Arena Football League will return in 2024, with 16 teams

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Last year it was the USFL. This year it’s the USFL and the XFL. Next year it will be a trifecta.

The Arena Football League has announced its return in 2024, under new ownership.

“We are delighted to come out of our hibernation and make this announcement official,” said AFL chairman Anthony Rossi. “When we acquired the AFL, our goal was to bring back a historic brand that deserved to be relaunched and presented again, on a global scale. but this time we want to incorporate the components of a modern business: streaming, betting, technology, virtual reality and immersive fan engagement mixed with good old-fashioned Ironman Football.”

The announcement says the league will have 16 teams and will play a 10-game season.

The AFL was originally launched in 1987. The 2009 season was canceled due to financial issues which led to bankruptcy. The league restarted, with a Los Angeles-based franchise owned by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of KISS.

Later in the decade, the league shrunk to as few as four teams. In 2019, the league’s final season, the AFL had six franchises.