By Gurmukh Singh 

Toronto, April 13 (IANS) The US-based Lingerie Football League, where sexy young women play the game in bras and panties in front of mostly male fans, has named Toronto its first international franchise.

Launched in 2009, the LFL - which is more about titillation and showing skin than field skills - has become a highly profitable business.

Currently, the league has five teams - Cleveland Crush, San Diego Seduction, Philadelphia Passion, Baltimore Charm and Orlando Fantasy. Each team has seven players.

PlayBoy magazine featured 10 players from the league in its February issue.

The league has become a platform for women to enter the entertainment industry. It does not pay players but covers their travel costs.

Announcing the league's extension to Toronto, Mitchell S. Mortaza, founder and chairman of the LFL, said, "It's become the most successful women's professional league in the US in (two years). It's really an opportunity for them to be elevated to (the level) of major sports for guys, and be on the cover of everything ranging from Playboy to ESPN to Fox News channel."

In a statement, Mortaza said, "It has been incredible journey over the first two seasons of LFL football, our expansion into Toronto is the first step toward a more significant footprint of the LFL brand into Canada.

"Our game will translate well into a country that has a tremendous sports culture that not only understands football but is fanatical in its support.''

The Lingerie Football League's Toronto launch will take place in September 2012. It could be extended to other Canadian cities like Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Montreal, Hamilton and Ottawa, according to Postmedia News wire service.