The Complete History of the Arena Football League

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• Arena Football League (1987-2019)
  
• Indoor Football Database - History
  
• AFL Arena Football History - Year By Year
  
• History of the Arena Football League timeline
  
• Arena Football League (1987-2019) - Franchise Index
  
• Indoor and Arena Football History from OurSports Central

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The Arena Football League is barely holding on a month into its relaunch. Reporter Robert Silverman takes inside the troubled league through discussions with players on the Georgia Force, which recently ceased operations – one of five teams to do so already.

Plus, the NFL is moving closer to allowing private equity firms to hold stakes in teams and MLB is tapping former players and softball stars for a new home run derby contest.

Arena Football League Chairman Chris Chetty opens about how AFL got in this position.

The new AFL is already doomed. It took all of one week to prove the Arena Football League’s third attempt existing isn’t going to work out. In a week when its rival, the Indoor Football League, had players go into the stands during a fan altercation, the second time in a year that has happened, it was the AFL’s flop that had garnered most, if not all, the attention.

For many folks, their first exposure to the latest incarnation of the AFL was, well, nothing. Games were supposed to be broadcast on the NFL Network on Saturday night and Sunday. That didn’t happen, and no explanation was given at the time of recording.

We can read between the lines of this situation. Clearly, something happened between the two sides that made NFL Network unwilling to follow through on its pledge.

While that is certainly concerning, what happen to the Philadelphia Soul, one of the AFL’s most recognizable teams, was a massive red flag warning anyone and everyone that a huge meltdown may be taking place behind the scenes.

A report in the Philadelphia Inquirer noted that the team’s Head coach, Patrick Pimmel, stepped down the day before the team’s first game, and then most of the roster was released. By the way, no one seems to know who owns the Soul. It is believed the team is being run by the AFL after the owners backed out. But the league has provided zero transparency on the issue.

The opening weekend of AFL 3.0 should have been a huge occasion. Yet, you would have to be a diehard fan to know it was even happening. Apart from some local news spots, it was basic invisible—a blip on the radar during a time when there is so much happening in the world of sports.

This video started as a positive one when it came to talking about the history of the Arena Football League. I was excited for the AFL to come back but right before I was going to release this video, a lot of disturbing news came out. They had a semi-pro team replace one of their biggest name teams in week one which is a joke. Not all stadiums are up to par, teams are already folding, players aren’t getting paid, and commissioner Lee Hutton hasn’t said anything about it. The AFL was supposed to have a triumphant exciting return this spring but it has turned into players' nightmares. And hey the league may try to have this video taken down because they have been going after content creators who have been speaking out against them but I don’t really care because this story needs to be told. The first half of this video is going to be positive, the second half, not so much. This is the story of the Arena Football League. This is the story of the biggest Scam in football.

X1 Media/X1 Investigates and Arena Insider dives into the historic return of the Arena Football League. In this series, we break down the league starting under a new company, tension between owners and players, claims of unfulfilled promises, a change in leadership and more all over the span of 10 weeks.

In the fourth and final episode of the docuseries, Turbulent Revival of the Arena Football League, we break down the remaining teams that shutdown midseason, owners sounding the alarm on the future of the AFL, fallout with G6 Sports, and the remaining teams forming a new league.