This has been a big day for the Arena Football League (AFL). Earlier today the AFL revealed the 16 locations the league plans to plan in come 2024.
Among the cities, there were a few that overlapped with current National Arena League (NAL) franchises. When the locations first dropped many wondered if any of the NAL teams would be making the jump to the AFL.
Luckily, fans didn’t need to wait long to find out. First, we learned that the Orladno Predators of the NAL would be returning to the AFL next year.
Now, we have confirmation on another.
The official Facebook page of the West Texas Warbirds revealed they will also be joining the AFL in 2024.
Earlier this season the NAL cut the fan-favorite Albany Empire from the league due to a tumultuous relationship with new majority owner Antonio Brown. This left the NAL in a position to ride out the rest of the season with only 7 teams. This latest news would bring the NAL down to only 5 teams next year, pending they don’t attempt to add any in the off season.
Here’s a quick rundown of where the announced AFL locations for 2024:
- Austin
- Boise
- California
- Colorado
- Chicago
- Louisiana
- Minnesota
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Orlando
- Philadelphia
- St. Louis
- Tallahasee
- Tennessee
- Washington
- West Texas
With two of the franchises now known, AFL fans will patiently wait for the other 14 to drop. The league has also revealed a brand new website at AFL2024.com, which gives us some more insight on their return timeline.
With team locations out of the way, the next stops on the list include new partnerships, jersey designs and team mascots.
More information on the @OfficialAFL timeline pic.twitter.com/UgKS9kBSMO
— Arena Football Newsroom (@ArenaNewsroom) July 18, 2023
We’ve heard rumors that the Philadelphia Soul, San Jose SaberCats and New Orleans VooDoo will be making a return with the league. Although those have not been 100% confirmed just yet, the AFL’s tease and locations seems to lead us towards that direction.
What AFL teams would you like to see return when the AFL comes back in 2024? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below or join the conversation on Discord.