Ottawa Invaders

There were some questions when the Invaders chose to apply to the Northern Football Conference for membership.  The city’s history with semi-pro football was entirely tied to the Empire Football League, a league based in New York state, first with the Bootleggers in the late 80′s / early 90′s  and most recently with the Deacon Demons.

Since making that decision, the Invaders execs have had no regrets.  The league and its member clubs have been very inviting and accomodating to, and enthusiastic about, the new kid in class.

The news below then, from a press release issued by the EFL, only reinforces that the decision to join the Northern Football Conference was absolutely the right one.

Because of the continued increase with logistics issues, the Empire Football League decided to cease operations in Canada. In spite of our best efforts at different approaches over the years, our football teams, officiating crews, and league personnel continued to experience problems at the border. This created a ripple effect on overall league operations. Additionally, potential new teams saw the border as a major negative preventing them from joining the Empire Football League. As a result, the Quebec Titans and Joliet Chargers (formerly Ottawa) are no longer members of the EFL.

Sympathies to the Titans, and much respoect to them for refusing to go down without a fight, as evidenced by this portion of an entry on their website:

THIS IS THE END OF THE ROAD …

Or is it?

With already two exhibition games set in stone and possibly a third game against a TBD opponent .. here is YOUR chance… OUR chance to silence the critics and compete against our American counterparts one last time.

Way to hang in there, Titans!  There appear to be some options for senior football in Quebec so hopefully you find a permanent home before long.  And maybe drop by for a visit from time to time.