American Indoor Football Alliance
 | |
| Sport | Indoor football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2021 |
| First season | 2022 |
| Folded | 2023 |
| No. of teams | 7 |
| Country | United States |
Last champion | Columbus Lions (2023) |
| Website | www |
The American Indoor Football Alliance (AIFA) was a minor-professional American indoor football league 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 an 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 | traveling team | 2018 | 2021 | Ralph Byrd | AAL2 | |
| Columbus Lions[13] | Columbus, Georgia | Columbus Civic Center | 7,573 | 2007 | 2022 | Chris McKinney | AIF |
| Capital City Cyclones | Tallahassee, Florida | traveling team | 2019 | 2021 | Stevie Thomas | IFA | |
| Las Vegas Kings | Bullhead City, Arizona | Anderson Auto Group Fieldhouse | 7,000 | 2021 | 2021 | Chris Wallace | IFA |
| Mississippi Raiders[14] | Batesville, Mississippi | Paul Battle Arena & Exposition Center | 6,500 | 2019 | 2021 | Montra Edwards | AIF |
| South Florida Thunder | Palm Beach, Florida | Margate Sports Complex | TBA | 2019[15] | 2022 | Taliferro James Jr | Folded |
| Dallas Falcons | San Antonio, Texas | M.Vidrio Soccer Complex [16] | TBA | 2022 | 2023 | Bryan Kensky | AAL2 |
Former teams
[edit]- Florida Fear (Bradenton, Florida) - Was part of announced teams, but never played[17]
- Memphis Beatz (Memphis, Tennessee) - Was part of announced teams, but never played
- Pennsylvania Union (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) — Was part of the original teams joined from the AAL, but then was not included in 2022 alignment. Now a member of American Indoor Football as of 2026.
- St. Charles Bandits (St. Charles, Missouri) — Joined from the AAL for the 2022 season, but never played a game.[18]
- 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.[19]
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". OurSports Central. October 3, 2022. Retrieved September 23, 2026.
- ↑ "Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report". October 3, 2022.
- ↑ "AWFC Schedule & AIFA Partnership".
