Final Standings

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
*Wuhan Gators	3	3	0	0	28	6	1.000
*Beijing Lions	3	2	1	0	36	6	.667
Shenyang Black Rhinos	3	1	2	0	12	22	.333
Shanghai Legend	3	0	3	0	0	42	.000

References: Compiled from Results in :[4-5]

Championship Tournament Finals

Date	Time	Home Team		Away Team
		3rd Place Game
08.12.2019	11:00 AM	Shenyang Black Rhinos	18	Shanghai Legend	6
		Championship
08.12.2019	11:00 AM	Wuhan Gators	30	Beijing Lions	22

Reference: [1; 6-7]

Championship Tournament

Date	Time	Home Team		Away Team
06.12.2019	5:00 PM	Shenyang Black Rhinos	6	Shanghai Legend	0
06.12.2019	5:30 PM	Beijing Lions	0	Wuhan Gators	6
06.12.2019	6:00 PM	Beijing Lions	22	Shanghai Legend	0
06.12.2019	6:30 PM	Wuhan Gators	8	Shenyang Black Rhinos	6
06.12.2019	7:00 PM	Shanghai Legend	0	Wuhan Gators	14
06.12.2019	7:30 PM	Shenyang Black Rhinos	0	Beijing Lions	14

Reference: [1; 4-5]

Preseason Results

Date	Time	Home Team		Away Team
		Preseason Week 1
13.11.2019	1:00 PM	Shenyang Rhinos	0	Beijing Lions	28
		Preseason Week 2
23.11.2019	2:00 PM	Wuhan Gators	40	Shanghai Legend	0

Reference: [1-3]

Home Venues

Team	Venue
Championship Tournament (6-8 December 2019)	EtonHouse International School, Suzhou
Shenyang Rhinos (Preseason Week 1)	Shenyang Sports University
Wuhan Gators (Preseason Week 2)	Wuhan JETien Jianjiu Sports Park

Reference: [1]

Report

Benjamin Duhon had an interception and score for the Lions defense, and John Taggart added two rushing scores as the Beijing Lions beat the Shenyang Rhinos in Preseason Week 1 [2]

In Preseason Week 2, Wuhan Gators, thrilled the Home Fans by beating the Shanghai Legend 40-0. They were led by QB Jarred Evans, who threw 4 Touchdown passes, and ran for two more, and the defense played its part too, as Defensive Captain, Robert Williams had 2 sacks and several pass deflections. [3]

Wuhan Gators won all 3 Championship Tournament Round-Robin matches to finish top of the table, and earn a place in the Championship Game against Beijing Lions who won their other two matches. Shanghai Legend finished bottom, losing all their matches and played against Shenyang Black Rhinos in the 3rd Place Playoff. [4-5]

In the 3rd Place Playoff, the Shenyang Black Rhinos won again against the Shanghai Legend, after both teams came out guns blazing, scoring on their opening drives. [6]

The Championship Game proved an epic struggle, with Wuhan Gators sending their fans home happy, coming from behind to beat the defending Champions, Beijing Lions 30-22. The Lions had taken a 22-14 lead after an amazing catch and run by Wide Receiver Devin Jones, but the Gators came right back, with tournament MVP Jarred Evans leading the team to a tieing score. In Overtime QB Evans found WR Shida Wang, who outfought the defender, in tight coverage, for the score. The Two-Point Conversion was successful, leaving the Gators 30-22 up, and the there were wild celebrations in the Wuhan camp after the Lions were unable to respond on their next drive. [7]

About

The China Arena Football League was started in 2016 by the Arena Football League, which introduced the novel 8v8 Arena/Indoor version of American Football in 1986. The CAFL was part of an ambitious Global Expansion plan by the AFL, although it lasted only one season.

It was brought back by the AFL in 2019, and the first preseason matches went ahead as scheduled despite reports on the AFL website that it was filing for bankruptcy on November 27, 2019.

The China Arena Football League Championship Tournament, held over one weekend, took place on 6-8 December 2019.

References

Websites

[1] China Arena Football League (2019) CAFL 2019 Competition Breakdown! [Internet] Available from: http://caflfootball.com/cafl-2019-competition-breakdown/ [Accessed 3 December 2019]

[2] China Arena Football League | Facebook (2019) Post, November 13, 2019: ” Final Score from Shenyang: Beijing 28 Shenyang 0 “ [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/CAFLFootball/posts/2768277399901933 [Accessed 3 December 2019]

[3] China Arena Football League | Facebook (2019) Post, November 22, 2019: ” Final Score in Wuhan: Gators 40 Shanghai 0 “ [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/CAFLFootball/posts/2791563504239989 [Accessed 3 December 2019]

[4] China Arena Football League | Facebook (2019) Post, December 6, 2019: ” Half way through Match Play and Day 1 of the CAFL Championship Tournament and here are the scores: “ [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/CAFLFootball/posts/2823067901089549 [Accessed 10 December 2019]

[5] China Arena Football League | Facebook (2019) Post, December 6, 2019: “ The first day is complete and here is how the teams finished in day 1 of Match Play of the CAFL 2019 Championship Tournament. “ [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/CAFLFootball/posts/2823301561066183 [Accessed 10 December 2019]

[6] China Arena Football League | Facebook (2019) Post, December 8, 2019: ” The Shenyang Black Rhinos take home the 3rd Place OF THE CAFL 2029 Championship Tournament with an 18-6 win over the Shanghai Legends. “ [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/CAFLFootball/posts/2827977440598595 [Accessed 10 December 2019]

[7] China Arena Football League | Facebook (2019) Post, December 8, 2019: ” What an epic battle as the CAFL 2019 Tournament Championship Game gave fans all that they could ask for as the Wuhan Gators came from behind in regulation to tie the score and take the game to overtime to defeat the 2016 champions Beijing Lions 30-22.  “ [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/CAFLFootball/posts/2827996027263403 [Accessed 10 December 2019]

[8] Arena Football League (2019) Official Statement [Internet] Available from: https://www.arenafootball.com/article/nov27-statement [Accessed 3 December 2019]

Images

[9] China Arena Football League (2019) CAFL-AFLG Logo [Internet] Available from: http://caflfootball.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/cafl-aflg-1.png [Accessed 3 December 2019]

[10] China Arena Football League (2019) CAFL 2019 Competition Medal [Internet] Available from: http://caflfootball.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/CAFL-2019-Competition-Medal-768×768.png [Accessed 10 December 2019]

[11] China Arena Football League | Facebook Page (2019) Photo December 8, 2019: “What an epic battle as the CAFL 2019 Tournament Championship Game ” [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/CAFLFootball/photos/pcb.2827996027263403/2827995430596796/?type=3&theater [Accessed 10 December 2019]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Peter Comerford.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American & World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 10 December 2019

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2019

You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved.