 cable coverage the last two years in America and they
have travelled to play exhibitions in Mexico twice and Australia. In
short, they aren’t the rollergals, they have a lot going on and seem to
be building speed.All
this sweaty female action spells more trouble for the NLL. This LFL has
a leg up on the pro lacrosse because it has no overhead for payroll and
they are gaining exposure quickly with cable TV contracts and lots of
interest in their brand of football and the girls behind the scenes.Instead
of the NLL pumping out the storyline of “regular Joe” during the week
and professional lacrosse player on the weekend, Lingerie Football can
take that a step further and say these regular Janes play for the love
of the game and a few bumps and bruises but no cash. When you consider
the wide appeal of the sport of football across this continent, you can
see where I’m troubled by this newest competition of entertainment for
our beloved sport of indoor lacrosse.The
LFL has ripped another page from the NLL handbook by having the players
do meet and greets with the fans right after the game for autographs
and the like. The games are on weekends and should be wrapped in less
than two hours, another NLL strategy. They play music during games and
have cool in arena props and such to go with flashy uniforms. The big
difference is the sex appeal and who it’s directed at. Research turned
up ticket prices in Regina that go for $75.00 on the sides, $37.50 for
upper level sides and $16.50 for end zones. So you can get in the
building for a reasonable amount if you’re a lookielue and you’ll have
to spend to get up close or bring binoculars.Minnesota,
Seattle and Philadelphia have competition from the USA side and Toronto
in Canada. While the first games don’t dictate attendance good or bad,
for long term I will be checking these markets to see what the
attendance draw is and if it surpasses the NLL teams in those markets.This
is an ego check for all of us involved in lacrosse. I have been saying
all along that indoor lacrosse is entertainment and that we can’t take
ourselves too seriously, yet. Marketing has to get aggressive now and we
need to expose more of the aspects of the top levels of lacrosse to
draw in interest from outside our regular fan base.Later
this week, the Mann Cup will start to unfold in Peterborough, Ontario,
and in about 7 to 10 days it will be over. I predict the good people of
the CLA and the OLA will miss yet another chance to get our national
summer sport covered on a hockey starved “sports only” television
network here in Canada and the Mann Cup will once again be a who-done-it
for 90% of Canada.At least I know I can catch a good Lingerie Football game in my own living room this coming Saturday night.
Lingerie
Football League’s upcoming season of LFL Canada and LFL, Saturday Night
Football in HD are slated to be most widely distributed series of
worldwide broadcasts in league history. LFL, Saturday Night Football in
HD will include a new face joining the broadcast team, Arena Football
League sideline reporter and former Chicago Bliss player, Nadia
Bedricky.Bedricky
will join play-by-play commentator Van Earl Wright formerly of FOX
Sports and former Florida Gator quarterback Bobby Hewko who will provide
color. “Nadia has been part of the LFL family for the past few years
and understands our game from a player’s perspective, that coupled with
her on-air talent, made for any easy decision. We hope to develop her as
one of the faces of LFL Football for many years to come”, said,
Mitchell S. Mortaza, Executive Producer, LFL, Saturday Night Football.League
officials are expected to groom Bedricky, Wright and Hewko as
potentially the A crew while developing another broadcast group for
ancillary games and global league play in 2013.“I
could not be more thrilled about continuing my career within the LFL
family. My focus will be to provide insight and access to our now global
audience about this rapidly growing sport”, said, Bedricky.Bedricky
is also expected to join the LFL360 team providing coverage of the
biggest names and stories from around the LFL. Bedricky’s coverage will
include her own LFL blog and video series titled ‘LFL Access with Nadia’
taking fans inside the world of the LFL including GameDay access.
