Photo Courtesy: Prince George Kodiaks/Facebook

By Ethan Ready

Junior Football in PG

Prince George granted as newest CJFL expansion franchise

Jul 9, 2021 | 11:30 AM

PRINCE GEORGE – The North will now be represented in the province’s most prestigious junior football league, as the Prince George Kodiaks have been granted an expansion team in the British Columbia Football Conference (BCFC).

The Kodiaks will take the field starting in 2022 and play within the BCFC, one of three conferences that make up the Canadian Junior Football League. The others being the Pacific Football Conference and Ontario Football Conference.

The announcement had been teased by Club President Craig Briere for several months leading up to the official news, dubbing it as the “biggest announcement in the history of football in Northern B.C.”

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In early June, the club announced the hiring of 2-time Grey Cup Champion Keon Raymond as their new Director of Football Operations. With the announcement of the Canadian Junior Football team, he will be the organization’s first Head Coach for the Kodiaks program.

The team’s home games will be played out of Masich Place Stadium in Prince George, and welcome the other BCFC teams in the Kamloops Broncos, Okanagan Sun, Langley Rams, Valley (Chilliwack) Huskers, Westshore Rebels, and the Vancouver Island Raiders.

The BCFC was formed in 1947 and is entering its 75th season. The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is a national Major Junior Canadian football league consisting of 18 teams playing in five provinces (BC, Alb, Sask, Man, Ont) across Canada. Prince George would become the 19th franchise in the Canadian league.

The teams compete annually for the Canadian Bowl.

Many CJFL players move on to professional football careers in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and elsewhere.

The CJFL has roots dating back to 1883 and has the oldest Canadian trophy in history, known as the Canadian Bowl. The mission statement of the CJFL is: “The League provides the opportunity for young men aged 17 to 22 to participate in highly competitive post-high school football that is unique in Canada.”

While Prince George has been granted an expansion franchise, there does still remain conditional terms the Kodiaks need to meet prior to the start of the 2022 season.