These are notable sports leagues which are no longer operating.

Australia

Australian football

* Tasmanian Football League (TFL, 1879–2000) * Victorian Football Association (VFA, 1877–1995)

Baseball

* Australian Baseball League (1989–1999)

Rugby league

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

(1997) ** merged with the Australian Rugby League in 1998 to form the National Rugby League * City Cup

Rugby union

* Australian Rugby Championship (2007)

Soccer

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

(1977–2004)

Canada

Auto racing

* Canadian Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (CASCAR 1981–2006; replaced by the series now known as the NASCAR Pinty's Series)

Baseball

* Canadian Baseball League (CBL 2003) * Provincial League (1935–1955)

Basketball

* National Basketball League (Canada) (NBL 1993–94)

Ice hockey

* Coloured Hockey League (1895–1925) * Federal Amateur Hockey League (1903–09) (professional in 1908–09) * Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (1906–09) (professional in 1908–09) * Manitoba Professional Hockey League (MPHL 1907–09) * National Hockey Association (NHA 1909–17) * Canadian Hockey Association (CHA 1909–10) *

Interprovincial Professional Hockey League The Interprovincial Professional Hockey League was a short-lived ice hockey league in the Canadian Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Sc ...

(IPHL 1910–11) * Maritime Professional Hockey League (MaPHL 1911–14) * Eastern Professional Hockey League (EPHL 1914–15) * Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA 1911–24) * Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL 1921–26) * International Hockey League (IHL 1945–2001) * World Hockey Association (WHA 1972–79) – merged with National Hockey League (NHL) * Roller Hockey International (RHI 1993–97, 1999)

Soccer

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; french: Ligue canadienne de soccer — LCS) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (C ...

(CSL 1987–92) * Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL 1922–97)

New Zealand

Rugby union

* National Provincial Championship (NPC, 1976–2005; professional from 1996) ** Replaced by the current

Bunnings National Provincial Championship Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian household hardware chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand. Bunnings was founded in Perth, Wester ...

(previously Air New Zealand Cup, ITM Cup and Mitre 10 Cup) and Heartland Championship in 2006. Although the NPC as a single entity is defunct, its basic structure was largely revived in 2011 with the split of the then-ITM Cup into two divisions. The main difference between the current NPC and its original version is that no promotion from the Heartland Championship to the Bunnings NPC is currently possible. The original NPC featured promotion and/or relegation (or at least the possibility thereof) at all three levels.

Russia

Ice hockey

* Russian Super League (1996–2008) ** Replaced by the Kontinental Hockey League in 2008. The KHL also launched with teams from Belarus,

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, and Kazakhstan. As of the current 2018–19 season, it includes teams in all of its original countries, as well as

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, Finland, and Slovakia. At various times in its history, it has also had teams in Croatia, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine.

South Africa

Rugby union

* Vodacom Cup (1998–2015) ** Second tier of domestic professional rugby, behind the Currie Cup, although the competition occasionally included teams from Argentina and Namibia as well. Scrapped after the 2015 season; a one-off expanded Currie Cup was held in 2016 before a successor second-level competition, the Rugby Challenge, was launched in 2017.

United Kingdom

American football

* British American Football League (BAFL) (1986)

Basketball

* National Basketball League (1974–2003)

Association football

* Football Alliance (1889–1892) (replaced with the Football League Second Division) * Athenian League (1912–1984) * Chiltonian League (1984–2000) * Surrey Senior League (1922–2003)

United States

Professional athletics

International Track Association The International Track Association (ITA) was a professional track and field organization that existed in the United States from 1972 to 1976. The ITA initially attracted many of the big track and field stars of the day to run in its meets and in ...

(1972–1976)

Professional baseball

National Association of Professional Base Ball Players The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP), often known simply as the National Association (NA), was the first fully- professional sports league in baseball. The NA was founded in 1871 and continued through the 1875 se ...

(1871–75) * American Association I (1882–1891) *

Union Association The Union Association was a league in Major League Baseball which lasted for just the 1884 season. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season. Seven of the twelve teams who were in the Association at some poi ...

