Arena Football Association

The Arena Football Association (AFA) is a minor professional indoor football league based in Texas, United States. The league began operation in June 2021 with five teams,[1] known that season as the Lone Star Series. The league was founded by three African-American entrepreneurs and is "built upon the pillars of diversity, equity and inclusion," placing its teams in underserved markets with populations from 200,000 to two million people.[1][2]

Not to be confused with the Arena Football League, which operated from 1987 to 2019.
Arena Football Association
FormerlyLone Star Series (2021)
SportIndoor football
Founder
  • Douglas C. Freeman
  • Maximillian L. Hamilton
  • Fredrick Smith
Inaugural season2021
No. of teams6 (2022)
CountryUnited States
HeadquartersTexas
Most recent
champion(s)		West Texas Warbirds (2021)
TV partner(s)FloSports (streaming)
Official websitearenafa.com

History

2021 season

The league operated during 2021 as the Lone Star Series, after the West Texas Warbirds and Amarillo Venom, formerly of Champions Indoor Football (CIF), organized their own league.[3] Five teams competed in the inaugural season: Amarillo Venom, Arlington Longhorns, San Antonio Valor, Texas Jets, and West Texas Warbirds.[4][5] The Warbirds defeated the Venom in the championship game, 79–60, played on July 24.[6][7]

2022 season

As of the league's 2022 season, there are six teams: four in Texas, and one each in Mississippi and Kansas.[8] The Amarillo Venom had also planned to play, before suspending operations in February 2022.[9]

The league's regular season schedule runs from April through June, with playoffs in July and a championship game scheduled for July 23.[10] The league plans for the championship game to be played on board the USS Lexington, an aircraft carrier that is now a museum ship in Corpus Christi, Texas.[11]

Teams

Source:[12]

TeamHome cityHome venueCapacityHead coachWebsite
Magnolia State SpartansPhiladelphia, MississippiNeshoba County Coliseum2,500Dexter Allenms-spartans.com.footballshift.com
North Texas BullsFort Worth, TexasFort Worth Convention Center10,418Victor Mannnorthtexasbulls.com
Rio Grande Valley DoradosHidalgo, Texastraveling team-Bennie Kingrgv-dorados.com
Texas JetsHumble, TexasHumble Civic Center Arena7,500texasjets.org
West Texas WarbirdsOdessa, TexasEctor County Coliseum5,131Tate Smithwarbirdfootball.com
Wichita ForceWichita, KansasWichita Ice Center1,000Ene Akpanwichitaforce.com

Former teams
  • Amarillo Venom (Amarillo, Texas) — Played the 2021 pandemic-affected season in the Texas-based Lone Star Series and helped form the AFA, but went dormant before the start of the 2022 season after the owners put the team up for sale.

References
  1. Nutt, Stephanie (February 7, 2022). "Wichita Force joins new football association". KSNW. Retrieved April 16, 2022 – via MSN.com.
  2. Perry, Mark (April 15, 2022). "PR: 2022 (AFA) Arena Football Association season kicks off this weekend with games in Fort Worth and Odessa". xflnewshub.com. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  3. "Sponsors And Investors See Ground-Floor Opportunities With The Expansion Of Arena Football Association". prnewswire.com (Press release). Arena Football Association. November 4, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  4. Amaya, Chris (July 12, 2021). "Warbirds cap off first undefeated regular season". Odessa American. Odessa, Texas. p. 1B. Retrieved April 16, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  5. Amaya, Chris (July 12, 2021). "Warbirds (cont'd)". Odessa American. Odessa, Texas. p. 3B. Retrieved April 16, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  6. Amaya, Chris (July 26, 2021). "Warbirds cap off first season with title". Odessa American. Odessa, Texas. p. 1B. Retrieved April 16, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  7. Amaya, Chris (July 26, 2021). "Warbirds (cont'd)". Odessa American. Odessa, Texas. p. 3B. Retrieved April 16, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  8. "Standings". arenafa.com. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  9. Vega, Julio (February 17, 2022). "Amarillo Venom up for sale, will not compete in 2022 Arena Football Association season". Amarillo Globe-News. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  10. "Schedule". warbirdfootball.com. West Texas Warbirds. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  11. "Texas-Based Arena Football Association Expands To Six Teams For 2022 And Sets Sights On Nationwide Expansion". boxscorenews.com (Press release). Arena Football Association. November 30, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  12. "Arena Football Association Announces Inaugural 2022 Schedule". rgv-dorados.com. February 23, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
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