Indoor Football info megathread

With the AAF going and XFL getting ready to start next yer I wondered what was going on with indoor football these days. Everyone probably knows of Arena League and a few might be aware that there is at least one other indoor league but I was surprised to learn that there are actually 6 different leagues running right now.

Here is a list of the current leagues and the teams that are in them. Of the 6 the IFL is already 2 games deep into their season while a few are about to start this coming weekend. Players in these leagues are earning anywhere from $75 to $300 per game depending which league and what their position is so these are guys who seriously love playing football.

Arena Football League
The OG indoor league has seen better days. It's down to 6 teams based mainly in the northeast. The Albany Empire, Atlantic City Blackjacks, Baltimore Brigade, Columbus Destroyers, Philadelphia Soul, and Washington Valor. The regular season kicks off 4/26 and will go 7/21. Games can be seen via free streaming online. No word yet on if it will return to CBSSN's schedule for this season.

Indoor Football League
This rival to the AFL began in 2007 with the merger of Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. This league is mostly centered in the mid-west with a few teams in western states like Arizona and California. Team include the Arizona Rattlers (the team w/the most AFL championships), Bismarck Bucks, Cedar Rapids River Kings, Green Bay Blizzard, Iowa Barnstormers (3rd version of the team Kurt Warner played for), Nebraska Danger, Quad City Steamwheelers, San Diego Strike Force, Sioux Falls Storm, and Tuscon Sugar Skulls. They have already started league play with the regular season ending 6/15. Games can be streamed for free on YouTube.

Champions Indoor Football
This league is teams that mostly came from a merger of the Champions Professional Indoor Football League and Lone Star Football League. Most teams are centrally located. Here we have the Amarillo Venom, Duke City Gladiators, Oklahoma Flying Aces, Omaha Beef, Salina Liberty, Sioux City Bandits, Texas Revolution, and Wichita Force. There will be a few preseason games this weekend with the full season starting next week and ending June 22. Games can bee seen for free on Pluto TV.

National Arena League
Next up is the National Arena League. This one was a little tough to get info on as they do a terrible job of updating their website. I actually had to go to their Twitter page to even find out their season starts on 4/13 and ends 7/5. The six teams are the Columbus Lions, Jacksonville Sharks (a former Arena League team), Massachusetts Pirates, New York Streets, Orlando Predators, and Carolina Cobras. Games can be seen on YouTube.

National Gridiron League
This is a new league kicking off it's first season this year. Here we have 12 brand new teams with the Georgia Wildcats, Indiana Blue Bombers, Indiana Firebirds, Pennsylvania, Pioneers, Virginia Destroyers, Virginia Iron Horses, Arkansas Twisters, Kansas Kapitols (wtf), Louisiana Red Sticks, Mississippi Mudcats, Saint Louis Stampede, and Texas Bighorns. Games will be on YouTube and will go from 3/30 - 7-29.

American Arena League
Relatively new this league seems to be more a minor arena league. The 12 teams are the Burgh Defenders, Cape Fear Heroes, Carolina Cowboyz, Carolina Havoc, Carolina Predators, Georgia Doom, High Country Grizzlies, Jersey Flight, New England Bobcats, Peach State Cats, and West Virginia Roughriders. This is another league that could do better with letting you know how and where to watch. So far the best I can figure is some games will be on YouTube and some will be on Northeast Sports Network with the season starting 5/27.


So there you have it. If you want MOAR football these are the leagues you can look out for. Apologies for any misinformation in this post as again, some of these websites are very poorly managed and are not at all conducive to casual fans who don't know much about how to watch their games.