The Women's National Football Conference (WNFC) is a professional, 11-on-11, full-contact women's American football league in the United States. With teams across the U.S., the WNFC had its first on-field game in 2019 with fourteen regular teams and one exhibition team.
The league's fist championship game, known as the IX Cup, was won by the Texas Elite Spartans. They have also won the most championships of any team in the league.
The WNFC's sponsorship partners have included Adidas, Riddell, Dove, and Dick's Sporting Goods.
League history The Women's National Football Conference was founded by former Women's Football Alliance (WFA) player and then coach Odessa Jenkins in 2018, with its inaugural season in 2019.
On December 10, 2018, the WNFC announced a partnership with Adidas, as part of the latter's "She Breaks Barriers" initiative. As part of the partnership, Adidas serves as the WNFC's presenting sponsor, with all WNFC teams wearing custom-made Adidas uniforms.
2019 The WNFC played its inaugural season in 2019 with fourteen regular teams and one exhibition team. Five teams came to the WNFC from the Independent Women's Football League (IWFL), which folded after its 2018 season: the Utah Falconz, Texas Elite Spartans, the San Diego Surge, the Seattle Majestics, and the Los Angeles Bobcats. Three teams came from the WFA: the Atlanta Phoenix, the Alabama Fire, and the San Diego Rebellion. Two teams came from the U.S. Women's Football League (USWFL): the North Florida Pumas and the Houston Heat. Finally, five teams were playing their inaugural seasons: the Nebraska Nite Hawks, the Las Vegas Silver Stars, the Denver Bandits, the New Orleans Hippies, and the Phoenix Prowlers.
The season began on April 6 and ended with the inaugural IX Cup (named in honor of Title IX) on June 29, which saw the Texas Elite Spartans defeat the Utah Falconz 19–14.
In October 2019, the WNFC launched the anti-bullying, girls empowerment program, Got Her Back.
2020 The WNFC added seven teams for the 2020 season: three from the WFA, two from the USWFL, and three expansion teams. This brought the league to 20 teams. No games were played due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In May 2020, it was announced that the WNFC had received the Adidas + iFundWomen grant. Three Stripes, along with sports equipment company Riddell, would outfit the teams for their sophomore season in 2021.
2021 In 2021, the WNFC and streaming platform VYRE Network entered into a multi-year contract to stream all of the league's games for the 2022 season.
The league partnered with Promus Diagnostic to provided weekly COVID-19 testing for players and staff starting April 1, 2021. The WNFC returned to play with 20 teams on May 1, 2021. According to VYRE, the first week saw the highest viewership numbers of the season, with 363,513 impressions logged.
The season ended with Texas Elite Spartans defeating the San Diego Rebellion 27–6 on August 9, at UNT Apogee Stadium in Denton, Texas. The championship game was watched by 21,312 users.
2022 The WNFC played Week 1 of its 2022 season on April 2. The league had added a new team, the Los Angeles Legends, in the fall of 2021 with their inaugural season being 2022. The season ended with the Texas Elite Spartans defeating the Utah Falconz 48–12. The championship game was watched by 77,546 users, over 50,000 more users than the previous year's.
It was reported that viewership across all Vyre Network platforms had increased by 475% from 2021, throughout the course of the 2022 season.
In June 2022, Dick's Sporting Goods became an official retail partner of the WNFC.
2023 For the 2023 season, the WNFC launched its own direct-to-consumer streaming service, wScore, in which all games would be available. Live and on-demand coverage of select games was also available through a partnership with Caffeine TV.
The WNFC played Week 1 of its 2023 season on April 1. The league had added a new team, the Tennessee Trojans, bringing the total number of teams to 18. The season ended with the Texas Elite Spartans defeating the Mississippi Lady Panthers 49–7.
According to Caffeine, there were over 700,000 views on the platform within the first week and 10 million streams across all league content.
2024 Before the start of the 2024 season, it was announced that Caffeine had expanded its content rights agreement with the WNFC. It was also announced that the WNFC had secured a five-year (2024–2028) deal with sports streaming platform DAZN.
The WNFC played Week 1 of its 2024 season on April 6. All games were streamed on Caffeine and DAZN. The season ended with the Mississippi Lady Panthers defeating the Texas Elite Spartans 13–6.
On May 9, 2024, the WNFC announced a partnership with Gridiron Football.
On November 24, 2024, the WNFC announced it had raised $1 million in seed funding.
2025 In February 2025, Got Her Back, the WNFC's official charity, and ReNEW Schools held a free Girls’ Football and Empowerment Camp open to girls ages 8–18 on the eve of the NFL's Super Bowl LIX. The event also marked the start of the WNFC’s partnership with beauty brand Dove.
The WNFC played Week 1 of its 2025 season on March 29. The league had added three new teams that season: the Jersey Shore Wave, the Atlanta Truth, and the Chicago Winds.
