American Indoor Football Alliance
American sports league
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The American Indoor Football Alliance (AIFA) was a minor-professional American indoor football league in the United States.[1]
| |
| Sport | Indoor football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2021 |
| First season | 2022 |
| Ceased | 2023 |
| No. of teams | 7 |
| Country | United States |
| Last champion | Columbus Lions (2023) |
| Official website | www |
Teams' typical operating budget was $500,000 with a $90,000 payroll budget per season. Players were paid up to $200 per game, with a $25 bonus for participating in charity events within their local communities. Most teams offered players housing during the season.[2]
History
After the 2021 American Arena League season concluded, four members of the East Division (Carolina Predators, Tampa Bay Tornadoes, Pennsylvania Union and Mississippi Raiders) announced that they would leave the AAL to form a new league, after league president and commissioner Tony Zefiretto had sold the league to the ownership.[3]
The league played its first season in 2022, while the Mississippi Raiders defeat the Las Vegas Kings 55–12 to claim the Inaugural AIFA Championship.[4][5][6]
For the 2023 season, AIFA had an inter-league scheduling agreement with the American West Football Conference.[7][8] The Columbus Lions won the league championship after completing an undefeated season and beating Mississippi Raiders 55 to 10 in AIFA Championship.[9][10][11]
In late 2023 most of the teams left to join different leagues and the AIFA website was shut down.
Teams
Teams that participated or were listed as members in the 2023 season.
| Team | Home city | Home venue | Capacity | Founded | Joined | Head coach | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina Predators[12] | Fayetteville, North Carolina | traveling team | TBD | 2018 | 2021 | AAL2 | |
| Columbus Lions[13] | Columbus, Georgia | Columbus Civic Center | 7,573 | 2007 | 2022 | Chris McKinney | AIF |
| Capital City Cyclones | Tallahassee, Florida | traveling team | TBD | 2019 | 2021 | Stevie Thomas | IFA |
| Las Vegas Kings | Bullhead City, Arizona | Anderson Auto Group Fieldhouse | 2021 | 2021 | Chris Wallace | IFA | |
| Mississippi Raiders[14] | Batesville, Mississippi | Paul Battle Arena & Exposition Center | 6,500 | 2019 | 2021 | Montra Edwards | AIF |
| South Florida Thunder | Palm Beach, Florida | Margate Sports Complex | TBD | 2019[15] | 2022 | TBD | |
| Dallas Falcons | San Antonio, Texas | M.Vidrio Soccer Complex [16] | 2022 | 2023 | Bryan Kensky | AAL2 |
Former teams
- Pennsylvania Union (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) — Was part of the original teams joined from the AAL, but then was not included in 2022 alignment. Now a member of American Indoor Football as of 2026.
- St. Charles Bandits (St. Charles, Missouri) — Joined from the AAL for the 2022 season, but never played a game.[17]
- Texas Pride (Garland, Texas) – Was part of the announced teams of the crossover games with the American West Football Conference (AWFC) for the 2023 season, but then was not included in the league standings.[18]