Professional football in Canada
Only one professional football league has a permanent presence in Canada: the Canadian Football League (CFL), an organization founded in 1958 to accommodate the ongoing trend of professionalism in the Canadian football ranks since the 1940s. The CFL, like most amateur Canadian football leagues, plays on a larger field using a rulebook with several significant rule differences compared to the game as it is played in the United States. The league is composed of two divisions and nine teams in most of the largest Canadian markets, with at least one team in each province between British Columbia (BC Lions) and Quebec (Montreal Alouettes) inclusive. The only presence in Atlantic Canada is a semi-regular series of games in Moncton (Touchdown Atlantic) and a smattering of earlier preseason contests. The CFL operates a two-week preseason beginning in June, an 18-game season from July to October, and a six-team playoff tournament, culminating in the Grey Cup on the fourth weekend of November.
2014 FIFA World Cup squads
League systems with 20 or more players represented are listed. England includes two Premier League clubs based in Wales, Swansea City and Cardiff City (five World Cup squad members play for these clubs); the United States includes three MLS clubs based in Canada, Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Montreal Impact (three World Cup squad members play for these clubs); and France includes one Ligue 1 club based in Monaco, AS Monaco (four World Cup squad members play for this club). In all, World Cup squad members play for clubs in 54 different countries, and play in 51 different national leagues.