The Texas-based Arena Football Association has expanded to six teams, the league announced.
The league, founded by entrepreneurs Douglas C Freeman, Maximillian L. Hamilton and Fredrick Smith, debuted in 2021 with five teams in June and is hoping to grow into a nationwide league.
The league (http://arenafa.com/.) is holding its first owners meeting at the Galleria from Dec. 5 to Dec. 8.
The teams include the Amarillo Venom, the West Texas (Odessa) Warbirds, the Texas (Houston) Jets, the Rio Grande Valley Dorados, the Texas (North Richland Hills) Crude and the North Texas (Ft. Worth) Bulls.
“Major professional sports have traditionally favored male ownership and operation,” Freeman said. “Our league is changing the landscape of owning a team in professional sports, offering women and ethnic-minorities the opportunity to own and operate teams alongside their male counterparts. This expansion of leadership talent will pave the way for a new generation of owners, players, coaches, front office staff and officials.”
In 2022, the season will begin in April with a championship game called the The Carrier Cup, to be played on the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi.
The Arena Football Association has a streaming broadcast deal with FloSports. Tickets average $20.
“Our goal is to bring teams to areas that haven’t been home to football on a professional scale," Freeman said. “And we want to go places that other professional leagues haven’t dared, hence the decision to host this year’s title game aboard the USS Lexington.”
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