This is a list of current and defunct leagues of
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
and
Canadian football
Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...
.
Leagues in North America
Current professional leagues in North America
Professional outdoor leagues
''Major''
*
National Football League
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 majo ...
(NFL), 1920–
::Originally American Professional Football Conference, American Professional Football Association (1920–1921)
::
Merged
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
with the
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. ...
(1960–69)
*
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a c ...
(CFL), 1958– (Grey Cup Canadian Football Championships since 1909)
::Formed from
Interprovincial Rugby Football Union
The East Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League, its counterpart being the West Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the East Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagues.
T ...
(1909) and
Western Interprovincial Football Union
The West Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League (CFL), its counterpart being the East Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the West Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagu ...
(1936).
''Other''
*
XFL, 2020; 2023–
*
Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional
The Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (Professional American Football League), commonly known simply as LFA, is a professional american football spring league in Mexico, founded in 2016. Starting with four teams, the LFA has since expanded t ...
(LFA), 2016–
*
United States Football League
The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
, 2022–
Professional arena/indoor leagues
*
Indoor Football League
The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams am ...
, (14 teams) 2009–
::Formed from
United Indoor Football
United Indoor Football (UIF) was an indoor football league in the United States that operated from 2005 to 2008. Ten owners from the National Indoor Football League, including one expansion (the Dayton Warbirds, which never played a game in UIF) ...
and
Intense Football League
The Intense Football League (IFL) was a professional indoor football minor league that began operations in 2004. Its focus was in Texas, but it was notable for being the first professional football league to place a franchise in Alaska.
History
...
*
Champions Indoor Football
Champions Indoor Football (CIF) is a professional indoor American football minor league created in 2014 out of the merger between the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) and Lone Star Football League (LSFL), plus one team fr ...
, (7 teams) 2015–
::Formed from
Champions Professional Indoor Football League
The Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) was an indoor football minor league based along the Midwestern United States region. The league began play in February 2013. In August 2014, the CPIFL and Lone Star Football League (LSFL) ...
and
Lone Star Football League
The Lone Star Football League (LSFL) was a regional professional indoor football minor league that played three seasons from 2012 to 2014. All of the LSFL's charter teams were based in the state of Texas, with five teams coming from the Southern ...
*
National Arena League
The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. It consists of teams based on the East Coast of the United States.
Teams' typical payroll budget is $600,000 per season, while players are paid $ ...
, (8 teams) 2017–
*
American West Football Conference, (4 teams) 2019–
*
Fan Controlled Football, (8 teams) 2021–
*
American Indoor Football Alliance
The American Indoor Football Alliance (AIFA) is a minor-professional American indoor football league based in the United States.
Teams' typical operating budget is $500,000 with a $90,000 payroll budget per season. Players are paid up to $200 ...
, (4 teams) 2022–
*
Arena Football Association
The Arena Football Association (AFA) is a professional indoor football league based in Texas, Kansas and Mississippi, United States. The league began operation in June 2021 with five teams, known that season as the Lone Star Series. The league ...
, (4 teams) 2022–
Current Developmental leagues
*
Gridiron Developmental Football League
The Gridiron Developmental Football League (GDFL) is a low-level american football minor league based in Memphis, Tennessee, using the franchise model.
, the league has 63 teams. The GDFL plays a playoff format similar to NCAA tournament, as 16 ...
,
2010–
*
Rivals Professional Football League
The Rivals Professional Football League (RPFL) is a low-level american football minor league owned by Quentin Hines and consisting of 12 teams in Michigan, Florida and Georgia.
Since December 2021, the league arranged additional "College Bowl" s ...
,
2015–
Current semi-professional leagues
*
Chicagoland Football League
The Chicagoland Football League is a football league based in Chicago. It has 12 teams. The league was founded on May 31, 1917, and has the distinction of having never added or changed any of its teams. The league was dormant from 1935 to 2004 the ...
, 1917–1934, 2005–
*
Northern Football Conference
The Northern Football Conference (NFC) is a semi-professional Canadian football league with franchises based primarily in Ontario, Canada. The league consists of eight teams and runs from May until mid-August. It's the oldest running senior amat ...
, 1954–
*
Eastern Football League, 1961–
*
Empire Football League, 1969–
*
Mason-Dixon Football League, 1978–
*
Alberta Football League, 1984–
*
The Minor Football League
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
, 1993–
*
New England Football League
The New England Football League (NEFL) is a semi-professional american football league based in Salisbury, Massachusetts and owned by Thomas Torrisi. It is the largest semi-professional league in New England. The NEFL was founded in 1994 and was a ...
, 1994–
*
National Public Safety Football League
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
, 1997–
*
Rocky Mountain Football League, 1997–
*
MidStates Football League, 1999–
*
Maritime Football League, 2001–
*
The Pacific Coast Football League
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
, 2006–
*
Florida Football Alliance
The Florida Football Alliance (FFA) is an American football minor league based out of Boynton Beach, Florida. Founded in May 2007, the league opened its first season of operation on January 19, 2008 and remains the oldest continuous operating orga ...
, 2007–
*
Northern Elite Football League
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a r ...
, 2008–
*
Atlantic Coast Football Alliance
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
, 2009–
*
Amateur to Professional Developmental Football League
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
,
2012–
*
American 7s Football League, 2014–
*
Puerto Rico American Football League, 2014–
*
North Louisiana Football Alliance, 2019–
Current Flag football leagues
*
National Gay Flag Football League
National Gay Flag Football League (NGFFL) is a nonprofit LGBT flag football league, currently comprising 200 teams in 22 leagues in the United States and Canada.
History
The NGFFL was founded by Jim Buzinski and Cyd Zeigler in 2002. Teams c ...
, 2002-
*
DC Gay Flag Football League
DC Gay Flag Football League (DCGFFL) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit LGBT flag football league consisting of 20 teams in Washington, D.C. It is a member of Team DC, which provides a network of sporting outlets for the LGBT community of the Washingto ...
, 2009-
*
American Flag Football League
The American Flag Football League is a semi-professional flag football league started in 2017. The league was founded by Jeff Lewis in May 2017. Lewis spent nine months building the league, getting investors, setting the rules, and finding player ...
, 2018-
Current Collegiate and amateur leagues
*
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
, 1906–
*
National Federation of State High School Associations
The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) is the body that writes the rules of competition for most high school sports and activities in the United States. NFHS's headquarters are located in White River State Park in Ind ...
, 1920–
*
California Community College Athletic Association
The California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) is a sports association of community colleges in the U.S. state of California. It oversees 108 athletic programs throughout the state. The organization was formed in 1929 as the Calif ...
, 1929–
*
Collegiate Sprint Football League
Sprint football, formerly called lightweight football, is a varsity sport played by United States colleges and universities, under standard American football rules. As of the 2022 season, the sport is governed by the Collegiate Sprint Football ...
, 1934–
*
National Junior College Athletic Association
The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...
, 1938–
*
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its st ...
, 1940–
*
U Sports
U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the C ...
, 1961–
*
Quebec Junior Football League The Quebec Junior Football League (QJFL) is a junior Canadian football competition held in Quebec, Canada since 1970, as a successor to the Quebec Juvenile Football League. It began competition as a conference of the Canadian Junior Football Leagu ...
, 1970–
*
Canadian Junior Football League, 1974–
*
Organización Nacional Estudiantil de Fútbol Americano
The National Student Organization of American Football ( or ''ONEFA'') is the major college football league in Mexico.
American football has been played in Mexico since the early 1920s in different colleges and universities, mainly in Mexico Cit ...
, 1978–
*
Atlantic Football League, 2009–
*