Women's Football Alliance



The Women's Football Alliance (WFA) is a full-contact Women's American football league that began play in 2009. It is one of three full-contact, 11-on-11 football leagues for women, along with the Independent Women's Football League and the United States Women's Football League, and the largest of the three. The league is owned and operated by Jeff and Lisa King of Exeter, California.

League history
The Women's Football Alliance was established in 2009 and began its inaugural season with 36 teams. Many of these teams were already established teams moving in from other leagues such as Women's Professional Football League, Independent Women's Football League and National Women's Football Association, while others began their inaugural season of play in the WFA.

2009
The first season of play ended with a championship game, which was played in the rebuilding (post-Katrina) city of New Orleans, Louisiana and was hosted by the New Orleans Blaze. The game was between the St. Louis Slam (American Conference – St. Louis, MO) and the West Michigan Mayhem (National Conference – Kalamazoo, MI). The game came down to the last few plays and the St. Louis Slam became the first National Champions in the WFA with a final score of 21–14. Additionally, there was an International Game played between the upstart Aguilas Regias of Monterrey, Mexico and the hosting team, New Orleans Blaze. The Blaze won this game 12–0.

2010
The WFA grew in the second year (2010) to have over 40 teams competing for the National Championship. The national championship for the 2010 season was accompanied by the first All-American game. The term All-American is used by the WFA to represent the best players at all positions from all WFA teams. The teams were chosen partly based on statistics and partly based on the vote of head coaches. The All-American game was played just before the championship game in Las Vegas, Nevada and was hosted by the Las Vegas Showgirlz. The All-American game was won by the American Conference. The second championship in the WFA would again come down to the last few plays and have a score differential of only four points. The Lone Star Mustangs (American Conference – Dallas/Fort Worth) defeated the Columbus Comets (National Conference – Columbus, Ohio) to become the second National Champions of the WFA by a score of 16–12.

2011
As the Women's Football Alliance prepared for the 2011 season, they were scheduled to have over 60 teams playing across the United States. They again grew due in part to new teams starting and in part due to established teams moving in from other leagues, most notably the New York Sharks, D.C. Divas, Chicago Force, Dallas Diamonds, and Kansas City Tribe. In the 2011 WFA championship, which was held in Bedford, Texas, the Boston Militia defeated the San Diego Surge 34–19 to claim the title.

2012
The WFA opened the season with 60 teams. The 2012 WFA National Championship game took place at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, home stadium of the NFL franchise Pittsburgh Steelers; it was the first women's football championship game to be played in an NFL stadium. After losing the title game in the previous season, the San Diego Surge returned to win the 2012 championship 40–36 over the Chicago Force.

2013
The WFA opened the season with 50 teams. Running back Whitney Zelee (Boston Militia) made headlines in 2013 by becoming the league's first player to surpass 2,000 rushing yards in a football season, setting a league record of 2,128 yards. After losing the title game in the previous season, the Chicago Force returned to win the 2013 championship over the Dallas Diamonds 81–34 at Balboa Stadium, San Diego, California.

2014
The WFA opened the season with 42 teams.The preseason was capped by the inaugural WFA International Bowl, in which the Mexican All-Stars defeated the Austin Outlaws in exhibition. The Boston Militia became the league's first two-time champion in 2014, winning 69–34 in a title rematch with the San Diego Surge at Lane Tech Stadium in Chicago, Illinois. During championship weekend, the league introduced a new mid-major bowl game: the Alliance Bowl. The Seattle Majestics of the American Conference faced the Indy Crash of the National Conference in a contest to "showcase of the depth of quality teams that exist in the Women's Football Alliance." The Indy Crash prevailed 26–12. This season was also notable for the introduction of Kenneth Massey Ratings into the league's playoffs system.

2015
The WFA opened the season with 40 teams, the fewest since the league was first established in 2009. The preseason concluded with the second WFA International Bowl Game Series, in which the Mexican All-Stars went 1–1, defeating the Tacoma Trauma before falling to the Seattle Majestics. The D.C. Divas defeated the Dallas Elite 30–26 in the WFA National Championship game at  Los Angeles (Calif.) Southwest College Stadium. The Central Cal War Angels beat the Atlanta Phoenix 28–8 in the Alliance Bowl.

2016
The WFA opened the season with 43 teams. Allison Cahill of the Boston Renegades reached a new milestone in sports by becoming the first quarterback to attain 100 victories playing exclusively in women's football leagues. WFA executives launched a new league structure consisting of three divisions/tiers. They also announced the W Bowl as their new brand for the WFA National Championship game. With a 28–26 victory over the Dallas Elite, the D.C. Divas won the inaugural W Bowl and their second National Championship in as many years. The St. Louis Slam downed the Tampa Bay Inferno 38–7 to claim the Division II championship. The Acadiana Zydeco defeated the Richmond Black Widows 20–18 in the Division III title game. All three games were played at Joe P. Michaela Stadium in Imperial, Pa.

Former WFA teams

 * Atlanta Heartbreakers – played in WFA in 2011, then left to join Women's Spring Football League.
 * Arizona She Devils- played in WFA in 2009
 * Baltimore Burn – played in WFA from 2009 to 2010, now back playing as a combined team with the Keystone Assault in Women's Football Alliance.
 * Binghamton Tiger Cats – played in WFA in 2009, then left to join Independent Women's Football League; team now in Women's Eights Football League.
 * Cincinnati Sizzle – played in WFA from 2009 to 2014, then left to join Women's Spring Football League.
 * Keystone Assault – played in WFA from 2009 to 2012, then left to join Independent Women's Football League; now back playing as a combined team with the Baltimore Burn Women's Football Alliance.
 * Memphis Dynasty – played in WFA from 2010 to 2012, then left to join Women's Spring Football League.
 * Nebraska Stampede – played in WFA from 2010 to 2014, then left to join Independent Women's Football League.
 * Nevada Storm – played in WFA in 2013, then returned to Independent Women's Football League.
 * New England Nightmare – played in WFA from 2010 to 2012, then left to join Independent Women's Football League; team now in Women's Spring Football League.
 * New York Sharks – played in WFA from 2011 to 2013, then returned to Independent Women's Football League.
 * Phoenix Prowlers – played in WFA in 2009
 * Pittsburgh Passion – played in WFA from 2011 to 2013, team has returned to Women's Football Alliance.
 * Tennessee Train – played in WFA from 2013 to 2014, then left to join Independent Women's Football League.
 * Toledo Reign – played in WFA from 2009 to 2014, then left to join Independent Women's Football League.