Indoor/Arena Football Leagues

Arena Football

Arena/Indoor football is football designed to be played indoors, the same surface area as a standard North American ice hockey rink. The game features between six and eight players for each team, depending on the league. The game moves fast with higher scores than traditional football games. The sport was invented in 1981 and a number of leagues have formed only to later be purchased, folded or merged into another league.

Arena/Indoor Football Leagues
History of Arena/Indoor Football Leagues

Indoor/Arena Football Leagues

Arena/Indoor Football League and Team Information

If you want to be confused, just try following the opening and closing of Arena/Indoor football leagues. Since 2009 over 20 different leagues have operated at one time or another with 3-4 currently still in operation. You can see an abbreviated history of the previous leagues or check out ones that are still in operation starting here.

Brief History of Arena/Indoor Football Leagues (Defunct Leagues)

National Arena League (NAL) 2017-Present

National Arena League (2017-Present)

The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. In June 2016, Columbus Lions' owner Skip Seda and father Keke Seda founded a league called the Arena Developmental League (ADL. The league was announced to begin play in March 2017 and, while not affiliated with any other leagues, intended on developing players to be looked at by scouts in the Arena Football League (AFL), Canadian Football League (CFL), and National Football League (NFL. )On November 18, 2016, the league announced it had changed its name to National Arena League. As part of the change in name, the league management was also restructured so that it was managed by all member teams equally.

National Arena League Teams Directory
National Arena League Past Champions
National Arena League Standings by Year

Indoor Football League 2009-Present

Indoor Football League (2009 - Present)

The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference (WC). The IFL is the highest professional level of indoor football. The IFL was formed in 2008 when the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football agreed to merge Following the closure of the original Arena Football League in 2019, the IFL became the oldest active professional indoor football league in North America, and can trace its history to 2003. Each IFL season has a 19-week regular season which runs from the middle of March to the end of July, with each team playing 16 games and having three bye weeks. Following the conclusion of the regular season, four teams from each conference advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament, which culminates in the IFL National Championship, played in late August between the winners of the EC and WC championship games.

Indoor Football League Teams Directory
Indoor Football League Past Champions
Indoor Football League by Season Standings

Intense Football League (2004) (2006- 2008) Merged with United Indoor Football to create the IFL
United Indoor Football (2005 - 2008) Merged with the Intense Football League to create the IFL

American Arena League (AAL) (2018-2021) (2026 - Present

American Arena League (AAL)

The American Arena League (AAL) is a professional indoor football league that began playing in 2018. The league was initiated by a merger between Arena Pro Football (APF) and the Can-Am Indoor Football League (Can-Am), although the AAL only claimed the APF history after the former Can-Am founder left the league. Teams from both leagues, new teams, and later teams from Supreme Indoor Football and National Arena League constituted the new league for its inaugural season. Since 2023, the league has operated as American Arena League 2 (AAL2), which was originally conceived as the AAL's minor league but has since effectively taken its parent league's place. In 2025, the parent league was announced to resume for the 2026 season onward.

The 2018 season saw many scheduliing changes, dropped teams and cancelled games.On December 12, 2018, the league announced its 2019 alignment split into a four-team Northern Division and an eight-team Southern Division. In January 2019, the league then added a Midwest Division composed of three teams that had been in the developmental Midwest Professional Indoor Football (MPIF). Less than a month prior to the start of the 2019 season, the High Country Grizzlies ceased operations and the Chicago Aztecs withdrew for the season reducing the league to 13 teams. The Georgia Doom and New England Bobcats later folded during the season. There were many other canceled or rescheduled home games either due to arena issues or the away team not traveling. After the 2020 season was cancelled due to Covid 19, the league updated its website in December 2020 with a list of 17 teams in three divisions for the 2021 season. After the 2021 season concluded, four members of the East Division announced that they would leave the AAL to form new league called Arena Indoor Football Alliance. The Charlotte Thunder and West Michigan Ironmen left to form their own league (Arena Professional Football League, later succeeded by Great Lakes Arena Football.In December 2021, under new ownership, the league announced they would be launching "American Arena League 2" in 2022. AAL2 was delayed until 2023 and was initially to serve as the AAL's minor league, which was supposed to also relaunch in 2023, but did not until 2026. With the return of the AAL as a primary professional league, the AAL2 was reverted back to a developmental professional league.

American Arena League Teams Directory
American Arena League Past Champions
American Arena League by Season Standings (2018 - 2021) (2026 -Present)

Arena Pro Football (2017) Merged with Can-Am to form AAL in 2018
Can-Am Indoor Football League (2017) Merged with APF to form AAL in 2018
Supreme Indoor Football by Season Standings (2017) For 2018 season teams joined AAL

American Arena League 2 (AAL2) 2023-Present

The American Arena League 2

In December 2021, with the American Arena League under new ownership, the league announced they would be launching "American Arena League 2" in 2022. AAL2 was delayed until 2023 and was initially to serve as the AAL's minor league, which was supposed to also relaunch in 2023, but did not until 2026. With the return of the AAL as a primary professional league, the AAL2 was reverted back to a developmental professional league.

The Arena League Teams Directory
The Arena League Past Champions
American Arena League 2 by Season Standings (2023 - Present)

The Arena League (TAL) 2024-Present

The Arena League (TAL)

The Arena League (The AL or TAL) is an indoor American football league in the United States. The league launched in 2024 with four teams playing six-on-six football, but expanded to six-teams and started playing 7-on-7 indoor football in its second season with modified rules. the league has throw-offs instead of kickoffs. no punts, no field goals and noextra point kicks. This means more downs, more drives, and more opportunities to put points on the board. The league was first announced in February 2023, with Pro Football Hall of Famer Tim Brown as the Commissioner. The field is traditional arena football size, measuring 50 yards (150 feet (45.72 m)) long and 85 feet wide enclosed by padded walls. The league follows a one-platoon system with offensive and defensive players playing both sides of the ball.

The Arena League Teams Directory
The Arena League Past Champions
The Arena League Standings by Year

American Indoor Football (2005 - Present)

American Indoor Football (2005 - Present)

American Indoor Football (AIF) is a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America. The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the East Coast of the United States in 2005 as the Atlantic Football League. After a rapid, and largely failed, expansion effort in 2006, most of the league's remaining teams jumped to the new American Indoor Football Association (AIFA). The AIFA in 2008, expanded into the Western United States. The league legally divided into two entities to allow for a partial merger with the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL), which resulted in all of its Eastern teams merging into the SIFL and the AIFA only maintaining its western teams. The league's western component, which remained separate of the merger ceased operations January 2011. The league announced it would be relaunching as American Indoor Football (AIF) for spring 2012. After the 2016 season, the AIF ceased operations. In 2023, it was announced that the league was being relaunched by president and commissioner John Morris with four new teams. In 2025, a coalition led by River Kings owner Dominic Montero led a takeover of the AIF after Morris and the remaining teams left for other leagues. The West Michigan Ironmen, who had joined the AIF as a charter member of its 2025 incarnation led a takeover of the league ahead of its 2027 season. Thye Great Lakes Arena Football league merged with the AIF in 2026.

The American Indoor Football Directory
American Indoor Football by Season Standings

Atlantic Indoor Football League (2005-2006)
American Indoor Football League (2006)
American Indoor Football Association (2007-2010)
American Indoor Football (2012 - 2016)
American Indoor Football (2024 - Present)
Great Lakes Arena Football by Season Standings (2023 - 2024) Merged with AIF in 2026

American Indoor Football Past Champions