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September 2014 |
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In a press release, the
North American Football
League announces that Birmingham will have a
franchise in the league's inaugural season in
the spring of 2015.
Other cities named
are: Columbus (OH) Flight, Hartford (CT)
Merchantmen, Kentucky Thoroughbreds, Memphis
(TN) Kings, North Carolina Redwolves, Orlando
(FL) Sentinels, and the Virginia Crusaders. The
Kentucky team will be based in Louisville, the
North Carolina team will be based in
Raleigh-Durham, and the Virginia team will be
based in Richmond. The league plans to
ultimately field 16 teams across the country by
2019, expanding every two years by four teams.
The local team will be named the
Birmingham Freedom. Team colors will be red,
dark blue and medium blue. The league's website
states the team name and colors are symbolic of
the role Birmingham played in the civil rights
movement of the 1950's and 1960's.
NAFL
Enterprises President Christopher White doesn't
believe this is the next
XFL, which folded after a season in 2001.
Some of the NAFL's objectives, however, will be
the same as what World Wrestling Federation
owner Vince McMahon and others, such as the
defunct All American Football League, have tried
to achieve. "First and foremost, this is an
entertainment business. But we want to create an
environment similar to an NFL or NCAA game with
our professionalism," White said.
For at
least the first four years of operation, the
NAFL's teams will be owned by the league, which
White said is in the process of becoming
publicly traded. Investors will be able to buy
into as much as 49 percent of a club and
purchase a larger share once the league has some
stability. When expansion is complete after the
first four years, team owners will own and
operate the league with an appointed
commissioner. Currently, each team owner has or
will have minority ownership and is responsible
for hiring internal football and business
operations staff.
NAFL seasons will start
in May and run to late July, which is before
players report to NFL camps, giving the league's
players the chance to return to the top level
each year. "We are not a developmental league at
all. In my opinion, the NFL already has a
multi-billion dollar developmental league called
the NCAA, and it's free. We're here to be a
professional spring football league," White
said.
The NAFL will not change the way
football is played. It will be American rules
football with no "gimmicky" rules. But it will
amp up the entertainment factor. "We want to
incorporate more of a fan experience. We will
bring technology to the fans, and fans will do
things like help draft and help call plays.
There will also be entertainment before and
after the games, with concerts by well-known
artists. We want it to be all about the fans.
When you come to the game with your family,
you'll enjoy the experience and entertainment
and, oh also, there is a great football game
going on," White said. The league is also
debuting a sports network, which will provide
live streaming and broadcasts of NAFL games as
well as reality-based programs on teams.
Drafts for the NAFL will be held annually.
The first year will be a lottery draft. Each
team will have one pick in each round. Each year
the NAFL will hold eight regional combines for
interested players to showcase their talent for
league personnel. Players will be selected from
the regional combines to be entered into the
draft pool. Teams will have an active roster of
46 players and a practice squad of 7 players. In
order to capture and engage the overseas fan
base, each team will have a minimum of one
foreign player on their roster.
The NAFL
has completed the financing phase and is now in
the in process of executing business and
marketing plans. The NAFL has been working
quietly behind the scenes for the past four
years putting together a solid foundation to
ensure league viability for years to come.
"One of the biggest pieces of the puzzle was
putting a team in a non-NFL city. And Birmingham
definitely fits our league. Looking at the
markets, people from Alabama and Birmingham are
big on football. They want to be fans of
something," White said. |
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April 2015 |
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The NAFL announces that the league's Board of
Directors has decided to postpone their
inaugural season to 2016. |
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