Women’s American Football

In the United Kingdom, women’s ‘soccer’ teams have come on leaps and bounds in the past few years. The success of the Lionesses at the UEFA Women’s Championship in 2022 certainly helped on that front, as does the fact that the sport is seen as being generally accessible.

The same is not true of American football, which is a much more difficult sport for women to see a way into. That is, at least in part, owing to the fact that it isn’t a sport that has a lot of leagues featuring female players on offer for people to watch. What is the state of it in the US and over here?

Women’s American Football in the US

In spite of the fact that Gridiron is the national sport in the United States of America, the women’s game is somewhat disparate at present. That isn’t to say that there haven’t been attempts to make the game big over the years, however.

The Women’s Professional Football League was formed in 1963, for example, and lasted until 1973 before ceasing operations. It was relaunched in 1999 and lasted for eight years before closing again, whilst the Independent Women’s Football League launched in 2000. The Women’s Football Alliance and the X League both formed in 2009.

The X League

It is the X League, or the Extreme Football League to give it its full name, that is the main division for American football for women at present. Launched in 2009 as the Lingerie Football League, which came out of an alternative broadcast to the Super Bowl half-time show called the Lingerie Bowl. Mitch Mortaza was the Chairman of the league and decided to expand it from an annual exhibition game to a ten-team league, which operated along similar scheduling lines to the National Football League. The league expanded in 2012 to include a companion league in Canada.

How the X League Works

In 2020, the Lingerie League was rebranded to become the Extreme Football League, with play due to begin in the April of that year. It had eight teams playing in it, which the players and coaches were allowed to take ownership stakes in depending on their individual contributions as well as their commitments to the organisation. The first season was postponed because of the global health crisis of the time, whilst during the hiatus it was confirmed that Mike Ditka was the owner and chairman of the league, whilst there were plans to expand into 24 markets in the US.

The League

The league eventually launched on the tenth of June 2022, seeing Chicago Blitz take on the Kansas City Force in the opening game. Four teams advanced to the playoffs after a nine-week regular season, resulting in the Blitz capturing the inaugural X Cup. There was no schedule for 2023, nor 2024, then in the November of 2024 it was confirmed that the league would return in 2026. The nature of the X League is different to the likes of the NFL on account of the fact that it is an indoor variation of the sport, with seven players on each team during play and full-contact allowed.

Contracts & Uniforms

Although the league was professional in the initial period of its launch, allowing players to take a cut of the net revenue, Mortaza stopped paying players at the start of the 2011 season and it became an amateur organisation; the players are even responsible for paying for their own health insurance. There have also been numerous complaints made about it thanks to the uniforms, which essentially consist of a bra and panties with a helmet. The founder once said that it was marketed specifically towards ‘mostly beer-drinking college students aged 21 and up’.

The Women’s National Football Conference

Whilst the X League is probably the best-known American football league for women in the United States, it isn’t the only one that you can watch. The Women’s National Football Conference is arguably a more serious version of the game, calling itself the ‘Home of Women’s Professional Football’.

There are teams across the US that play full-contact football thanks to the WNFC, which was created in 2018 and had its inaugural season a year later. They look to ‘create the standard of excellence and opportunities’ for women in the sport, attempting to reshape the landscape of the game.

Regular Teams & Exhibition Team

When the league was created, it boasted 14 regular teams as well as one exhibition team, with five of them having moved over from the Independent Women’s Football League because the IWFL folded in 2018. The first IX Cup saw the Texas Elite Spartans defeat the Utah Falconz 19-14.

Seven teams were added for the 2020 season, although no games were played because of the global health crisis at the time. Play eventually began again on the first of May 2021, concluding with another victory for the Texas Elite Spartans, this time winning 27-6 against the San Diego Rebellion.

Partnerships

In fact, the Texas Elite Spartans were quickly the dominant force in the competition, winning the IX Cup in 2022 and 2023 as well, eventually losing to the Mississippi Lady Panthers in 2024. Ahead of the 2025 campaign, the WNFC confirmed that all teams would also put forward a flag football team for women aged over 18.

The competition has had numerous partnerships, such as with Adidas in 2018 as part of the brand’s ‘She Breaks Barriers’ campaign, and with Gridiron Football starting in the May of 2024. In the November of that year, the organisation confirmed that it had raised $1 million in seed funding.

The Women’s Football Alliance

The other women’s league that exists in the United States of America is the Women’s Football Alliance. Considering itself to be ‘breaking barriers and redefining the game’, the WFA has teams playing games in more than 60 cities around the US.

Not only that, but there are leagues associated with the Alliance in eight countries across the world, seeing their games broadcast on ESPN. Former players have gone on to coach in the National Football League, whilst the Pro Football Hall of Fame displays some team jerseys for visitors to look at and admire.

Business Model

The Women’s Football Alliance opened its doors to female players in 2009, irrespective of the financial situation of the women who wanted to play in it. The business model has consistently looked for sponsors in order to be able to reinvest the revenue back into the game. It has also offered rewards for members like All-American jerseys, championship rings and travel money for the playoffs. The business plan of the WFA allows for new teams to be created in cities across the country, maximising exposure for the women’s game whilst limiting the need to travel.

Breaking Records

One of the things that the Women’s Football Alliance prides itself on is the fact that it has broken numerous barriers, including being the first women’s football league to be able to play a National Championship game in an NFL stadium. It later became the first women’s league to partner with NFL Alumni and was also the first to sign a multi-year deal with a television network, ESPN. Former player Katie Sowers became the first female coach to coach players in a Super Bowl, whilst Jennifer King became the first female African American coach to work in the NFL.

Women’s American Football in the UK

When it comes to women’s American football in the United Kingdom, things are slightly different. The Women’s Contact League was launched in 2012 and originally saw a 5-versus-5 format used. Known as the Sapphire Series, the league was extended to a two-tier system with Division One and Division Two in 2016 after the sport had enjoyed growth over the intervening years. The Divisions were also split up into Northern and Southern conferences. More participation growth in the 2017-2018 campaign resulted in the games moving to a 7-versus-7 format.

National Women’s Football League

That has remained the case since, with as many as 17 active teams taking part in the league. The name ‘Sapphire’ was dropped from the league’s title in 2020, with the new title of the National Women’s Football League being used instead. It was also moved to become a summer sport so as to avoid any crossover with the schedule of winter sports. It is the highest level of competition for contact football in the UK, involving nine-a-side games played in what is known as the Premiership and seven-a-side games in the National. It offers women a direct route into playing American football in the United Kingdom.

IFAF Women’s World Championship

In 2010, the IFAF Women’s World Championship was launched as the international championship for women playing American football. The inaugural year took place in Sweden, with the United States of America winning without any of the teams that they faced scoring a point against them. In spite of the dominance from the US team, another tournament was held three years later, this time hosted by Finland. The United States side won again, winning the final against Canada by a score of 64-0, having defeated their neighbours 66-0 three years earlier.

In 2017, it was Canada that acted as the host nation and they once again faced the United States in the final. At least they were able to get on the scoresheet in their home final, even if they did still lose 41-16. Five years after that and Finland, who were the European champions at the time, became the first country to host the event for a second time. The final saw the United States win for a record-extending fourth time, defeating Great Britain 42-14. Other nations that have taken part in the international tournament include Germany, Mexico, Spain, Sweden and Australia.