 | |
| Formerly | Greater Lawrence Men's Football League |
|---|---|
| Sport | American football |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Founder | Tom Torrisi |
| No. of teams | 7 |
| Country | United States |
| Headquarters | Salisbury, Massachusetts |
| Most recent champion(s) | AA: Glens Falls Greenjackets A: Rhode Island Riptide (2nd NEFL Title) |
| Official website | nefl.us |
The New England Football League (NEFL) is a semi-professional American football league based in Salisbury, Massachusetts, and owned by Thomas Torrisi.[1] It is the second largest semi-professional league in New England, and formerly of the biggest leagues in the United States.[2][3] The NEFL was founded in 1994 and was also known as the Greater Lawrence Men's Football League.[4] In 2024, the league shifted to one conference, comprising seven teams. The 2023 season involved nine teams, down from a recent high of 32, with about 2,000 players.
From 2021-2023, the NEFL has had single-A, and AA Conferences, and from 2013-2019 with a AAA Conference, with annual promotion and relegation among Conferences based on game results, so that the best teams work their way toward the AA level. 2024 is the first season since 1999 that the NEFL has played with one conference.
The league provides competitive football for adult players. It is a "working man's league", as most players have regular jobs during the week.[5][6] Teams practice on weeknights and play virtually all games on weekends.[2] Players are not paid for their participation, but they often pay up to $200 to be on the team's roster.[2][6] The league runs from July through September, followed by single-elimination championship tournaments within each Conference. Each team can dress up to 55 players.[7]
The league is unrelated to the original NEFL, which operated from 1964 to 1969.[8]
The 2023 NEFL season finished with two league champions in AA and A; the Rhode Island Riptide won the Maritime (A) Conference by defeating the New England Bombers 28-21, their second NEFL Championship (2011). The Glens Falls Greenjackets won the North Atlantic Conference (AA), their first in program history in the NEFL, by beating the Middleboro Cobras 12-6 in overtime. It was the first season playing in the NEFL for the Greenjackets
- ^ "North Shore Generals Football - League Information". north-shore-generals.com.
- ^ a b c "Love of the game drives semipro football players - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. 2015-07-26. Retrieved 2016-01-26.
- ^ "East Coast Football League (ECFL) Joins American Football Association for 2022 and Becomes Largest AFA Member League In United States". PRWeb. American Football Association. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
- ^ "New England Football League - Champions". www.semiprofootball.org. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
- ^ Gasper, Christopher L. (2004-08-29). "Blue-collar bruisers". Boston.com. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
- ^ a b "Semipro football players in it for love of the game - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. 2014-09-09. Retrieved 2016-01-26.
- ^ COLLINS, ED. "Foundation set for South Coast Outlaws semi-pro football team". southcoasttoday.com. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
- ^ William J. Ryczek. Connecticut Gridiron: Football Minor Leaguers of the 1960s and 1970s, McFarland & Company, 2014. ISBN 0786478330