The list of spring-football leagues just keeps on getting longer. The Arena Football League (AFL) just announced it will relaunch in 2024, following the United States Football League’s return in 2022 and the XFL’s expected return in 2023.
The AFL made the announcement in a short statement posted on social media that included a quote from league Commissioner Lee Hutton III that simply stated: “We’re back.”
According to the AFL president Anthony Rossi, the AFL will return with 16 teams and will play a 10-game season.
“We believe we have assembled a world-class, operational team made up of C-Suite executives, expert sports trainers, football personnel, performance facilities, legal partners, professional team owners, and former athletes,” Rossi said in a statement.
Further details, including the host cities and the name of the teams, are expected to be revealed at a later date.
Arena Football League first launched in 1987 and was played in relative obscurity until the 2000s. The league saw a heightened interest in the new millennium, mainly thanks to the fact that Kurt Warner, future Hall of Fame quarterback, played in AFL before making his way to the NFL and leading the St. Louis Rams to a Super Bowl win.
AFL enjoyed modest success in the early 2000s, but its popularity eventually declined to the point that the 2009 season was completely canceled. The league returned in 2010 and endured 10 more seasons before folding in 2019 and filing for bankruptcy.
