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Arena Football Association

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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
First season2021
No. of teams4
CountryUnited States
HeadquartersNYC
Most recent
champion(s)		West Texas Warbirds (2021)
TV partner(s)FloSports (streaming)
Official websitearenafa.com

The Arena Football Association (AFA) was a professional indoor football league based in Texas, Kansas and Mississippi, 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]

As of 2023, the league's website inactive and there have been no further developments.

History

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2021 season

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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

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As of the league's 2022 season, there were 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] After the first week, the North Texas Bulls were kicked from the league after their first home game for not meeting league standards.

The league's regular season schedule ran from April through June, with playoffs in July and a championship game scheduled for July 23.[10] North Texas Bulls joined from the American Arena League but were expelled from the league after only one game. The league planned 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] This would not happen, as the AFA cited scheduling conflicts, and decided to hold a postseason "bowl game" style matchup instead.[12] The Wichita Force would beat the Magnolia State Spartans 52-6 at the Wichita Ice Center for the AFA Cup.

Standings

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2022 Arena Football Association[13]
Team W L PCT
West Texas Warbirds 6 0 1.000
Wichita Force 6 2 .750
Texas Jets 2 1 .667
Magnolia State Spartans[14] 2 4 .333
Rio Grande Valley Dorados 0 2 .000

Teams

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Source:[15]

Team Home city Home venue Capacity Head coach Website
Magnolia State Spartans Philadelphia, Mississippi Neshoba County Coliseum 2,500 Dexter Allen ms-spartans.com.footballshift.com
Rio Grande Valley Dorados Hidalgo, Texas traveling team - Bennie King rgv-dorados.com
Texas Jets Humble, Texas Humble Civic Center Arena 7,500 texasjets.org
Wichita Force Wichita, Kansas Wichita Ice Center 1,000 Ene Akpan wichitaforce.com

Former teams

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References

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  1. ^ a b 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. ^ "AFA Cup by the Arena Football Association" (Press release).
  13. ^ "AFA Standings". AFA. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  14. ^ "Magnolia State Spartans Bring Fast-Paced Arena Football to Central Mississippi". Mississippi free press. 14 April 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  15. ^ "Arena Football Association Announces Inaugural 2022 Schedule". rgv-dorados.com. February 23, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  16. ^ "Amarillo Venom up for sale, will not compete in 2022 Arena Football Association season".
  17. ^ "North Texas Bulls removed from the Arena Football Association".
  18. ^ "Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report". 15 August 2022.
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