American Indoor Football Alliance
 | |
| Sport | Indoor football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2021 |
| First season | 2022 |
| Ceased | 2023 |
| No. of teams | 7 |
| Country | United States |
| Last champion(s) | Columbus Lions (2023) |
| Official website | www |
The American Indoor Football Alliance (AIFA) was a minor-professional American indoor football league based in the United States.[1]
Teams' typical operating budget was $500,000 with a $90,000 payroll budget per season. Players were paid up to $200 per game, with a $25 bonus for participating in charity events within their local communities. Most teams offered players housing during the season.[2]
History
[edit]After the 2021 American Arena League season concluded, four members of the East Division (Carolina Predators, Tampa Bay Tornadoes, Pennsylvania Union and Mississippi Raiders) announced that they would leave the AAL to form a new league, after league president and commissioner Tony Zefiretto had sold the league to the ownership.[3]
The league played its first season in 2022, while the Mississippi Raiders defeat the Las Vegas Kings 55–12 to claim the Inaugural AIFA Championship.[4][5][6]
For the 2023 season, AIFA had a inter-league scheduling agreement with the American West Football Conference.[7][8] The Columbus Lions won the league championship after completing an undefeated season and beating Mississippi Raiders 55 to 10 in AIFA Championship.[9][10][11]
In late 2023 most of the teams left to join different leagues and the AIFA website was shut down.
Teams
[edit]Teams that participated or were listed as members in the 2023 season.
| Team | Home city | Home venue | Capacity | Founded | Joined | Head coach | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina Predators[12] | Fayetteville, North Carolina | TBD | TBD | 2018 | 2021 | AAL2 | |
| Columbus Lions[13] | Columbus, Georgia | Columbus Civic Center | 7,573 | 2007 | 2022 | Chris McKinney | AIF |
| Capital City Cyclones | Tallahassee, Florida | Traveling team | TBD | 2019 | 2021 | Stevie Thomas | IFA |
| Las Vegas Kings | Las Vegas, Nevada | Las Vegas Sports Park | 2021 | 2021 | Chris Wallace | IFA | |
| Mississippi Raiders[14] | Jackson, Mississippi | Mississippi Coliseum | 6,500 | 2019 | 2021 | Montra Edwards | AIF |
| South Florida Thunder | Palm Beach, Florida | TBD | TBD | 2019[15] | 2022 | TBD | |
| Dallas Falcons | Dallas, Texas | Traveling team[16] | 2022 | 2023 | Bryan Kensky | AAL2 |
Former teams
[edit]- Pennsylvania Union (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) — Was part of the original teams joined from the AAL, but then was not included in 2022 alignment.
- St. Charles Bandits (St. Charles, Missouri) — Joined from the AAL for the 2022 season, but never played a game.[17]
- Texas Pride (Garland, Texas) - Was part of the announced teams of the crossover games with the American West Football Conference (AWFC) for the 2023 season, but then was not included in the league standings.[18]
- Columbus Lions - Joined from the National Arena League for the 2023 season,[19] but left for the American Indoor Football after winning the league championship.[20]
- Carolina Predators (Fayetteville, North Carolina) - Joined from the AAL for the 2022 season,[21] but left after the 2023 season for the American Arena League 2.[22]
- Mississippi Raiders (Jackson, Mississippi) - Won the Inaugural AIFA Championship in 2022[23] and played in the 2023 finals before leaving for the American Indoor Football league for the 2024 season.
- Dallas Falcons (Dallas, Texas) - Joined for the 2023 season as a traveling team,[24] but would leave for the American Arena League 2 for the 2024 season.[25]
- Las Vegas Kings (Las Vegas, Nevada) - Played in the inaugural AIFA Championship in 2022, but the owner decided to moved the team after the conclusion of the 2023 season to the International Football Alliance.[26] The team again jumped from the IFA prior to that league's launch and claimed to join Arena Football One, which the league rebuked for misrepresenting their pitch as league admission.[27][28]
- Capital City Cyclones (Tallahassee, Florida) - Joined from the AAL as the Tampa Bay Tornadoes,[29] and later was rebranded as the Cyclones prior to the 2022 season.[30][31] Left after the 2023 season to join the International Football Alliance.[32]
References
[edit]- ^ "Home – American Indoor Football Alliance". www.goaifa.com. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ "AIFA Expansion Packet" (PDF).
- ^ "Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report". oursportscentral.com. July 12, 2021.
- ^ "Mississippi Raiders are now AIFA National Champions". Vicksburg Daily News. July 10, 2022.
- ^ Bowker, Ernest (July 8, 2022). "Vicksburg coach Muhammad chasing a championship with Mississippi Raiders". Vicksburg Post.
- ^ "AIFA Championship". YouTube.
- ^ "Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report". December 26, 2022.
- ^ "AWFC/AIFA Partnership".
- ^ "Lions defeat Raiders 55 to 10 in AIFA Championship". American Indoor Football Alliance.
- ^ "AIFA Champioinship Part1". youtube.com.
- ^ "AIFA Champioinship Part 2". youtube.com.
- ^ "Fayetteville set to welcome arena football back to the Crown with the Carolina Predators".
- ^ "LIONS JOIN REGIONAL ARENA LEAGUE". National Arena League. December 23, 2022.
- ^ "Mississippi Raiders bringing arena football back to Jackson". November 4, 2021.
- ^ "South Florida has a new arena football league coming soon — and you could be a part of it". November 29, 2019.
- ^ "Dallas Falcons set to join the AIFA for the 2023 Season".
- ^ "Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report". October 3, 2022.
- ^ "AWFC Schedule & AIFA Partnership".
- ^ "Lions Join Regional Arena League - Columbus Lions". Columbus Lions. December 23, 2022.
- ^ "COLUMBUS LIONS JOIN AMERICAN INDOOR FOOTBALL (AIF) FOR THE 2024 INDOOR SEASON". aif-proindoorfootball.com. American Indoor Football. August 4, 2023. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
- ^ "Fayetteville set to welcome arena football back to the Crown with the Carolina Predators".
- ^ "Carolina Predators Arena Football Team". Facebook.
- ^ "Mississippi Raiders bringing arena football back to Jackson". November 4, 2021.
- ^ "Dallas Falcons set to join the AIFA for the 2023 Season".
- ^ "Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report". OurSports Central. September 4, 2023.
- ^ "Las Vegas Kings Football Team Joins the International Football Alliance". PRLog.
- ^ Arena Football One Statement on Expansion. Press release. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
- ^ offthewallfbpod (October 22, 2024). "So how about this Las Vegas Kings situation, huh?". OffTheWallFB. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
- ^ "TAMPA BAY TORNADOES JOINS THE AIFA!". goaifa.com. July 5, 2021. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021.
- ^ "TAMPA BAY CYCLONES JOINS THE AIFA!". AIFA. July 5, 2021. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ "AIFA teams". AIFA. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ "Meet The Teams". International Football Alliance.
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