Arena football is a variety of eight-man indoor gridiron football. The game is played indoors 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, 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 Sioux City Bandits are a professional indoor football team based in Sioux City, Iowa, and compete as a member of National Arena League (NAL). The team was founded in 1999 as the Sioux City Attack. In 2001, the team assumed their current name of the Bandits. The Bandits play their home games at the Tyson Events Center.
The Blue Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Loveland, Colorado, 55 mi (89 km) northeast of Denver. It has 24 luxury suites, 777 club seats and 6,800 general admission seats. The arena is located on The Ranch Events Complex and is owned by Larimer County, Colorado. The facility and ticket sales are managed by OVG360. It is home to the AHL Colorado Eagles ice hockey team and is the former home of the Colorado Lightning indoor soccer team, the Colorado Chill women's basketball team, and the Denver Dream women's football team. It was also home to the Colorado Ice/Crush indoor football team from 2007 until 2017 and will serve as home of the Colorado Spartans starting in 2024.
American Indoor Football (AIF) is a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America.
The Columbus Lions are a professional indoor football team based in Columbus, Georgia, and are a member of American Indoor Football.
The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, playing their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. As of 2024, they are members of the Indoor Football League (IFL).
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 National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. For the upcoming 2024 season, the league consists of six teams.
The Dayton Wolfpack were a professional indoor football team and a charter member of the National Arena League (NAL) in its inaugural 2017 season. Originally to be based in Dayton, Ohio, the Wolfpack had announced their home venue as the Nutter Center but apparently failed to reach a lease agreement. The Wolfpack were then listed as a traveling team by the NAL.
The American Arena League (AAL) is a professional indoor football minor league that began playing in 2018. The league was initiated by a merger between Arena Pro Football (APF) and the Can-Am Indoor Football League (Can-Am), although the AAL only claimed the APF history after the former Can-Am founder left the league. Teams from both leagues, new teams, and later teams from Supreme Indoor Football and National Arena League constituted the new league for its inaugural season. Since 2023, the league has operated as American Arena League 2 (AAL2), which was originally conceived as the AAL's minor league but has since effectively taken its parent league's place.
The Massachusetts Pirates are a professional indoor football team of the Indoor Football League based in Lowell, Massachusetts, with home games at the Tsongas Center. The Pirates began play in the 2018 season as a member of the National Arena League (NAL).
The Carolina Cobras are a professional indoor football team in the National Arena League (NAL) and that began play for the 2018 season. Based in Greensboro, North Carolina, the Cobras play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex.
The Idaho Horsemen are a professional indoor football team based out of Nampa, Idaho, with home games at the Ford Idaho Center. They are owned by Chris Reynolds from Platinum Events & Security LLC. In 2019, the team owners founded the American West Football Conference. They joined the National Arena League before the 2024 season.
The American West Football Conference (AWFC) was a professional indoor American football minor league created in 2018 by Platinum Events & Security, LLC, the owners of the Idaho Horsemen. The league's inaugural season was in 2019.
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 in 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 Albany Empire was a professional indoor football team based in Albany, New York. They were members of the National Arena League from 2021 to 2023 and played home games at MVP Arena. They are named after the defunct Arena Football League (AFL) team of the same name that won the last ArenaBowl before the AFL folded.
The West Texas Desert Hawks are a professional indoor football team and an inaugural member of the relaunched Arena Football League. The Desert Hawks are 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 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 San Antonio Gunslingers are a professional indoor football team in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The team is based in San Antonio, Texas, where they play home games at Freeman Coliseum. They share their name with the original USFL's team of the same name that played from 1984 to 1985.
The 2024 National Arena League season is the planned seventh season of the National Arena League (NAL). The league will include six teams, five of which are new, with only the Carolina Cobras returning from the previous season.
Current season 
