Arena football is a variety of gridiron football designed to be played indoors. The game is played on a smaller field than American or Canadian football, designed to fit in the same surface area as a standard North American ice hockey rink, and features between six and eight players for each team playing at any given time depending on the league, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game that can be played on the floors of indoor arenas. The sport was invented in 1981, and patented in 1987, by Jim Foster, a former executive of the National Football League and the United States Football League. The name is trademarked by Gridiron Enterprises and had a proprietary format until its patent expired in 2007.
The Amarillo Dusters are a professional indoor football team based in Amarillo, Texas, currently a member of the National Arena League. They play their home games at the Amarillo Civic Center. The Venom began play in 2004 as a charter member of the Intense Football League, a small indoor football league based in Texas. They won the championship in their first and only season with the Intense Football League.
The Omaha Beef are a professional indoor football team based in Omaha, Nebraska. The Beef plays their home games at Liberty First Credit Union Arena in nearby Ralston. The Beef competes in the National Arena League (NAL). The Beef has been a member of several leagues, including being a charter member of Champions Indoor Football (CIF).
American Indoor Football (AIF) is a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America.
The Billings Outlaws were a professional league indoor football team based in Billings, Montana. They were a member of the Indoor Football League (IFL), of which they were the 2-time defending champions. They played their home games at Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark. Their games were broadcast live locally on News Talk 910 KBLG AM and online through Teamline.
The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams among indoor football leagues. As of the 2024 season, the league consists of 16 teams in two conferences with each team playing 16 games over 19 weeks.
The Dodge City Law were a professional indoor football team based in Dodge City, Kansas, with home games at the United Wireless Arena. The team joined the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) in 2013 as an expansion member for the 2014 season. In 2014, the CPIFL merged with the Lone Star Football League (LSFL) to form Champions Indoor Football (CIF). The branding was used again for the 2021 season as a replacement team before an expansion team was granted to the Southwest Kansas Storm for the 2022 season.
Champions Indoor Football (CIF) was a professional indoor American football minor league created in 2014 out of the merger between the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) and Lone Star Football League (LSFL), plus one team from the Indoor Football League and two expansion teams.
The 2015 Indoor Football League season was the seventh season of the Indoor Football League. Playing with ten teams in two conferences located in mid-sized cities predominantly in the central United States, the league's regular season kicked off on February 28, 2015, when the reigning league champion Sioux Falls Storm travelled to the Bemidji Axemen. The regular season ended 16 weeks later on June 20, 2015, with the Green Bay Blizzard visiting the Iowa Barnstormers. The playoffs were held in two rounds with the top two teams in each conference facing off in a conference championship game followed by the winners of those games meeting in the United Bowl.
The Salina Liberty are a professional indoor football team based in Salina, Kansas. They began play in 2016 as members of the Champions Indoor Football (CIF) and played in the Arena Football League in 2024. In 2025, they will become inaugural members of the newly-formed Arena Football One. The team plays their home games at the Tony’s Pizza Events Center.
The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. As of the end of the 2024 season, the league consisted of five teams.
The Oklahoma Flying Aces are a dormant professional indoor football team based in Enid, Oklahoma, and members of the National Arena League (NAL). The team was founded in 2018 as an expansion franchise in Champions Indoor Football for the 2019 season. The team was dormant for the 2021 season, but did not return for the 2022 season. The Flying Aces joined the National Arena League for the 2024 season but became dormant before the season was completed.
The West Texas Desert Hawks were a professional indoor football team and an inaugural member of the relaunched Arena Football League. The Desert Hawks were based in Odessa, Texas, with home games at the Ector County Coliseum. The team played their first several seasons as the West Texas Warbirds.
The Billings Outlaws are a professional indoor football team that began play as a member of Champions Indoor Football for the 2022 season. Based in Billings, Montana, the Outlaws play their home games at MetraPark First Interstate Arena. For 2024, they have been announced as members of the revived Arena Football League. They are the 2024 AFL champions, defeating the Albany Firebirds 46–41 at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In 2025, they will become inaugural members of the newly-formed Arena Football One.
The Rapid City Marshals were a professional indoor football team based in Rapid City, South Dakota. The Marshals played their home games at the Summit Arena at The Monument. They began as an expansion team in Champions Indoor Football in 2022 and played in that league until 2023. They became members of the revived Arena Football League and began play in 2024 before folding midseason among labor strife tied to a wider league instability.
The Topeka Tropics were a professional indoor football based in Topeka, Kansas, and played their home games at the Stormont Vail Events Center. The team originally folded after its inaugural 2022 season, but was renewed under new ownership before the 2023 season. The Tropics are the third indoor football team to be based in Topeka following the Topeka Knights/Kings (1999–2000) and the Kansas Koyotes (2003–2014).
The Southwest Kansas Storm are a professional indoor football team based in Dodge City, Kansas. Members of Champions Indoor Football (CIF) from 2022 to 2023, they were announced as members of the revived Arena Football League (AFL) for the 2024 season. In 2025, they will become inaugural members of the newly-formed Arena Football One.
The Iowa Rampage were a professional arena football team based in Council Bluffs, Iowa. They were announced as one of the inaugural teams for the revived Arena Football League (AFL).
The Wichita Regulators are a professional indoor football team based in Park City, Kansas. They were announced as one of the inaugural teams for the revived Arena Football League (AFL) for 2024, beginning play as an independent semi-pro team in 2023 at Hartman Arena. In 2025, they will become inaugural members of the newly-formed Arena Football One.
Arena Football One is a future professional arena football league based in Nashville, Tennessee, set to play in 2025. The league was founded by the eight teams who had survived the 2024 Arena Football League season, effectively serving as a reorganization of the 2024 revival of the Arena Football League.
