The Baltimore, Maryland based Arena Football League (AFL) franchise announced their name and logo on January 25th, 2017. They're the AFL's fifth franchise. They'll play all home games at Royal Farms Arena which seats 11,271 for arena football. The team is owned by Monumental Sports and Entertainment headed by Ted Leonsis, the same group that owns the AFL's Washington Valor, WNBA's Washington Mystics, NBA's Washington Wizards, and NHL's Washington Capitals. The team's name and logo are tributes to the city's military history, specifically Fort McHenry and the Baltimore Harbor. The name Brigade has been used before in the AFL with the Kansas City Brigade from 2006-2008. In the new CAN-AM indoor football league, there's a team called the New Hampshire Brigade. Baltimore's head coach is Omarr Smith, who last was the head coach of the now defunct Los Angeles KISS. Baltimore kicks off the season April 7th on the road against the Washington Valor.

*Founded by Canadian business man David M Parsons, the GIL concept and launch has been in the making for over 3 years now. The GIL is the only indoor professional football league to be showcasing 3 down Canadian professional rules. Along with bringing a cost effective model to franchises owners and an affordable price tag for fans, the league also wants to help teams sustain a long term future.
 
The uniqueness of the league and its rules has attracted many ownership groups to consider having teams in the league. The GIL will also bring arena football back to Canada for the first time since 2001-2002 when the Toronto Phantoms played in the AFL (with the American rules). Except, there will be Canadian rules (55-yard field, 3 downs, and 7 on 7). The footprint of teams for the league was set to be in Canada and the Great Lakes Region of the U.S., but those plans have shifted and Southern states in the U.S. have shown interest in having teams.  Talks have already been in discussion with some established franchises as well some brand new markets that the indoor game hasn't seen football yet to this date.
 
Very closely related to the CFL, the GIL will be the indoor version of the CFL. Canadian Football is unique to American’s and American Football is unique to Canadian’s, therefore this league will satisfy the interest of many people. Canadian Football is sometimes shown in America on ESPN, but is regularly shown on TSN in Canada.
 
The GIL is excited to provide opportunities to emerging players and established players to learn Canadian rules on a pro level, to help give them the exposure they need to move up to the next level (The CFL. The league will provide teams a platform to test out an all new business model that has never been played either in Canada or the U.S.

The uniqueness of the GIL has captured many people’s attention in both Canada and the United States. The business model is one of a kind, and is really an indoor version of the Canadian Football League (CFL). East Texas is rumored to be working on getting a GIL team. Where in East Texas, we do not know. East Texas cities that have hosted arena teams before are: Beaumont (Ford Arena) and Lufkin. The footprint for the GIL was thought to be in Ontario, Canada and in the Great Lakes Region in the United States, but plans have changed. According to league owner David Parsons, he plans to have a North Division and a South Division. If the ownership group in East Texas is accepted in the league, a formal announcement is expected within the coming weeks. Other teams are also in the works in the Northeast U.S. and Canada, but there is no estimated date when the first team will be announced.