The American Indoor Football Alliance (AIFA) was a minor-professional American indoor football league in the United States.
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.
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.
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.
For the 2023 season, AIFA had an inter-league scheduling agreement with the American West Football Conference. The Columbus Lions won the league championship after completing an undefeated season and beating Mississippi Raiders 55 to 10 in AIFA Championship.
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 Fayetteville, North Carolina traveling team 2018 2021 Ralph Byrd AAL2 Columbus Lions Columbus, Georgia Columbus Civic Center 7,573 2007 2022 Chris McKinney AIF Capital City Cyclones Tallahassee, Florida traveling team 2019 2021 Stevie Thomas IFA Las Vegas Kings Bullhead City, Arizona Anderson Auto Group Fieldhouse 7,000 2021 2021 Chris Wallace IFA Mississippi Raiders Batesville, Mississippi Paul Battle Arena & Exposition Center 6,500 2019 2021 Montra Edwards AIF South Florida Thunder Palm Beach, Florida Margate Sports Complex TBA 2019 2022 Taliferro James Jr Folded Dallas Falcons San Antonio, Texas M.Vidrio Soccer Complex TBA 2022 2023 Bryan Kensky AAL2
Former teams Florida Fear (Bradenton, Florida) - Was part of announced teams, but never played Memphis Beatz (Memphis, Tennessee) - Was part of announced teams, but never played 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. 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.
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