List of American and Canadian football leagues

This is a list of current and defunct leagues of American football and Canadian football.

Current professional leagues in North America
Professional outdoor leagues:
 * 🇺🇸 National Football League, 1920–
 * Originally American Professional Football Conference, American Professional Football Association (1920–1921)
 * Merged with the American Football League (1960–69)


 * 🇨🇦 Canadian Football League, 1909–
 * Formed from Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (1909) and Western Interprovincial Football Union (1936).


 * 🇲🇽 Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional, 2016–

Professional arena/indoor leagues:
 * 🇺🇸 Arena Football League, (6 active teams and 1 on hiatus) 1987–2008, 2010–
 * 🇺🇸 Indoor Football League, (10 teams) 2009–
 * Formed from United Indoor Football and Intense Football League


 * 🇺🇸 Champions Indoor Football, (7 teams) 2015–
 * Formed from Champions Professional Indoor Football League and Lone Star Football League


 * 🇺🇸 National Arena League, (6 teams) 2017–
 * 🇺🇸 American Arena League, (10 teams) 2018–
 * Formed from Arena Pro Football and Can-Am Indoor Football League


 * 🇺🇸 American West Football Conference, (4 teams) 2019–

Current semi-professional leagues

 * 🇨🇦 Northern Football Conference, 1954–
 * 🇺🇸 Empire Football League, 1969–
 * 🇨🇦 Alberta Football League, 1984–
 * 🇺🇸 New England Football League, 1994–
 * 🇺🇸 Northeastern Football Alliance, 1997–
 * 🇺🇸 Rocky Mountain Football League, 1997–
 * 🇺🇸 Central Football League, 1999–
 * 🇨🇦 Maritime Football League, 2002–
 * 🇺🇸 Minor League Football Association, 2003–
 * 🇺🇸 Big Northeast Football Federation 2007–
 * 🇺🇸 Florida Football Alliance, 2007–
 * 🇺🇸 Oklahoma Metro Football League, 2007–
 * 🇺🇸 Regional American Football League 2007–
 * 🇺🇸 Five Star Football League 2010–
 * 🇺🇸 Gridiron Developmental Football League 2010–
 * 🇺🇸 Atlantic Football Association, 2011–
 * 🇺🇸 Atlantic Coast Football Alliance, 2009– –
 * 🇺🇸 The Spring League, 2017–
 * 🇺🇸 East Coast Football Alliance, 2011–
 * 🇺🇸 American 7s Football League, 2014

Developmental leagues

 * The Spring League, 2017–
 * Your Call Football, May 2018–

Amateur to Professional Developmental Football League
Amateur to Professional Developmental Football League is a amateur developmental American football league primarily in the Southeast based in Dothan, Alabama of 35 teams. Players are not paid to allow them to keep their college eligibility. The league is a nonprofit corporation. There season starts in March.

Bernard Hunt and his wife has purchased a franchise in another developmental league, but were disillusioned with the lack of carry through by the league. So in 2012, Hunt founded the Amateur to Professional Developmental Football League.

In 2018, the P-Town Wreckaz Semi-Pro Football Team moved to the league from the X-Treme South Football League. Also, two other teams were added to the league.

Gridiron Developmental Football League
Gridiron Developmental Football League is a developmental American football league using the franchise model. The league has almost 32 teams.

The Gridiron Developmental Football League was developed while the founder, Charles Thompson, was recovering from a traumatic work injury. In 2010, he thus founded the league in Memphis, Tennessee. After playing 2017, its first season, in the Middle Tennessee Football League and the Mid-South Football Alliance, the Middle Tennessee Bulldawgs moved to the Gridiron Developmental Football League for the 2018 season.

Rivals Professional Football League
The Rivals Professional Football League' is a developmental semi-pro American football league owned by Quentin Hines and consisting of eight teams. Quentin Hines is the grandson of Willie Horton and played briefly football on the New England Patriots team.

The Rivals Professional Football League' was founded by Quentin Hines in 2012. A Toledo team was considered for the initial set of teams, but could not come to term to lease the Glass Bowl with University of Toledo. The league expect attempt to get a team there for season two in 2015. As of February 2014, Hines had announced his league with five teams, Akron Blaze, Chicago Kings, Detroit Cougars, Indianapolis Racers and Southern Michigan Mustangs. At the time, Hines indicated that he was sole owner and would continue as such first the league's first stage before selling franchises.

