A7FL

A7FL
Sport American football
Founded 2014 (play began in 2015)
Inaugural season 2015
CEO Sener Korkusuz
President Ryan DePaul
Motto "The Game America Wants"[1]
No. of teams 16
TV partner(s) Eleven Sports Network (United States)
Sponsor(s) Athlete Intelligence
Official website http://www.a7fl.com/

American 7s Football League ("A7FL") is a semi-professional traveling league in the United States which plays a seven-man version of American football named American 7s Football. Launched in 2015, its games are played without football helmets or other protective equipment.[2] The A7FL is the highest level of competition in American 7s football.

History

Founded in 2014 with play commencing the following year, the A7FL plays an eight-game schedule running from March to June.[3] It primarily attracts semi-professional football players seeking opportunities to stay in-shape during spring.[4] In 2016, the league participated in a safety study led by the New Jersey Institute of Technology.[5]

As of 2016, the league reported it had four teams in New York City (in Brooklyn, Long Island, Queens, and The Bronx), four teams in Florida (in Miami, Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville), four teams in the deep South (in New Orleans; Baton Rouge; Montgomery, Alabama; and Jackson, Mississippi), and four teams in the northeast (in Newark, New Jersey; Trenton, New Jersey; Philadelphia, and Baltimore). The league says it seeks to expand to 32 teams by 2017.[6] There are also considerations towards expanding outside of the United States.[5]

Eleven Sports Network (United States) acquired the exclusive United States and International rights to broadcast the A7FL 2017 Championship on July 9, 2017 from Palisades Credit Union Park in metro New York City. Through ELEVEN Sports Network distribution with DirecTV, Verizon FiOS, and AT&T uVerse the A7FL 2017 Championship will be accessible by over 70MM homes worldwide.[7]

Differences from mainstream American football

A7FL players play without pads or helmets as part of what the league describes as an effort to reduce the potential of head injuries resulting from helmet-to-helmet contact.[3] League games also do not include kickoffs or punts, and instead implement a unique version of special teams called a 3-on-1 throw off. Games are played on narrow fields of 37 yards width to accommodate fewer players on the field on each team.[3][8] A7FL games are played between two seven-man teams; teams are, additionally, required to cap their rosters at 25 active players with 5 alternates.[6]

Organization

The CEO of the A7FL is Sener Korkusuz.[9] The President of the A7FL is Ryan DePaul.[3]

Athletes playing in the A7FL are required to sign a player injury waiver and be 18 years of age or older.[9]

Once expanded to 32 teams the league will be structured around eight groups divided into two divisions. The teams play each other twice in the group stages with the top two teams going forward to a divisional championship. The winners of the divisional championships will play each other to decide the winner of the championship, for which there is a $10,000 prize.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Engstrom, Tim (30 July 2016). "League offers football without pads, helmets". Albert Lea Tribune. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  2. ↑ Gibbs, Lindsay (31 March 2016). "Can This New Football League Be The Savior The Sport Needs?". Think Progress. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Lariviere, David (13 March 2015). "Safety-First Football League To Launch Season Next Saturday". Forbes. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  4. ↑ "Football helmets are creating more problems than they solve". The Sporting News. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Foot Ricain met the CEO of American 7's Football League" (in French). Foot Ricain. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 "Team Ownership Introduction" (PDF). a7fl.com. A7FL. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 August 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  7. ↑ "A7FL 2017 Championship Announced". prnewswire.com. A7FL. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  8. ↑ "Football league throws away helmets and pads in the name of safety". WQAD-TV. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  9. 1 2 "A7FL Tackle Football League". TMZ. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
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