(1884) * Negro leagues **

League of Colored Baseball Clubs The National Colored Base Ball League, the National Colored League, or the League of Colored Baseball Clubs was the subsequent attempt, after the Southern League of Colored Base Ballists, to have a league consisting of all-black teams. It predated ...

(1887), minor league ** Negro National League (I) (1920–1931) ** Eastern Colored League (1923–1928) ** American Negro League (1929) ** East-West League (1932) ** Negro Southern League (1932), minor league 1920–1931 and 1933–1940s ** Negro National League (II) (1933–1948) ** Negro American League (1937–1950), minor league 1951–1960 ** West Coast Negro Baseball League (1946), minor league *

Players' League The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (PL), was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Prof ...

(1890) * Atlantic League (1896–1900) *

Union Professional League The Union Professional League was a professional baseball league that played for less than two months in 1908. The league was founded by businessman Alfred Lawson (1869–1954), who had briefly pitched for the Boston Beaneaters and the Pittsbur ...

(1908) * Federal League (1914–1915) * American Association II minor league (1902–1962 and 1969–1997) *

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...

(1943–1954) * Blue Ridge League (1915–1918, 1919–1930, 1946–1950) * Continental League (1960, never played) * Senior Professional Baseball Association (1989–1990) *

Great Central League The Great Central League was a short-lived baseball league of four teams that played baseball in the upper Midwest of the United States in . The league and four teams were owned by Minneapolis-based strip club owner, Dick Jacobson, who previousl ...

(1994) * Western Baseball League (1995–2002) * Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball (2005–2019) * Carolina League I (1936–1938) * Eastern League I (1884–1887) * Eastern League II (1916–1932) * New York–Penn League (1939–2020) * Southern League I (1885–1899) * South Atlantic League I (1904–1917, 1919–1930, 1936–1942 and 1946–1962)

Professional basketball

Men: * AABA- All-American Basketball Alliance (1977–78) * AAPBL- All-American Professional Basketball League (2005) * ABA-

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

(1967–1976) – merged with the National Basketball Association (

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

) * ABL I- American Basketball League I (1925–1955) * ABL II- American Basketball League II (1961–1963) * GBA- Global Basketball Association (1991–92, league folded midway through 1992–93 season) * IBA- International Basketball Association (1995–2001) * IBL- International Basketball League (1999–2001) * NBL- National Basketball League (1937–1949) * NPBL- National Professional Basketball League (1950–1951) * NRL-

National Rookie League The National Rookie League (NRL) was an America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a fede ...

(2000–2002) * PBLA- Professional Basketball League of America (1947–1948) * WBA- Western Basketball Association (1978–79) * WBL- World Basketball League (1988–1992) * CBA-

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

(1946–2009) * USBL- United States Basketball League (1985–2008) Women: * WBL- Women's Pro Basketball League (1978–81) * ABL- American Basketball League III (1996–1998) *WABA- Women's American Basketball Association (1993–1995) (2002)

Amateur basketball

* Amateur Athletic Association Basketball (AAU 1897–1982)

Professional football

Competitors to

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

*AFL – American Football League (1926) *AFL –

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(1936–1937) *AFL –

(1940–1941) *AAFC –

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...

(1946–1949, two teams now in

) *AFL –

(1960–1969, now the American Football Conference of the major league

) Other leagues *AAF –

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...

(2019) *AFL – Arena Football League (1987–2008) ** The AFL returned in 2010, but is a separate legal entity from the original AFL. The current league purchased the assets of the original AFL in a bankruptcy auction, enabling it to brand itself as the first league's successor. * af2 (2000–2009), the Arena Football League's official minor league ** Many of the teams in the revived AFL are former af2 teams. In fact, the original lineup of Arena Football 1, the league that morphed into the revived AFL, included more af2 teams than former AFL teams. *CFL –

Continental Football League The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to beco ...

(1965–1969) *FXFL – Fall Experimental Football League (2014–2015) *IFL – Indoor Football League (1999–2000) *IPFL – Indoor Professional Football League (1999–2001) *PIFL – Professional Indoor Football League (1998) *PSFL –

Professional Spring Football League The Professional Spring Football League (PSFL) was an outdoor american football minor league slated to begin in 1992. The league had a preview show on SportsChannel America in late 1991/early 1992, laying out the ten teams that would play. The ...