The league planned to be operating in April 2014 with four teams, two in Detroit and one each in Ohio and Illinois. The league held tryouts in April 2014, held a draft of those that made the cut on April 26 at Mount Clemens High and begun play in May. The Akron Blaze selected Marquelo Suel, a 24-year-old Akron University receiver, as the first pick of the draft. Only two teams played in the first season, Macomb County Bearcats and Detroit Cougars. The Cougars had Anthony Baskins straight from the Indianapolis Colts and Daunte Akra, a 2011 Detroit Lions player, also played for the league in the first season. The first year championship game was broadcast on WADL-TV 38 with ESPN Radio (105.1 FM) broadcasting other games. The Detroit Cougars were first season champions under Coach Wendell Jefferson. 14 league players end up getting the attention of the NFL or CFL with three trying out with a NFL team, one signed with a NFL team and 10 getting CFL workouts.

In April 2015, the league indicated more Michigan teams, Pontiac Generals and Oakland County Racers, with two stadium as game sites, Mt. Clemens High School and Wisner Memorial Stadium in Pontiac. The Generals and Racers would share Wisner as their home field for at least the 2015 season with the Racer looking for another location. Jefferson was named the General's head coach.

Later the league added four teams in Miami. Pontiac Generals player Keith Franklin was signed to the CFL Saskatchewan Rough Riders.

Players are paid based on performance with base salaries of $500 to $1,500 for veterans. The league is targeted for those that have exceed their college eligibility or had no opportunity to play at the college level.

The league owns all teams with a 50 slot roster plus practice squad. The league has four teams in Detroit who play a fall season and four teams in Miami who play a spring season.

Collegiate and amateur leagues

 * 🇺🇸 National Collegiate Athletic Association, 1906–
 * 🇺🇸 National Federation of State High School Associations, 1920–
 * 🇺🇸 California Community College Athletic Association, 1929–
 * 🇺🇸 Collegiate Sprint Football League, 1934–
 * 🇺🇸 National Junior College Athletic Association, 1938–
 * 🇺🇸 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, 1940–
 * 🇺🇸 Intercollegiate Club Football Federation, 2010–
 * 🇺🇸 National Club Football Association, 2010–
 * 🇨🇦 Canadian Junior Football League, 1890–
 * 🇨🇦 National Capital Amateur Football Association, 1955–
 * 🇨🇦 U Sports, 1961–
 * 🇲🇽 ONEFA: Organización Nacional Estudiantil de Fútbol Americano, 1928–
 * 🇲🇽 CONADEIP: Comisión Nacional Deportiva Estudiantil de Instituciones Privadas, 2010–

Women's leagues:


 * 🇺🇸 Independent Women's Football League, 2000–
 * 🇨🇦 Maritime Women's Football League, 2004–
 * 🇲🇽 Football Xtremo Femenil, 2006–
 * 🇺🇸🇨🇦 Legends Football League, 2009–
 * Originally known as the Lingerie Football League from 2009 to 2013.


 * 🇺🇸🇨🇦 Women's Football Alliance, 2009–
 * 🇺🇸 United States Women's Football League, 2010–
 * 🇲🇽 Asociación de Football Femenil Equipado, 2010–
 * 🇨🇦 Western Women's Canadian Football League, 2011–
 * 🇺🇸 Women's Arena Football League, 2012–
 * 🇲🇽 Liga Mexicana de Football Lingerie, 2012–
 * 🇲🇽 Pretty Girls Football League, 2012–
 * 🇲🇽 Liga Iberoamericana de Bikini Football, 2012–
 * 🇲🇽 Women's Football League, 2015–

Planned leagues in North America

 * 🇺🇸 National Gridiron League (United States), proposed to begin in 2020 (Indoor)
 * 🇺🇸 XFL, proposed to begin in 2020
 * 🇺🇸 Freedom Football League, proposed to begin in 2020
 * 🇺🇸 Pacific Pro Football, proposed to begin in 2020
 * 🇺🇸 America South Football Alliance, proposed to begin in 2020 (Semi-Pro)

Spring League of American Football
Spring League of American Football is a proposed spring league of American football expected to consist of eight teams to start play by 2019 or 2020. Executives involved in forming the league included former Madison Square Garden media executive Rex Lardner and Chief Financial Officer Robert Pollichino.

