Will Birmingham play in Major League Football?
April 2020
At some point during the month, a website appears claiming Major League Football (MLF), a new
outdoor professional football league, will begin play this September. Birmingham
is listed as a potential target city.
The name of the new league is certainly interesting in that there has been
another proposed Major League
Football (MLFB) since 2015. Early on, MLFB also targeted Birmingham as a
possible franchise location. MLFB recently claimed to have purchased most of the
equipment owned by the
Alliance of American Football, which played 8 weeks in 2019 before folding.
The city had a team in the AAF named the
Birmingham Iron.
Another interesting item is the new MLF claims to own the trademark to "Major
League Football" and is in no way affiliated with any other organization or
group who has operated under the name Major League Football in the past.
No announcement has been made regarding the league's creators or current leadership.
MLF is aiming for 32 teams that will be spread across the country
with most of them located in the top 50 television markets. Each
franchise will be owned and operated by one or more owners. The league says it
has spent the past year seeking availability of playing sites for each
franchise. In addition to Birmingham, the other sites listed are New
York, Portland, New Jersey, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, San
Antonio, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Dallas, Cincinnati, Oakland, Austin, San
Jose, Las Vegas, Washington, Houston, Kentucky, Atlanta, New Orleans, Miami,
Memphis, Orlando, Arkansas, Cleveland, South Carolina, Sacramento,
Mississippi, St. Louis, and Oklahoma.
Unlike the two former spring football leagues that have recently launched and failed, the
AAF last year and the new XFL this year, this league plans to play in the fall.
The league claims they are not a secondary or inferior league to any other
professional football league. Their intention is to have the very best players,
coaches, and staff.
There will be fewer changes to the rules of MLF games as compared to other
professional football leagues. Also, there will be less penalties in order to
speed up the pace and increase the excitement of the game. Another goal is more
affordable tickets and lower concession prices.
MLF has a daunting schedule ahead of them. They plan to have all the franchises
sold by the end of May, hold a player draft in June, begin practices and
implement franchises in July and August. Kickoff will be in September.
However, the league cautions that in the event the COVID-19 coronavirus
world-wide pandemic has not been contained in the upcoming months, they will
push their inaugural season to the fall of 2021.
August 2020
At some point during the month, the league's website proclaims their inaugural
season will be in the fall of 2021.
March 2021
At some point during the month, the league's website proclaims their inaugural
season will be in the fall of 2022.
September 2022
At some point during the month, the league's website proclaims their inaugural
season will be in the fall of 2023.
MLF had previously listed 32 proposed markets across the country, but that has
now been scaled back to 18 teams. There will be two conferences, Eastern and
Western, and each conference will be divided into three team North, South, and
Central divisions.
The Birmingham team is listed in the South Division of the Eastern Conference.
Contact Gene Crowley
Last update: September 13, 2022