(1991 – Training Camp) *UFL – United Football League (2009–2012) *USFL – United States Football League (1983–1985; not to be confused with the current USFL) *WFL –

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...

(1974–1975) *

XFL (2001) The XFL was a professional American football league that played its only season in 2001. The XFL was operated as a joint venture between the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) and NBC. The XFL was conceived as an outdoor football l ...

– Xtreme Football League

Professional hockey

* World Hockey Association (WHA 1972–1979) – merged with National Hockey League (NHL) * Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA 1911–1924) * International Hockey League (IHL 1945–2001) * Roller Hockey International (RHI 1993–1997, 1999) * Global Hockey League (Did not play, 1990)

Professional rugby union

* PRO Rugby 2016 (succeeded by

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

2018 to present)

Professional soccer (association football)

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

(1995–2004; succeeded by USL First Division) * American Football Association (1896–1907) *

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

(1990–1994; operated as A-League in 1995–1996) * American Soccer League ( 1921–1933, 1933–1983, 1988–1989) *

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice Pre ...

(CISL 1993–97) *

Major Soccer League Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

aka Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) * Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL 2001–2008) * North American Soccer League (NASL 1968–1984) * United Soccer League (1984–85) * USL First Division (formally 2005–2010, last competitive season was 2009; folded into USL Pro for 2011, USL Pro renamed United Soccer League in 2015 and USL Championship from 2019) * USL Second Division (1990–2010; folded into USL Pro) * USSF Division 2 Professional League (2010 only; compromise between the feuding USL and new NASL) * Women's Professional Soccer (WPS, 2009–2011; effectively revived in 2013 as the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...

) * Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA, 2001–2003; effective predecessor to WPS) * World Indoor Soccer League (WISL 1998–2001) * Xtreme Soccer League (XSL 2008–09)

Professional Softball

* National Pro Fastpitch (2004–2021)

Professional lacrosse

* National Lacrosse League (1974-75) * American Lacrosse League (1988) * Major League Lacrosse (2001–2020) — merged with the Premier Lacrosse League, with the merged league operating under the PLL name

Other

* ANZ Championship (joint Australia–New Zealand women's netball league, 2008–2016) *

BeNe League The BeNe League was the highest women's football league in Belgium and the Netherlands. To increase competitiveness in their national leagues, the BeNe League was a joint cooperation between the Royal Belgian Football Association and the Royal Du ...

(joint Belgian–Dutch women's football league, 2012–2015) *

bj League The was a professional basketball league in Japan that began in November 2005 as a six-team league. The league was operated as a competitor to the established Japan Super League which was run by the Japan Basketball Association, the official go ...

(Basketball Japan League) (2005–2016) * Champions Tennis League ( India) (2014–2015) * Championship Gaming Series (CGS 2007–08) * China Arena Football League (founded 2012, existed between 2016 and 2019) * China Baseball League (2002–2018) *

Chinese Basketball Alliance The Chinese Basketball Alliance (; CBA) was a men's professional basketball league in Taiwan that existed from 1995 to 1999. Also abbreviated as "CBA", the defunct organization based in Taiwan was distinct from the Chinese Basketball Association ...

(

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...

) (1995–1999) * Chinese Jia-A League (China) (Association Football) (1994–2003) * DBL –

Dutch Basketball League The Dutch Basketball League (DBL), formerly the Eredivisie, was the highest professional basketball league in the Netherlands, run by the Federatie Eredivisie Basketball (FEB). Since 2021, the league has been replaced by the Belgian-Dutch BNXT Le ...

(Netherlands, 1960–2021, though not professional until the 1990s); merged with the Belgian Pro Basketball League to establish the current

BNXT League The BNXT League, for sponsorship reasons the betFirst BNXT League, is a professional basketball league in Belgium and the Netherlands. The league is the first tier in both the Dutch and Belgian system, replacing the Dutch Basketball League, DBL a ...

* Galatama ( Indonesia) (Association Football) (1979–1994) * Garena Premier League (

eSports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...

