Q. What is the North Louisiana Football Alliance?
A. The North Louisiana Football Alliance, or NLFA, is a semi-professional football league located in the Ark-La-Tex (south Arkansas, northwest Louisiana, northeast Texas). The style of play will be introducing the 9 man tackle concept to the southern region at the semi-professional level.
Q. How many teams are there in the North Louisiana Football Alliance?
A. The NLFA is will be made up of 12 teams, with 6 teams in the Western Division and 6 teams in the Eastern Division.
Q. When was the North Louisiana Football Alliance established?
A. The league was founded in 2018 and began operations in 2019. The NLFA will begin its second season in spring 2021.
Q. When does the season begin and end?
A. The regular season kicks off in March 2021 and finishes early June 2021, with a league championship game to be held in June 2021.
Q. Will there be a playoff and how many teams will make them?
A. There will be a four-team playoff, consisting of the top two teams from each Division.
Q. How can I watch games?
A. Regular and postseason games will be pre-recorded and streamed via our website, Facebook, and YouTube.
Q. Will there be a Draft?
A. The NLFA will not have a draft, but instead an official starting roster announcement which will be held each year, prior to the start of the regular season.
Q. How many players are on a team roster?
A. Each team can have up to a maximum of 35 players, 25 of which can be active each game, with 10 remaining on the practice/taxi squad. Each team can have a minimum of 15 players on its roster.
Q. What are the official rules of the league?
A. Official Rules.
Q. How many games are in a season?
A. This season (2021), each team will play a 7-game schedule.
Q. If the NLFA is a semi-pro football league, will the players be paid?
A. NO. Players WILL NOT be paid to play in the NLFA. However, a nonguaranteed incentive and bonus system for players has been established but has not yet been authorized.
In addition, an Accidental Insurance Plan will be available to all NLFA players to purchase at the leagues' rate. (If a player has insurance, they are encouraged to utilize the insurance offered by the NLFA as a secondary.)
*NOTE: Even though semi-pro football is a level of American football and is commonly known as "working man's" football, meaning the players have regular jobs and play football on the weekends, the players don't get paid, the leagues and the games are run in a somewhat professional manner. For most leagues, it's against the rules to pay its players to play.
*NOTE: Players seeking to play at the collegiate level should reconsider participating if playing should jeopardize a player's college eligibility.
Q. How old do you have to be to play in the NLFA?
A. Our target demographic is ages 18-30 years old and membership continues long after a playing career has ended. This is particularly important in playing football in the NLFA as the average career is 8-10 years, and the average retirement age for most players is ideally 35 years old.
One of our primary focuses is to give younger athletes the opportunity to play at a higher level of organized football who weren't afforded a chance to play at the collegiate level. Others may have played at the collegiate level and wish to continue sharpening their skills to further pursue a career at playing a level of pro football.
Q. Can players sign multi-year agreements?
A. Yes. Players and teams may sign an agreement of up to two NLFA seasons in length if they choose.
Q. If I currently play for a team in another league, can I try out for the NLFA?
A. No. Players CANNOT play in two semipro/adult amateur spring/summer leagues at the same time due to contractual obligations. Violators will be banned from the NLFA for the remainder of the season.
Q. How can I try out for a team?
A. Registration is currently closed. Please contact individual teams for openings and availability.
Q. Which day(s) of the week will NLFA games be played?
A. All league games will be played on a Saturday afternoon/evening or on a Sunday evening if a scheduling conflict for a Saturday game should happen to occur.
Reschedules will be determined and agreed upon by each team needing to reschedule, then communicated to the league commissioner for approval.