Spring League of American Football (SLAF) was announced by September 2016 with an expected 10 teams. By January 2018, the league was looking for an investment of $100 million thus pushing its first season with eight teams back to 2019 or 2020.

The league had originally split the country into 10 zones for the franchise based in the zone which would draw player from the colleges and high schools in the zone to have ready rivalries. Players must have their college eligibility expired to try out. Team owners would be able to place their team any where in the zone. The season would run from April to July for 10 games plus playoffs. Rules would mirror the NFL's except for overtime rule for which they will use college's.

Historical leagues in North America
Major outdoor leagues:
 * 🇺🇸 Western Pennsylvania Professional Football Circuit, 1892–19406
 * Known as the Western Pennsylvania Senior Independent Football Conference from 1920s onward.


 * 🇺🇸 National Football League (1902) and the World Series of Pro Football, 1902–1903
 * 🇺🇸 Ohio Independent Championship (Ohio League), 1903–19196
 * 🇺🇸 New York Pro Football League, c. 1913–19206
 * 🇺🇸 American Football League, 1926, 1936–1937, 1940–1941, and 1960–19692 (all unrelated, four separate leagues)
 * 🇺🇸 All-America Football Conference, 1946–19491
 * 🇺🇸 World Football League, 1974–1975
 * 🇺🇸 United States Football League, 1983–1985
 * 🇺🇸 XFL, 2001; 2020-
 * 🇺🇸 United Football League, 2009–2012
 * 🇺🇸 Alliance of American Football (2019)

Minor outdoor leagues
 * 🇺🇸 Anthracite League (1924) / Eastern League of Professional Football (1926)
 * 🇺🇸 American Football League, 1934
 * 🇺🇸 Midwest Football League, 1935–1937, became American Professional Football Association in 1938, American Football League in 1939
 * 🇺🇸 Dixie League, 1936–1947 – originally South Atlantic Football Association
 * 🇺🇸 American Association 1936–1941/American Football League 1946–19503
 * 🇺🇸 American Football League, 1938–19394
 * 🇺🇸 Pacific Coast Professional Football League, 1940–1948
 * 🇺🇸 American Football League, 19445
 * 🇺🇸 American Football Conference was a fall semi-professional football league that fully organized in September 1959 with five independent teams who played the other teams sporadically. The original teams were Duquesne Ironmen (Pennsylvania), Melvindale Redskins (Michigan), Toledo Tornadoes, Dayton Triangles (Ohio) and Newark Rams (New Jersey). Players were from both pro and college teams. Teams also end up play in Sarnia, Zaneville (Ohio Colts), Port Huron and Detroit, while Toledo Tornadoes leave for the pro United Football League (1961–1964).
 * 🇺🇸 United Football League, 1961–1964
 * 🇺🇸 Atlantic Coast Football League, 1962–1971, 1973
 * 🇺🇸 Continental Football League, 1965–1969
 * 🇺🇸 North American Football League, 1965–1966
 * 🇺🇸 Seaboard Football League, 1971–1974
 * 🇺🇸 American Football Association, 1978–1983
 * 🇺🇸 International Football League, 1984
 * 🇺🇸 Professional Spring Football League, 1992
 * 🇺🇸 Regional Fooball League was spring development league consisting of six teams. The league lost $6 million and had difficultly playing an eight-game regular season for its only season in 1999. The Ohio Cannon team based in Toledo, Ohio) played only a partial 1999 season.
 * 🇺🇸 International Football Federation, 2000
 * 🇺🇸 Spring Football League Inc. was a spring American football league that only played a April-May 2000 test season of four games. A number of former NFL stars were involved like, Eric Dickerson, Drew Pearson, Bo Jackson and Tony Dorsett. Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and San Antonio were the location of the teams.
 * 🇺🇸 Southern States Football League, 2001–2009
 * 🇺🇸 United Football League, 2009–2012
 * 🇺🇸 Stars Football League, 2011–2013
 * 🇺🇸 Fall Experimental Football League (2014–2015)
 * 1: Two teams now in NFL
 * 2: Agreed to merger with the NFL in 1966, with merger completed in 1970
 * 3: American Association suspended operations for duration of U.S. involvement in World War II; in 1946 the AA was renamed American Football League
 * 4: Known as the American Professional Football Association in 1938; renamed American Football League in 1939; dissolution after 1939 season caused by formation of 1940–1941 AFL major league
 * 5: Merged with PCPFL in 1945
 * 6: Informal association of teams

