The Canadian Football League (CFL), the sport's top professional league, and trace their roots to 1880. The CFL is the most popular and only major professional Canadian football league. It is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football. Its nine current teams, which are located in nine separate cities, are divided into two divisions: the East Division, with four teams, and the West Division with five teams.

Founded on January 19, 1958, making it the second oldest professional gridiron football league in North America. The CFL is the second-most popular major sports league in Canada, after the National Hockey League.

The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the CFL and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. The Grey Cup is the second-oldest trophy in North American professional sport, after the Stanley Cup. The Grey Cup game is hosted in one of the league's member cities. In recent years, it has been hosted in a different city every year, selected two or more years in advance.