| Most recent season or competition: 2024 American Indoor Football season | |
 American Indoor Football logo | |
| Formerly | Atlantic Indoor Football League (2005) American Indoor Football League (2006) American Indoor Football Association (2007–10) |
|---|---|
| Sport | Indoor football |
| Founded | 2005 |
| First season | 2005 |
| Ceased | 2024 |
| President | Brandon Ikard |
| Commissioner | John Morris |
| Motto | Fast-Paced Family Fun |
| No. of teams | 5 |
| Country | United States |
| Last champion(s) | Columbus Lions (1st AIF title) |
| Most titles | Baltimore Mariners (2 titles) |
| Sponsor(s) | Ai Apparel Group Kratz Solutions EyeBlack.com Sweet Sacrifice Success |
| Related competitions | AFL, IFL, NAL, TAL |
| Official website | AIF-Football.com |
American Indoor Football (AIF) was a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America.
The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the East Coast of the United States in 2005. After a rapid, and largely failed, expansion effort in 2006, most of the league's remaining teams jumped to the new AIFA (the rest joined the short-lived WIFL). The AIFA expanded throughout existing territory and, in 2008, expanded into the Western United States. The league legally divided into two entities to allow for a partial merger with the Southern Indoor Football League, which resulted in all of its Eastern teams merging into the SIFL and the AIFA only maintaining its western teams. The league's western component, which remained separate of the merger, had indicated it would play as the AIFA West for the 2011 season but ceased operations January 2011. The league announced it would be relaunching as American Indoor Football in time for spring 2012.
After the 2016 season, the AIF ceased operations with the former AIF owner stating his support for the recently created Arena Developmental League. In 2021, league owner John Morris announced he planned to relaunch the AIF for the 2022 season, though no games would be played.[1]
In 2023, it was announced that the league was relaunched by president and commissioner John Morris with four new teams: the Cedar Rapids River Kings, Corpus Christi Tritons, RiverCity Rage and West Virginia Miners.[2] The Columbus Lions rejoined the league after winning the most recent AIF Championship in 2016.[3] However, in 2024, the league announced a merger with the National Arena League, thus effectively ending its second chance. [4]
- ^ "AMERICAN INDOOR FOOTBALL (AIF) SETS STAGE FOR A 2022 RETURN". AIF. June 29, 2021. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ^ "AIF announces return to the field in 2024- First 4 Teams Announced". aif-proindoorfootball.com. American Indoor Football. July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
- ^ "COLUMBUS LIONS JOIN AMERICAN INDOOR FOOTBALL (AIF) FOR THE 2024 INDOOR SEASON". aif-proindoorfootball.com. American Indoor Football. August 4, 2023. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
- ^ "AMERICAN INDOOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE JOINS THE NATIONAL ARENA LEAGUE". NAL. July 9, 2024.