Indoor leagues
 * 🇺🇸 Professional Indoor Football League, 1998–2000 (Bought out by Af2 in 2001)
 * 🇺🇸 Indoor Football League, 1999–2000 (Bought out by Af2 in 2001;not related to the Indoor Football League that began play in 2009)
 * 🇺🇸 Indoor Professional Football League, 1999–2001
 * 🇺🇸 Arenafootball2 (af2), 2000–2009 (assets acquired in the same transaction as that noted above for Arena Football League)
 * 🇺🇸 National Indoor Football League, 2001–2007
 * 🇺🇸 American Professional Football League, 2003–2013
 * 🇺🇸 Intense Football League, 2004–2008 (merged into current incarnation of the Indoor Football League)
 * 🇺🇸 United Indoor Football, 2005–2008 (merged into current incarnation of the Indoor Football League)
 * 🇺🇸 American Indoor Football, 2005–2010, 2012–2016
 * 🇺🇸 Continental Indoor Football League, 2006–2014
 * 🇺🇸 Eastern Indoor Football League, 2007
 * 🇺🇸 World Indoor Football League, 2007
 * 🇺🇸 Southern Indoor Football League, 2008–2011 (teams divided into either the Lone Star Football League, the Professional Indoor Football League, or American Indoor Football)
 * 🇺🇸 Ultimate Indoor Football League, 2011–2014
 * 🇺🇸 Lone Star Football League, 2012–2014
 * 🇺🇸 Professional Indoor Football League, 2012–2015
 * 🇺🇸 Champions Professional Indoor Football League, 2013–2014
 * 🇺🇸 X-League Indoor Football, 2014–2015

Collegiate and amateur leagues


 * 🇺🇸 Texas Sixman Football League, 1999–2012

Women's leagues
 * 🇺🇸 Women's Professional Football League, 1999–2007
 * 🇺🇸 National Women's Football Association, 2000–2008
 * 🇺🇸 Women's American Football League, formed 2001, became the AFWL in 2002
 * 🇺🇸 American Football Women's League (AFWL), 2002
 * 🇺🇸 Women's Football Association, 2002–2003
 * 🇺🇸 Women's Football League, 2002–2007

Current American football minor and semi professional leagues outside North America
Central and South America: Europe:
 * 🇦🇷 - FAA Football Americano Argentina
 * - CAFL Commonwealth American Football League
 * 🇧🇷 - CBFA Brasil Futebol Americano
 * - FEDFACH Federación Deportiva Nacional de Fútbol Americano de Chile
 * - LCFA Liga Chilena de Football Americano
 * - LUFA Liga Uruguaya de Football Americano
 * - FCFA Federación Costarricense de Futbol Americano
 * - FEFACR Federacion de Futbol Americano de Costa Rica
 * 🇨🇴 - FECOFA Federación Colombiana de Football Americano
 * 🇪🇨 - FFAE Federación de Football Americano - Ecuador
 * - SAAIF Salvadorian Association of American Intramural Football
 * - AGFA Asociación Guatemalteca de Football Americano
 * - HAFF Haitian American Football Federation
 * - FENAFAH Federación Nacional de Football Americano y Flag Football Honduras
 * 🇵🇪 - LIFA Liga Inka de Fútbol Americano


