Women's National Football Conference

Women's National Football Conference
SportWomen's American football
Founded2018 (2018)
FounderOdessa Jenkins
First season2019
PresidentElizabeth Jenkins
CommissionerJanice Masters
No. of teams17
Country
  • United States
Most recent
champion		Texas Elite Spartans
(2025)
Most titlesTexas Elite Spartans (5 titles)
Sponsors
Official website[1]

The Women's National Football Conference (WNFC) is a professional full-contact women's American football league in the United States. With teams across the United States, the WNFC had its first game in 2019 with fourteen regular teams and one exhibition team.

League history

The Women's National Football Conference was founded in 2018, with their inaugural season in 2019. On their website, the WNFC is described as looking to create a standard of excellence and opportunities. The league's mission is to accelerate financial equity for women through the power of football, reshaping the landscape of sports and entertainment by demonstrating that women belong on the field, at the table, and in leadership.

On December 10, 2018, the WNFC announced a partnership with Adidas, as part of the latter's "She Breaks Barriers" initiative.[1] As part of that partnership, Adidas serves as the WNFC's presenting sponsor, with all WNFC teams wearing custom-made Adidas uniforms.

2019

The WNFC played their inaugural season in 2019 with fourteen regular teams and one exhibition team. Five teams came to the WNFC from the Independent Women's Football League (which folded after the 2018 season), three from the WFA, two from the USWFL, and five were teams playing their inaugural season in the WNFC.

The season began on April 6 and ended with the inaugural IX Cup (named in honor of Title IX) on June 29, which saw the Texas Elite Spartans defeat the Utah Falconz 19–14.[2]

In October 2019, The Women's National Football Conference launched the anti-bullying, girls empowerment program, Got Her Back.[3]

2020

The WNFC added seven teams for the 2020 season: three from the WFA, two from the USWFL and three expansion teams. No games were played due to COVID-19.

2021

The WNFC returned to play on May 1, 2021. The league provided weekly COVID-19 testing for all its 20 teams. All games were streamed on the Vyre Network. The season ended with Texas Elite Spartans defeating the San Diego Rebellion 27–6.

2022

The WNFC played Week 1 of its 2022 season on April 2. All games were streamed on the Vyre Network. The season ended with the Texas Elite Spartans defeating the Utah Falconz 48–12. The WNFC website reported that their broadcast viewership across all Vyre Network platforms had increased by 475% from 2021, throughout the course of the 2022 season.

2023

The WNFC played Week 1 of its 2023 season on April 1. All games were streamed on the Vyre Network. The season ended with the Texas Elite Spartans defeating the Mississippi Lady Panthers 49–7.

2024

The WNFC played Week 1 of its 2024 season on April 6. All games were streamed on Caffeine TV and DAZN. The season ended with the Mississippi Lady Panthers defeating the Texas Elite Spartans 13–6. The WNFC has reported that there were 10 million streams on Caffeine TV and 15 million paid subscriptions on DAZN.

The WNFC has announced that starting in the 2025 season, each tackle team will also be fielding a flag football team for women ages 18+.

On May 9, 2024, the WNFC announced a partnership with Gridiron Football.[4]

On Nov 24, 2024, the WNFC announced that they raised $1 million in Seed Funding.[5]

2025

The IX Cup game was the first WNFC game broadcast on ESPN2.[6]

Rules of Play

The WNFC uses a modified version of the NCAA football rules. Specifically:

  • After a touchdown, the scoring team has options for a one, two, or three-point extra point.
  • Scores by the defense are worth nine points, instead of the usual six points. This is also called a "Pick IX", a reference to Title IX[7]
  • Kickoffs are made from the 45-yard line.

Current Teams

Team Location Venue Head coach Founded Joined
Atlanta Truth Lawrenceville, Georgia Central Gwinnett High School Kameron Marks 2024 2025
Chicago Winds Elmhurst, Illinois Perspectives High School of Technology Allan Williams 2024 2024
Florida Avengers Jacksonville, Florida First Coast High School Damien Grimes 2019 2020
Jersey Shore Wave Paterson, New Jersey Hinchliffe Stadium Fabian Alesandro 2024 2024
Kansas City Glory Overland Park, Kansas Robert L. Hicks Field KeKe Blackmon 2019 2019
Las Vegas Silver Stars Las Vegas, Nevada Mater Academy Football Stadium Carrie Walters 2017 2019
Los Angeles Legends Gardena, California Long Beach Polytechnic High School Monique Moe Adams and Tim Holmes 2021 2022
Mississippi Panthers[8] Madison, Mississippi Madison Ridgeland Academy LeSteven Jackson 2018 2020
Golden State Storm Oakland, California Laney Field Dallas Hartwell 2026 2026
Oregon Ravens Milwaukie, Oregon Milwaukie High School Tim Price 2019 2019
San Diego Rebellion Escondido, California Escondido High School Knengi Martin 2017 2019
Seattle Majestics Kent, Washington French Field Rodney McCurry 2002 2019
Tennessee Trojans Nashville, Tennessee Rossview High School Kim Corbett 2022 2023
Texas Elite Spartans Lewisville, Texas Maverick Stadium Odessa Jenkins 2017 2019
Utah Falconz Murray, Utah Cottonwood High School Keith Barnes 2014 2019
Washington Prodigy Washington, D.C. Theodore Roosevelt Senior High School LaMont Jordan 2012 2020

