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Arena Football League 2024 Storylines to Watch

January 30, 2024 - Arena Football One (AF1) News Release


The Arena Football League 2024 reboot will have storylines to spare, and here are some of the top storylines.

Sometimes the best drama isn't written. It plays out in real time in real life, and sports are consistently providing compelling storylines week in and week out. The Arena Football League 2024 reboot is no exception. There are championship caliber teams landing in the same league. A team that went undefeated as an independent joins the league. Big City, America will be squaring off against Small Town, USA. Players who garnered individual awards in their respective leagues will square off against each other in one league.

Champions Converge in AFL 2024...

With established franchises joining the AFL in 2024, the league was destined to attract the best of the best. There will be four teams joining the 2024 Arena Football League reboot that have all won a championship as a franchise in recent history in various indoor leagues. There's a returning AFL champion with the Philadelphia Soul who won an Arena Bowl in 2017. The Salina Liberty was crowned CIF champion in 2022. The West Texas Desert Hawks won back to back championships, the first in 2021 in the AFA Lonestar Series (LSS) and a 2022 AFA title. In addition to adding championship caliber teams from other indoor leagues, The AFL also welcomes The Wichita Regulators who went undefeated as an independent.

Will teams making the jump from one specific league show to be the best? Will an established AFL franchise like Philadelphia continue to thrive?

The Wichita Regulators Join a League...

After competing as an independent in their inaugural season, the Wichita Regulators mount up to play in the AFL's 2024 reboot. Wichita's first season was 2022, and unlike many arena teams they chose to go it alone and not be part of an established indoor football league. In that time as an independent they managed an undefeated season going 5-0 against their challengers. Their intention was to join the Champions Indoor Football league, but a better opportunity presented itself in the form of the AFL and it's 16 team league. They slot in with the other Kansas teams and Council Bluffs, IA to round out the leagues central division. They'll have an established champion in the Liberty of Salina, KS to vie against.

Will they be able to continue their franchise undefeated streak? How long can their streak possibly last?

Big City, America vs. Small Town, USA

The biggest professional leagues play in the biggest cities in the country, but don't come to cities below a certain size. The AFL in 2024 is truly a blend of some of the biggest markets in the country along with much smaller markets that are hungry for professional sports. For example, on a given weekend you could see a metro area the size of Minnesota's Twin Cities (4 Million) square off against a city with a population as small as Rapids City, South Dakota (81k).

Can a team from a small market compete for an Arena Bowl title? Will the large market teams be the only ones left standing at the end?

Best on Best...

A league that was combining talent from so many other arena leagues was bound to attract the best. Each of these leagues have their individual awards. Now all of these individual award winners find themselves on various AFL rosters. Some players have storied careers in other leagues, such as Charles McCullum, who's the all time passing yards leader in IFL history. McCullum finds himself in Odessa, TX with the West Texas Desert Hawks after spending his last season with Duke City. He'll be protected by Kyle Nunez, a 2022 FCS Preseason All American at Stony Brook. In Albany, Desmond Maxwell was a first team all NAL player last season for the Orlando Predators. Ramone Atkins of the Nashville Kats was the IFL rookie of the year in 2023. The AFL should provide plenty of opportunities to view best on best.

Which individual awards winners will prove best in a deeper talent pool?

These are just the compelling storylines that are apparent in the preseason before anyone plays a snap. Competition will breed even more throughout the season and make the narratives of the AFL too good to pass up.

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Arena Football One Stories from January 30, 2024


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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