 * - BIG6 BIG6 European Football League
 * - CL IFAF Europe Champions League
 * 🇦🇹 - AFL Austrian Football League
 * 🇧🇪 - BFL Belgian Football League
 * - HFL Hrvatska Football Liga
 * 🇨🇿 - CLAF Česká Liga Amerického Fotbalu
 * - NL National Ligaen
 * 🇫🇮 - VL Vaahteraliiga
 * 🇫🇷 - LEFA Ligue Élite de Football Américain
 * 🇩🇪 - GFL German Football League
 * 🇭🇺 - HFL Hungarian Football League
 * 🇮🇪 - IAFL Irish American Football League
 * 🇮🇸 Iceland - ISAF Icelandic Organization for American Football
 * 🇮🇹 - IFL Italian Football League
 * 🇲🇩 - AFAM Associatia de Fotbal American
 * 🇲🇪 - MAFA Montenegrin American Football Association
 * - AFBN AFBN Division One
 * 🇳🇴 - NAFF Norwegian American Football League
 * 🇳🇴 - Southside Football League
 * 🇵🇱 - PLFA Polish American Football League
 * 🇵🇱 - LFA Liga Futbolu Amerykańskiego
 * - LPFA Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Americano
 * 🇷🇴 - CNFA Campionatul Naţional de Fotbal American
 * 🇷🇺 - UAFR Russian American Football Championship
 * 🇸🇰 - SLAF Slovenská futbalová liga
 * - SNFL Slovenian Football League
 * 🇷🇸 - NLS Nacionalna Liga Srbije
 * 🇪🇸 - LNFA Liga Nacional de Fútbol Americano
 * 🇸🇪 - Superserien
 * 🇨🇭 - NLA Nationalliga A
 * 🇨🇭 - NSFL Non Professional Swiss Romande American Football League
 * 🇹🇷 - TAFL American Football First League of Turkey
 * 🇺🇦 - NFAFU National Federation of American Football of Ukraine
 * - BAFANL BAFA National Leagues, 2010-
 * - BUCS American Football National Championship (formerly BUAFL British Universities American Football League), 2007-
 * 🇦🇹/🇷🇸/🇵🇱/🇨🇿/🇷🇺/🇹🇷 - CEFL Central European Football League
 * 🇸🇪/🇳🇴//🇬🇧 - NEFL Northern European Football League
 * /🇪🇪/🇧🇾/🇫🇮 - BSL Baltic Sea League

Asia:
 * 🇮🇱 - IFL Israel Football League
 * 🇮🇳 - EFLI Elite Football League of India
 * 🇯🇵 - X-League, 1996-
 * 🇯🇵 - Tokyo Football League, 1977?-1991 (Became the UFL in 1991)
 * 🇯🇵 - Urban Football League, 1991-
 * 🇯🇵 - Japan Private Football Federation, 1978-
 * 🇰🇿 - Central Asian American Football League
 * 🇰🇷 - Korea American Football Association
 * 🇰🇷 - SAFA Seoul American Football Association
 * 🇵🇭 - PTFL Philippine Tackle Football League
 * 🇵🇭 - AFDL American Football Developmental League
 * 🇹🇭 - FAFA Flag and American Football Association
 * 🇨🇳 - BFFL Beijing Flag Football League
 * 🇨🇳 - AFLC American Football League of China
 * 🇨🇳 - CityBowl Alliance
 * 🇨🇳 - CAFL China Arena Football League 2016-
 * 🇭🇰 - HKFFA Hong Kong Flag Football Association
 * 🇹🇼 Taiwan - TAFFA Taiwan American Flag Football Association
 * 🇮🇩 - IFFA Indonesian Flag Football Association
 * 🇲🇾 - MAFFA Malaysia Flag Football Association

Oceania:
 * 🇦🇺 - Gridiron Australia
 * 🇦🇺 - ACT Gridiron
 * 🇦🇺 - NSW Gridiron Football League
 * 🇦🇺 - Gridiron Queensland
 * 🇦🇺 - South Australian Gridiron Association
 * 🇦🇺 - Gridiron Victoria
 * 🇦🇺 - Gridiron West
 * 🇦🇺 - Australian Gridiron League
 * 🇦🇺 - Ladies Gridiron League
 * 🇳🇿 - New Zealand American Football Association
 * 🇳🇿 - Gridiron New Zealand

Defunct American football minor leagues around the world

 * 🇦🇺 - Australian American Football League 1984–1998
 * - Torneio Touchdown 2009–2015
 * 🇺🇸/🇨🇦/🇲🇽 - Continental Football League, 1965–1969
 * 🇩🇪/🇮🇹/🇪🇸/🇦🇹/🇹🇷 Intercontinental Football League - Intended to begin play in 1975, folded before first game
 * - BCAFL British Collegiate American Football League, 1985–2007
 * - BAFL British American Football League, 1987–2010
 * 🇮🇸 - ISAF Icelandic Society for American Football, 1988–1991
 * /🇳🇱/🇮🇹/🇩🇪/🇪🇸/🇫🇮 International League of American Football - Intended to begin play in 1990, folded before first game
 * 🇩🇪/🇬🇧/🇳🇱/🇪🇸/🇺🇸/🇨🇦 World League of American Football/NFL Europe/NFL Europa, 1991–1992, 1995–2007
 * 🇩🇪/🇳🇱//🇸🇪/🇫🇮/🇮🇹 Football League of Europe, 1994-1995
 * 🇦🇺 - National Gridiron League of Australia 1991–1995