Map of teams

Women's National Football Conference is located in the United States
Falconz
Falconz
Majestics
Majestics
Legends
Storm
Storm
Rebellion
Rebellion
Silver Stars
Silver Stars
Elite Spartans
Elite Spartans
Truth
Truth
Avengers
Avengers
Glory
Glory
Lady Panthers
Lady Panthers
Wave
Wave
Ravens
Ravens
Winds
Winds
Prodigy
Prodigy
Trojans
Trojans
Current WNFC team locations. Pacific Division teams in blue; Northwest Division teams in yellow; Central Division teams in green; Atlantic Division teams in red.

Former teams

  • Houston Mambas - Played in the WNFC from 2022 to 2025
  • Denver Bandits - Played in the WNFC from 2019 to 2025[9][10]
  • New Orleans Hippies — Played in the WNFC in 2019
  • North Florida Pumas — Played in the WNFC in 2019, now a member of the Women's Tackle Football League.
  • San Diego Surge — Played in the WNFC in 2019
  • Nebraska Nite Hawks — Played in the WNFC from 2019–2021
  • Carolina Queens — Played in the WNFC in 2021
  • Los Angeles Bobcats — Played in the WNFC from 2019–2021
  • Alabama Fire – Played in the WNFC from 2019–2022, now a member of the WFA
  • Phoenix Prowlers – Played in the WNFC from 2019–2022
  • La Muerte De Las Cruces – Played in the WNFC from 2021–2022
  • Atlanta Phoenix – Played in the WNFC from 2019–2024
  • Philly Phantomz – Played in the WNFC from 2018–2024[11]

Timeline

Los Angeles Legends

IX Cup

Year Title Home team Away team Score
2019 2019 IX Cup Texas Elite Spartans Utah Falconz 19–14
2020 No games played due to COVID-19
2021 2021 IX Cup Texas Elite Spartans San Diego Rebellion 27–6
2022 2022 IX Cup Texas Elite Spartans Utah Falconz 48–14
2023 2023 IX Cup Texas Elite Spartans Mississippi Panthers 49–7
2024 2024 IX Cup Texas Elite Spartans Mississippi Panthers 6–13
2025 2025 IX Cup Texas Elite Spartans Washington Prodigy 21–19

References

  1. ^ "ADIDAS KICKS OFF INITIATIVE TO BREAK DOWN BARRIERS FACED BY WOMEN AND GIRLS IN SPORT". Adidas.com. December 10, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  2. ^ "WNFC'S IX CUP CHAMPIONSHIP LIVES UP TO THE HYPE!". July 9, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  3. ^ "Women's National Football Conference (WNFC) Launches Anti Bullying, Girls Empowerment Program". October 2, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
  4. ^ "WNFC and Gridiron Football Unite Forces in Historic Partnership". WNFC. May 9, 2024. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
  5. ^ Eric Jackson (October 23, 2024). "Women's Semi-Pro Football League Raises $1M in Funding Round". Sportico.
  6. ^ "Women's tackle football has 2 leagues whose championship games are on ESPN2". The Associated Press. June 20, 2025. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
  7. ^ Kenny, Jane (March 29, 2026). "A scientist, a security director, and a super commuter team up in women's tackle football". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  8. ^ https://www.mpbonline.org/television/mississippi-roads/ Mississippi Roads episode Wise, Wilfull, Women February 13, 2022
  9. ^ Mirza, Celo (April 12, 2019). "These Bandits Are Ready to Make a Big Score". Westword. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  10. ^ "WNFC to Suspend Team Operations in Denver and Houston". WNFC. July 1, 2025. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  11. ^ March, Lochlahn (May 1, 2024). "Philly Phantomz dropped from women's football league over safety concerns. The team owner says they're being 'demonized.'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
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