The WNFC does not pay its players salaries. However, as of mid-2025, it planned to give $20,000 to the championship team and had budgeted to pay weekly and season award-winners.
In June 2025, the IX Cup game was the first WNFC game to be broadcast on ESPN2. It reached 150,000 viewers. The Texas Elite Spartans beat the Washington Prodigy 21–19.
In October 2025, the WNFC announced it was expanding its flag football program to all 16 WNFC markets.
In December 2025, it was announced that the partnership between the WNFC and Adidas had been extended through 2028.
2026 For the 2026 season, WNFC games were available on Victory+, a free ad-supported streaming service. The WNFC played Week 1 of its 2026 season on March 28. The league had added a new team, the Golden State Storm, making for 16 teams.
In June 2026, it was announced that the WNFC's contract with ESPN had been extended.
The season ended with the Texas Elite Spartans defeating the San Diego Rebellion 34–14.
Rules of play
WNFC games are played 11-on-11 in full gear (pads and helmets) under NCAA college football rules with 12-minute quarters. Teams play an eight-game regular season and are divided into three conferences: Atlantic, Central, and Pacific.
Some WNFC rules differ from those of the NCAA , specifically:
After a touchdown, the scoring team has options for a one-, two-, or three-point extra point. Scores by the defense are worth nine points, instead of the usual six points. This is also called a "Pick IX", a reference to Title IX. Kickoffs are made from the 45-yard line.
Current teams
Team Location Venue Head coach Founded JoinedAtlanta TruthLawrenceville, GeorgiaCentral Gwinnett High SchoolKameron Marks20242025Chicago WindsElmhurst, IllinoisPerspectives High School of TechnologyAllan Williams20242024Florida AvengersJacksonville, FloridaFirst Coast High SchoolDamien Grimes20192020Jersey Shore WavePaterson, New JerseyHinchliffe StadiumFabian Alesandro20242024Kansas City GloryOverland Park, KansasRobert L. Hicks FieldKeKe Blackmon20192019Las Vegas Silver StarsLas Vegas, NevadaMater Academy Football StadiumCarrie Walters20172019Los Angeles LegendsGardena, CaliforniaLong Beach Polytechnic High SchoolMonique Moe Adams and Tim Holmes20212022Mississippi Panthershttps://www.mpbonline.org/television/mississippi-roads/ Mississippi Roads episode Wise, Wilfull, Women February 13, 2022Madison, MississippiMadison Ridgeland AcademyLeSteven Jackson20182020Golden State StormOakland, CaliforniaLaney FieldDallas Hartwell20262026Oregon RavensMilwaukie, OregonMilwaukie High SchoolTim Price20192019San Diego RebellionEscondido, CaliforniaEscondido High SchoolKnengi Martin20172019Seattle MajesticsKent, WashingtonFrench FieldRodney McCurry20022019Tennessee TrojansNashville, TennesseeRossview High SchoolKim Corbett20222023Texas Elite SpartansLewisville, TexasMaverick StadiumOdessa Jenkins20172019Utah FalconzMurray, UtahCottonwood High SchoolKeith Barnes20142019Washington ProdigyWashington, D.C.Theodore Roosevelt Senior High SchoolLaMont Jordan20122020
Map of teams
Former teams
Houston Mambas — Played in the WNFC from 2022–2025 Denver Bandits — Played in the WNFC from 2019–2025 New Orleans Hippies — Played in the WNFC in 2019 North Florida Pumas — Played in the WNFC in 2019 San Diego Surge — Played in the WNFC in 2019 Nebraska Nite Hawks — Played in the WNFC from 2019–2021 Carolina Queens — Played in the WNFC in 2021 Los Angeles Bobcats — Played in the WNFC from 2019–2021 Alabama Fire — Played in the WNFC from 2019–2022, now a member of the WFA Phoenix Prowlers — Played in the WNFC from 2019–2022 La Muerte De Las Cruces — Played in the WNFC from 2021–2022 Atlanta Phoenix — Played in the WNFC from 2019–2024 Philly Phantomz — Played in the WNFC from 2018–2024
Timeline
IX Cup YearTitleHome teamAway teamScoreRef. 2019 2019 IX Cup Texas Elite Spartans Utah Falconz 19–14 2020 No games played due to COVID-19 2021 2021 IX Cup Texas Elite Spartans San Diego Rebellion 27–6 2022 2022 IX Cup Texas Elite Spartans Utah Falconz 48–14 2023 2023 IX Cup Texas Elite Spartans Mississippi Panthers 49–720242024 IX CupTexas Elite SpartansMississippi Panthers6–1320252025 IX CupTexas Elite SpartansWashington Prodigy21–1920262026 IX CupTexas Elite SpartansSan Diego Rebellion34–14
References
External links Official website