) (2012–2018) * Intercity Football League (Chinese Taipei) (2007–2016) * League of Legends SEA Tour (

) (2018–2019) * League of Legends Master Series (

) (Taiwan/Hong Kong/Macau) (2015–2019) * Liga Primer Indonesia (Association Football) (2011) *

Indonesia Premier League Indonesian Premier League (IPL; Indonesian: ''Liga Prima Indonesia'') was the highest level competition for football clubs in Indonesia from 2011 to 2013. This competition was managed by ''PT Liga Prima Indonesia Sportindo'', under supervision ...

(Association Football) (2011–2013) * Indonesia Soccer Championship (2016) * International Premier Tennis League (2014–2016) * International Volleyball Association (IVA 1975–1980) * JBL Super League (

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

) (Basketball) (2001–2007) *

Japan Basketball League The Japan Basketball League (JBL) was a professional basketball league in Japan. It made up the top-tier of basketball in Japan alongside the bj league, Japan's other basketball competition, with no promotion and relegation between bj and the JBL. ...

(2007–2013) * Japan Football League (1992–1998) * Japan Soccer League (JSL 1965–1992) * Japan Company Rugby Football Championship ( Rugby Union) (1948–2003) * Korea National League ( South Korea) (Association Football) (2003–2019) * Korean National Semi-Professional Football League ( South Korea) (1964–2002) * Liga Semi-Pro (Malaysia) (Association Football) (1989–1993) * Liga Perdana (Malaysia) (Association Football) (1994–1997) * Liga Perdana 1 (Malaysia) (Association Football) (1998–2003) * Liga Perdana 2 (Malaysia) (Association Football) (1998–2003) * Major League Ultimate (2013–16) * Major League Volleyball (1987–89) *

Malaysia National Basketball League The Malaysia National Basketball League (Petronas-Molten Malaysia National Basketball League for sponsorship reason), often abbreviated to the MNBL, was the pre-eminent men's basketball league in Malaysia, organised by the Malaysia Basketball As ...

(1981–2013) * Malaysia Premier League (Association Football) (2004–2022) *

Malaysia Pro League The Malaysia Pro League (MPL) was a professional basketball league founded by Malaysia Basketball Association (MABA). The league organized the Men's division, Women's division, and Development League. History In 2013, Malaysia National Basketball ...

(Basketball) (2017–2019) * Metropolitan Basketball Association (Philippines) (1998–2002) * National Basketball League (Japan) (2013–2016) * National Bowling League (NBL 1961–62) * World League of American Football
/ NFL Europe (1991–2007) * Philippine Premier League (Association Football) (2019) * Philippine Super Liga ( Volleyball) (2013–2021) * PBL – Pro Basketball League (Belgium, 1928–2021, though not professional until the 1990s); merged with the Dutch Basketball League to establish the current

* Premier Futsal (India) (2016–2017) * Premier Hockey League (India) ( Field Hockey) (2005–08) *

Pro Cricket The history of United States cricket begins in the 18th century. Among early Americans, cricket was as popular a bat and ball game as baseball. Though Americans never played cricket in great numbers, the game grew for some time. Around the time ...

(2004) * Pro Wrestling League (India) ( Wrestling) (2015–19) * PRO Rugby (US rugby union league, 2016) * Professional Slow Pitch Softball Leagues (1977–82) * Shakey's V-League ( Philippines) ( Volleyball) (2004–2016) * Taiwan Major League ( Baseball) (1996–2003) * Top Challenge League (

) ( Rugby Union) (2004–2021) * UBA Pro Basketball League (India) (2015–2017) *

UCypher ''UCypher'', also known as ''U Cypher with MTV'', is India's first televised Multi-Platform, multi-game, eSports tournament. Six veteran teams competed over a prize pool of Rs. 51 lakhs in the first season. The battle revolved around 4 games, n ...

( India) (

) (2018) * Women's American football leagues since 2004 * Women's Western Volleyball League (WWVL 1993–94)

References

{{reflist

External links

North American Pro Sports Teams
Lists every imaginable league that has operated in Canada and / or the United States. Grouped by city. * Leagues