Organization in the United States
Befitting its status as a popular sport, football is played in leagues of different size, age and quality, in all regions of the country. Organized football is played almost exclusively by men and boys, although a few amateur and semi-professional women's leagues have begun play in recent years. A team / academy may be referred to as a 'football program' - not to be confused with football program.
Professional
The 32-team National Football League (NFL) and the 5-team United Football League are currently the only major or borderline-major professional American football leagues in North America. A league that calls itself the New United States Football League is currently slated to begin play in 2011. Two leagues, the United National Gridiron League and All American Football League, are currently in an indefinite suspension of operations but are not defunct; both leagues had intended to begin play by 2009 but neither, as of 2010, have done so. The NFL does not operate any developmental leagues currently since the folding of NFL Europa, nor are there any current professional outdoor minor leagues, independent or affiliated. (Of the proposed leagues the AAFL, UNGL and USFL plan on being minor-league complements to existing college and professional leagues.)
There are, however, several professional indoor football leagues, including most notably the Arena Football League, which had several teams co-owned by several NFL owners but is officially independent from the NFL. (The AFL had gone into bankruptcy and canceled its 2009 season. Its assets were subsequently bought and relaunched in 2010.) Indoor football leagues play by significantly different rules that encourage higher scoring and accommodate a smaller field of play. Most commonly, players that do not make the NFL play in these leagues or go to Canada and play in the Canadian Football League, which operates on a somewhat older rule system.
University and collegiate
College football is also popular throughout North America.[citation needed] Most of college football in the United States is governed by the NCAA. Most colleges and universities have football teams, often with dedicated football stadiums. These teams mostly play other similarly sized schools, through the NCAA's divisional system, which divides collegiate sports teams into four divisions (I-A(see note), I-AA(see note), II and III). The largest, most popular collegiate teams routinely fill stadiums larger than 75,000 . Four college football stadiums, The University of Michigan's Michigan Stadium, Penn State's Beaver Stadium, The University of Tennessee's Neyland Stadium and Ohio State's Ohio Stadium, seat more than 100,000 fans and usually sell out. The weekly autumn ritual of college football includes marching bands, cheerleaders, homecoming, parties, the tailgate party; it forms an important part of the culture in much of small-town America.[citation needed] Football is generally the major source of revenue to the athletic programs of schools, public and private, in the United States.[citation needed] The top college football players enter the NFL Draft after their college careers are over, in hopes of signing with an NFL team.
(NOTE: I-A and I-AA are considered deprecated by the NCAA and are now officially known as "Bowl Subdivision" and "Championship Subdivision" respectively, based on the two divisions' postseason structures. The former I-AA, consisting mostly of smaller schools than I-A but larger than D-II, has a playoff system just like Divisions II and III, while the former I-A has no playoff structure and only features division championships and bowl games. Unofficially, the top division (the former I-A) is divided into two further subdivisions, "major conferences" (also known as "BCS Conferences") and "mid-majors." In practice, only major conference teams are eligible to compete for the national championship and receive significant favor in the opinion polling over mid-majors.)
Though the NCAA is the most publicized college athletic organization, the NAIA (which houses mostly smaller private colleges) and NJCAA (an association for community colleges) also sanction football games.
High school
Further information: High school football
Most American high schools field football teams. High school football is popular; top schools regularly fill stadiums holding over 10,000 fans, and can afford artificial playing surfaces.[citation needed]
High school teams generally play only against other teams from their state (notable exceptions include matchups between nearby schools located on opposite sides of a state line and occasional matchups between two nationally-ranked teams for television purposes). Still, some private Christian high schools play for national championships through organizations like the Federated Christian Athletic Association.
Adult Amateur Football / Semi-Pro Football
Adult amateur football, also known as semi-pro football, is a level of American football. It's commonly known as "working man's" football, meaning the players have regular jobs and play football on the weekends. Though the players don't get paid, the leagues and the games are run in a somewhat professional manner. For most leagues, it's against the rules to pay its players to play. The rules of the game are usually a hybrid of NFL and NCAA rules.
There are several different leagues playing in the United States:
The North American Football League (NAFL) is an adult amateur American football league. Its teams are located mainly in the Eastern, Midwestern and Southern United States. The teams mostly play regionally in the regular season to keep travel short. In the playoffs, winners of regional play will meet each other for the league championship.
The New England Football League (NEFL) has over 30 teams, with at least one in each of the six New England states. The league has three skill levels (A being more for recreational play; AAA being the most completive; AA is somewhat in between).
The Eastern Football League, based in New England, but at times teams from New York state have competed, is one of the countries oldest semi-pro leagues. It started play in 1961.
The Mid Continental Football League began play in 1991 and by the 1990s had expanded through much of the midwest and mid-Atlantic United States before the league split apart and contracted into a four-state area in the midwest. One of the MCFL's spinoff leagues is the Northeastern Football Alliance of upstate New York. Upstate New York also is the home of the Empire Football League, which houses the oldest surviving professional football club in the United States, the Watertown Red & Black, founded in 1896. The EFL and NFA are considered to be roughly on par with each other and teams have moved back and forth between the leagues. Several similar leagues exist across the United States.
Several leagues supporting women's semi-professional football play have existed. The two current major leagues are the Independent Women's Football League (IWFL) and the Women's Football Alliance (WFA). The WFA plans to begin play in 2009 stocked with teams from two recently dissolved leagues, the National Women's Football Association and Women's Professional Football League (NWFA and WPFL respectively).
Youth leagues
Football is played recreationally by amateur and youth teams (e.g., American Youth Football and Pop Warner little-league programs). There are also many "semi-pro" teams in leagues where the players are paid to play but at a small enough salary that they generally must also hold a full-time job.[citation needed]
Due to the speed and violence of the sport, many non-organized football games involve variations of the rules to minimize contact and risk of injury.These include touch football and flag football. Another variation, backyard football, features the full tackling of its organized counterparts but far less equipment and simplified rules.
US National American football team
Further information: United States national American football team
The US National American football team is ranked number 1 in the world.The team was founded in 1984, and first competed in the American Football World Cup in 2007. They finished 1st, defeating Japan, 23-20 in overtime in the final. This included a 77-0 win over South Korea in the group stage. USA Football was only able to choose from the top amateur players in the nation.
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