Lingerie
Football League, LLC. (‘LFL’) officials announce yet another
international broadcaster in British Columbia’s CHEK Television. With
less than 30 days prior to the kickoff of LFL Canada, league officials
agreed to terms to have all (8) LFL, Saturday Night Football regular
season games as well as the LFL Canada championship game ‘Lingerie Bowl
I’, be broadcast in high-definition Saturday nights at 8:30pm throughout
British Columbia.“Considering
LFL Football’s track record in relation to television ratings, rapidly
building momentum and interest from our viewers, we feel LFL, Saturday
Night Football will find a whole new audience on CHEK”, said, Bill
Pollock, Program Manager, CHEK Television.While
CHEK will carry all LFL Canada games, the network’s focus will be in
centered its home market LFL Canada franchise, the BC Angels. CHEK will
have a presence at Angels home games at Abbotsford Entertainment &
Sports Centre as well as track the team’s inaugural season development
through player features and team reports.The LFL is expected to announce another Canadian broadcaster to include carriage across the remaining territories in Canada.“It’s
exciting to build yet another league from ground level to hopefully the
success we are enjoying in the US. Securing a television license
without having even kicked-off truly speaks to the excitement that
surrounds our game and the upcoming inaugural season of LFL Canada”,
said, Mitchell Mortaza, Founder & Chairman, Lingerie Football
League, LLC.
The
Lingerie Football League, LLC. (or ‘LFL’) continues to extend its
international presence with a new television partnership with Asia’s
biggest sports content provider, ESPN STAR Sports.
This
announcement comes on the heels of one of the most active weeks in
league history in relation to international television partnerships
which included top Brazilian sports network Bandsports as well as the
appointment of leading Asian media rights agency, Total Sports Asia this
week. The LFL is expected to draw even more international broadcast
partnerships through 2012 as league officials set their sights on
international growth through television.
“This
wave of interest from prominent national sports networks not only
speaks to the global momentum building around our game, but also that it
is now on the fast-track to becoming recognized as a sport, not just
merely entertainment. It has been personally rewarding to see our game
translate across so many borders in so little time”, said, Mitchell S.
Mortaza, Founder & Chairman, Lingerie Football League, LLC.
Said
Craig Dobbs, ESPN STAR Sports’ Executive Vice President of Production
and Programming: “We are pleased to showcase new and engaging content,
with this partnership with LFL, we continue to offer a wide variety of
compelling world-class sports in Taiwan.”.
“We
have succeeded in securing some very significant broadcast partnerships
for the LFL and we are very pleased to be working with ESPN STAR Sports
to showcase this exciting event in a market where American sports has
strong traction.”
About ESPN STAR Sports
ESPN
STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world’s leading
cable and satellite broadcasters. As Asia’s biggest sports content
provider, ESPN STAR Sports combines the strengths and resources of its
parent companies – Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.) and News Corporation Limited
(STAR) – to deliver a diverse array of international and regional
sports to fans across multiple platforms.
ESPN
STAR Sports features a comprehensive portfolio of multimedia assets
including its television networks (ESPN, STAR Sports, STAR Cricket,
ESPNEWS, ESPN HD, STAR Cricket HD), broadband network (ESPN Player),
digital content services (espnstar.com, mobileESPN), and its on-ground
Event Management Group with the aim to engage and entertain sports fans
anytime, anyplace.
ESPN
STAR Sports showcases an unparalleled variety of premier sports from
around the globe featuring some of the most iconic sports events to
viewers across 24 countries in Asia through its 25 television networks
and 3 broadband networks, each localized to deliver differentiated
programming to meet diverse needs of Asian sports fans.
Lingerie
Football League, LLC. (or ‘LFL’) officials continue to focus on
international growth in 2012 by partnering with a leading Asia media
rights agency Total Sports Asia (TSA). TSA has grown several major
sports franchises within Asia most notably World Wrestling Entertainment
(WWE) which grew their Asia revenues by over (6500%) through the
representation of TSA.
Currently within Asia, LFL Football is broadcast in Taiwan on ESPN Star and in Japan on WOWOW.
