A new Arena Football League will kick off in 2024.
There will be another spring football league available to an American audience starting in April 2024. Actually, it is not exactly new as it is an old name that will be used by new owners. The entity is the Arena Football League, a name that first appeared in 1987 and lasted for two decades. The league did not put out a product in 2009 but came back in 2010 and lasted until 2019. The league, which uses arenas not stadiums for its games, seems to have a hodgepodge of cities, ranging from big markets to little towns. Austin, Texas; Boise, Idaho; Bakersfield, California; Chicago, Illinois; Denver, Colorado; St. Paul, Minnesota; Lake Charles, Louisiana; Cincinnati, Ohio; Orlando, Florida; Salem, Oregon; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; St. Louis, Missouri; Tallahassee, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; Everett, Washington and Odessa, Texas. It appears that the relaunched AFL will play a 10-game season. The AFL will be competing with the XFL and the United States Football League for some players.
The investment group, F1 Sports and Entertainment, bought the rights to the AFL in January 2022. The AFL filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2019. Jim Foster, who was with the National Football League, came up with the notion of indoor football while watching an indoor soccer game in 1981. He wanted to start an indoor league around 1983 but delayed the launch of the league because the newly formed United States Football League started. Foster presented “test games” in 1986 and went ahead with the concept as the Arena Football League in 1987. The league had a rapid decline in 2008 and did not play in 2009. The league was relaunched in 2010 but had financial struggles and ultimately was forced to declare Chapter 7 bankruptcy on November 27th, 2019.
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