The AFA has been promoting semi-pro football teams and leagues for the past 25 years since its inception in 1980. Over that two and a half decade time period the American Football Association has established itself as a national 501(c)(3) tax exempt non-profit corporation dedicated to the advancement of "adult amateur football" in the United States. During the 2004 season the AFA monitored the game action of over 750 teams per week. Last year alone the AFA recorded the results of 3,794 semi-pro games for its weekly "power ratings". In the past 6 years that the AFA has been gathering game score information for its power rating database, it has recorded the scores of 16,907 semi-pro football games and disseminated that information on a national basis.

Teams owners and league administrators have come to rely on the AFA for securing reliable insurance coverage for their teams at a reasonable cost; obtaining All-American status for many of their talented players; Gold Ball Achievement Awards for their overachievers; possibilities of having their league champs playing for the AFA's annual National Championship; and (among other benefits) the chance to be "power-rated" along with the rest of the hundreds of teams coast-to-coast on a weekly basis; and last, but certainly not least -- the opportunity to have some of their organization's outstanding performers over the years be recognized and selected for nomination into the AFA Semi-Pro Football Hall of Fame . . . and to take their place in semi-pro football history with the 461 football "Legends" who have previously been inducted over the past 24 years.

While some the spring/summer leagues have already sprung into action and the fall league administrators are busy interviewing new team entries and working on their game schedules for the 2005 season -- the AFA is concerning itself with several request it has received recently from many of the older semi-pro leagues across the country who are bothered by the infringement tactics of newly organized leagues pushing themselves as national in scope and luring member teams away from the established leagues. Although the AFA realizes the fact that these new football enterprises are setting themselves up as direct competition to the long established efforts of the American Football Association, we are even more concerned about how they seem to be fractionalizing leagues who have provided venues for semi-pro teams in their regional areas for many years.

During the month of February, the AFA national office will be making an attempt to contact commissioners from those leagues across the country who share the concerns of their neighboring league commissioners and who are interested in having their member teams become "official" AFA members.

To-that-end, the AFA is in the process of collecting membership "endorsements" from semi-pro football league commissioners who are willing to support the membership efforts of the American Football Association by encouraging their member teams to join the AFA for the 2005 season. Semi-pro teams should be aware of the fact that there is a $100 per team membership fee to join the AFA for the coming season and only leagues with 100% membership participation will qualify for 2005 AFA membership benefits.

League commissioners interested in having their league join the AFA this year may do so by requesting a "league membership" application from the AFA national headquarters office in Florida (941-388-3510) or sending their request via e-mail to Amerfoot@aol.com. Qualifying leagues are those who have teams located in single state or multi-state regional areas only. Leagues national in scope, need not apply.

Upon receipt of a league membership request the AFA will mail a hard copy "league application" as well as a complete list of benefits member teams can expect to receive for their $100 per team membership donation. In addition, the commissioner will receive a complimentary copy of the AFA's 336 page 2004 Semi-Pro Football Media Guide (facts and records) book to pass around at their next league meeting -- showing the progress the AFA has made for our level of the sport in the past 25 years.

Commissioners from AFA member leagues should mark their events calendars with the dates of June 3-4-5 (2005) and plan to attend the AFA's 25th Annual Hall of Fame Induction Dinner and Semi-Pro Football Convention/Seminar in Oakbrook, Illinois (Chicago suburb). While a detailed agenda of the weekends events will be announce soon, the national commissioners meeting to select the AFA's National Tournament of Champions postseason regional (and national) playoff pairings will take place on Friday afternoon and announced during the Hall of Fame banquet on Saturday evening.

Member leagues will be asked to register with the AFA in either Triple A, Double A or Single A classifications. No league memberships will be awarded after the opening of the AFA Commissioners meeting on June 3rd, 2005. No exceptions will be considered.

The Semi-Pro Football Convention/Seminar will be open to all AFA member team owners and individual AFA Alumni Club members. Convention, seminar and 25th Semi-Pro Football Hall of Fame Reunion details will be listed in future AFA press releases. Make your travel plans early.