“As
we build the LFL franchise internationally, Asia remains a major focus
as our next phase of development. Certainly television leads the way
into international territories, in TSA, we have a proven partner that is
genuinely excited about the potential of LFL Football in Asia”, said,
Mitchell S. Mortaza, Founder & Chairman, Lingerie Football League,
LLC.
League
officials have said that within Asia their immediate target territories
are Japan, China, South Korea, India and Thailand. China and Japan are
both slated to host LFL exhibition game tours in 2013.
“We
at TSA see are constantly looking for properties that have the
potential for us to grow in Asia, which we have done with great success
over the years for many rights holders such as the WWE, which stands up
to comparison with the LFL. We really believe that LFL Football has the
capability to capture the imagination of the Asian viewing public, as it
has done already amongst our team”, said, Julian Jackson, Chief Content
Officer, Total Sports Asia.
Lingerie
Football League, LLC. (or ‘LFL’) officials announced today a
partnership with Sao Paulo, Brazil based cable network Bandsports to
bring LFL Football to Brazil in 2012 for a multi-year deal. This recent
partnership is one of several international broadcasters expected to be
named in the coming weeks as LFL officials continue to focus on
international growth in 2012.“Since
my recent visit to Rio, Brasilia and Sao Paulo you could sense the
energy, fanaticism and excitement around sports in the country.
Partnering with a leading sports network like Bandsports provides LFL
Football an incredible platform to introduce Brazil to our sport”, said,
Mitchell S. Mortaza, Founder & Chairman, Lingerie Football League,
LLC.With
its booming economy and being the host country of the 2014 World Cup,
Brazil has become a major focus for sports leagues and federations. The
LFL has officially announced significant plans for Latin and South
America with the core focus revolving around Brazil to include the
first-ever LFL World Bowl Championship Series in July of 2014 alongside
the World Cup. The LFL World Bowl in Sao Paulo, Brazil will include the
champions of the US, Australia and Canadian leagues playing in a
single-elimination tournament.Bandsports
will exclusively broadcast all LFL games across the international
leagues to include LFL Canada, LFL US and LFL Australia through 2015 as
well as the broadcast rights to the 2014 LFL World Bowl.“We
have certainly noticed a strong buzz around the LFL franchise in the
international broadcaster community. Specifically here in Brazil we feel
that LFL Football will instantly translate to our passionate sports
fans”, said, Evandro Figueira, Acquisition Director, Bandsports.
Officials
from ‘US’ fastest growing sports league’ (BusinessWeek), Lingerie
Football League, LLC. (or ‘LFL’) announced moments ago that the LFL has
teamed with Osaka, Japan based Yuke’s Co. Ltd to design and develop the
official LFL gaming platforms.Yuke’s
is a leading video game developer, having produced popular sports game
franchise such as ‘Undisputed’ for the Ultimate Fighting Championship
(UFC and ‘Smackdown!’ for World Wrestling Entertainment. “As
a leading sports and entertainment focused company, we have to keep a
pulse on what is the next big franchis. We at YUKE’S feel that there is
incredible momentum building behind the LFL and that the sport is
perfectly positioned to become the next big franchise in the gaming
world,” said Yukinori Taniguchi, CEO, Yuke’s Co., Ltd.Yuke’s
and the LFL will go into design and development of the official LFL
gaming platforms with a focus on capturing the essence of the intensity,
speed, beauty and on-the-field action of LFL Football. The core global
fan base of the LFL, which consists of nearly 60-percent Men, 18-34,
perfectly aligns with the gaming world’s target market.
During
the 2012 LFL All-Fantasy Game World Tour, league officials are
experimenting with a number of rule and timing changes to move the LFL
game closer toward traditional football. Here are the rule and timing
changes fans can anticipate in the All-Fantasy Games.OFFENSE:-
The minimum (2) run and (2) pass plays per an offensive series has been
removed. Teams can run or pass any combination or number of times.- Outside of lining up the (2) tight ends a 1 foot outside the center, any other formation is fine.DEFENSE:-
The maximum blitz rule has been removed. Teams can blitz as many times
as they wish as well as blitz any defender from any position on the
field.-
The defense will continue to play 3yds off the ball prior to the snap,
unless the offense is in the redzone (10yd line or inside the 10yd
line).- The defense can show any formation anywhere on the field.TIMING- The (2) 17 minute halves have been removed. Games will now feature (4) 10 minute quarters of football.
