[jar_e]

http://calgary.openfile.ca/node/4851

It was announced today that Calgary has been awarded a Lingerie Football League franchise.

The LFL, which has teams throughout the United States plus one in Toronto, features women playing football wearing little more than their bikini-like uniforms. In fact, the league will hand out a $500 fine to any player caught wearing something beneath her uniform — ironic, as the league is named for the kind of undergarment a woman might want to wear under her clothing. That requirement is outlined in their contract, in which players must also agree to "accidental nudity."

The league is also expanding into Vancouver, Edmonton, Quebec City and Montreal and will debut next fall.

OpenFile Toronto reported in April that the lingerie-wearing athletes "are recruited through tryouts, and women are selected on the basis of their attractiveness, physical prowess, and playing ability (in that order)."

Opponents of the league say it perpetuates the objectification of and sexual violence against women.

A lingerie football game held in Hamilton in July lost approximately $100,000.