Arena Football League (AFL)
The Arena Football League (AFL) is a professional football league which plays a unique type of football. The games are played indoors on fields significantly smaller than conventional outdoor fields, and there are fewer players (eight per team) on the field when the ball is snapped. There are many other fairly significant differences between AFL rules and rules of "regular" football; however, there are also enough similarities to provide immediate familiarity to football fans who can be comfortable watching and enjoying the sport.
Founded in 1987 by former National Football League executive Jim Foster, the AFL originally consisted of only four teams, but as of 2006 has grown to encompass a total of 18 teams, which will change to 19 in 2007. The teams are split into two conferences: the American Conference, consisting of two five-team divisions as of 2007 (Central Division and Western Division), and the National Conference, also with two divisions (the four-team Eastern Division and the five-team Southern Division). Following is a brief synopsis of the AFL and a listing of all AFL teams:
AFL At-A-Glance
- Season: March through June. Each team plays a schedule consisting of 16 games, including two games (1 home and 1 away) versus each of its division rivals
- Teams: 19 (10 American Conference, 9 National Conference). In 2006 there were 18 teams, with Kansas City being awarded an expansion franchise to temporarily replace the New Orleans team, which suspended operations for a year. With the return of New Orleans to the fold in 2007, Kansas City will switch divisions from the NC Southern to the AC Central and the league will operate with 19 teams.
- Championship: Arena Bowl
- Current champion (2007): San Jose SaberCats
- League Web Site: AFL
AFL Conferences, Divisions, and Teams
National Conference
- Eastern Division
- Columbus Destroyers - Columbus, Ohio
- Dallas Desperados - Dallas, Texas
- New York Dragons - Uniondale, New York
- Philadelphia Soul - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Southern Division
- Austin Wranglers - Austin, Texas
- Georgia Force - Atlanta, Georgia
- New Orleans VooDoo - New Orleans, Louisiana
- Orlando Predators - Orlando, Florida
- Tampa Bay Storm - Tampa, Florida
American Conference
- Central Division
- Chicago Rush - Rosemont, Illinois
- Colorado Crush - Denver, Colorado
- Grand Rapids Rampage - Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Kansas City Brigade - Kansas City, Missouri
- Nashville Kats - Nashville, Tennessee
- Western Division
- Arizona Rattlers - Phoenix, Arizona
- Los Angeles Avengers - Los Angeles, California
- Las Vegas Gladiators - Las Vegas, Nevada
- San Jose SaberCats - San Jose, California
- Utah Blaze - Salt Lake City, Utah
AFL News
| Arena Football League Headline News |
| Greatest Game #16: Albany vs. Tampa Bay (1991) Over the next few weeks, arenafootball.com will be revisiting the top 20 games in Arena Football League history. Today, coming in at #16 the Tampa Bay Storm's 21-point fourth quarter rally to overcome a 17-point deficit and defeat Albany, 57-53. |
| 20 Greatest Highlights Revisited: Trip and Score Over the next few weeks, arenafootball.com will be revisiting the top 20 highlights in Arena Football League history. Today, checking in at #16 is the Tampa Bay Storm's exciting 44-41 win over the New Jersey Gladiators. |
| AFL suspends 2009 season The Arena Football League Board of Directors will suspend the 2009 season subject to agreement and cooperation with the Arena Football League Players Association while the League works on developing a long-term plan to improve its economic model. |
| Ingram, Longoria spread holiday cheer Avengers WR Kevin Ingram, A-Team dancers Nicole and Tiffany, as well as Eva Longoria Parker, the national spokesperson for PADRES Contra El Cancer, visited Childrens Hospital Los Angles on December 3 to spread some holiday cheer. |
| Janek carries 'weight' of Blaze No player spends their offseason quite like Utah Blaze DL Chris Janek. A week after the Arena Football season ends, Janek is back in the gym. Only this time, he's lifting the weight equivalent of a Volkswagon Beetle. |
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