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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.

March 2023
Late in the month, Major League Football quietly releases a full schedule for their inaugural 2023 season.

A Birmingham team is included in the schedule, but no venue was named.

The schedule includes two new cities, bringing the current total to 20 teams.

The schedule begins on September 10th and features 14 games over a 15 week period.

No other information was released, such as team names or playoff structure.

2023 Proposed Schedule   MLF Birmingham
Date	Opponent
09/10/2023	West Virginia (site TBD)
09/17/2023	Dallas
09/24/2023	at Georgia
10/01/2023	at Virginia
10/15/2023	Mobile
10/22/2023	at New York
10/29/2023	at Connecticut
11/05/2023	North Carolina
11/12/2023	at Rochester
11/19/2023	at South Carolina
11/26/2023	at Connecticut
12/03/2023	at Mobile
12/10/2023	at North Carolina
12/17/2023	Virginia

August 2023
In the first days of the month, Major League Football has postponed their inaugural season to the fall of 2024.

No reason was given.

June 2024
Around the middle of the month, Major League Football has postponed their inaugural season to the fall of 2025.

No reason was given.
Contact Gene Crowley
Last update: June 17, 2024