The
office of LFL Commissioner Mitchell Mortaza announced today the
temporary suspension of the Orlando Fantasy for the 2013 season. The
Orlando Fantasy, coming off the franchise’s most successful season
on-the-field, finishing at 3-1, struggled off-the-field with numerous
conduct issues which led to the dismissal of Head Coach Doug Miller and
his staff as well as several player banishments to be announced.“Orlando
continues to be potentially an incredible city for LFL football.
However the lack of an arena or stadium that fits within our financial
and production model coupled with a lack of confidence in the current
coaching and leadership, led to this decision. We are committed to
bringing the Orlando Fantasy back once we have the right home and a
better team culture,” said Mitchell Mortaza, Commissioner, Lingerie
Football League, LLC.
The Lingerie
Football League, recognized as ‘the fastest growing sports league in
the U.S.’ (Businessweek), today announced that St. Louis has been
awarded an expansion franchise in advance of the rapidly approaching
2013 LFL United States season.The
new franchise will play their home games at ‘The Family Arena’ in St.
Charles and will compete in the LFL’s Eastern Conference against the
Baltimore Charm, Cleveland Crush, Philadelphia Passion, Tampa Breeze and
the to-be-named Omaha expansion team.In
only three seasons of operation, the LFL has established itself as the
most successful female sports league in the United States, consistently
drawing sell-out crowds, setting record television ratings and
developing strong corporate partnerships in propelling the sport’s
soaring trajectory to rapid domestic and international growth.In
comparison to popular multi-billion dollar sports franchises such as
the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) or World Wrestling
Entertainment (WWE) through their first two seasons, the LFL has
achieved significantly more television viewership, attendance and growth
over the same initial period of time. Aggressive growth continues
domestically and abroad, with leagues premiering in Canada (2012), LFL
Australia (2013) and LFL Europa (2014).St.
Louis marks the second venture of the Las Vegas-based LFL into the
‘Heartland of America’ this off-season, coming on the heels of the
creation of an Omaha franchise in April.“The
Midwest is football, which is why the LFL has awarded Green Bay,
Minneapolis, Chicago, Omaha and now St. Louis with franchises. Based on
the fanatical nature around local sports here in St. Louis, we expect to
draw an incredible fan base that will pack out the arena,” said Mitchell S. Mortaza, Founder & Chairman, Lingerie Football League, LLC.Fans are encouraged to vote for the eventual St. Louis team name by submitting the selections to LFLinStLouis@lflus.com.Ticket information for the St. Louis franchise will be released in the coming weeks.
Lingerie
Football League, LLC. Chairman and Commissioner Mitchell S. Mortaza
today released the following statement on the future plans of LFL
Football in the United States.“Since
premiering in 2009, LFL United States has drawn incredible success
which has included sell-out crowds, aggressive franchise expansion and
record television ratings, all of which leading to being called the
fastest- growing sports league in the U.S. as per Businessweek. Despite
this success, we feel that our U.S. franchise can reach greater heights
with a shift of our regular season schedule from a fall and winter
format to spring and summer schedule.Thus
in 2012, we have officially moved, not suspended the LFL U.S. season to
April 2013. This move in schedule enables our LFL US teams extra
preparation which ultimately will greatly improve the product on the
field in 2013.Our
shift in schedule has also enabled us to kickoff the Lingerie Football
League’s international growth and strategy to include the premiere of
LFL Canada (Fall 2012) and LFL Australia (Summer 2013).The
focus now is to not only be the ‘fastest growing sports league in the
US’ but globally.” – Mitchell S. Mortaza, LFL Chairman and Commissioner.
