X League (women's football)

Extreme Football League
Most recent season or competition:
2022 X League season
FormerlyLingerie Football League (2009–2012)
Legends Football League (2013–2019)
SportWomen's American football
Founded2009; 15 years ago (2009)
First season2009
Owner(s)Mike Ditka
CEOMitch Mortaza
No. of teams8
CountriesUnited States
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California
Most recent
champion(s)		Chicago Blitz (2022; 1st title)
Most titlesChicago Bliss (4 titles)
Official websitexleague.live

The Extreme Football League (X League) is a women's semi-professional indoor American football league operating in the United States. The league was originally founded in 2009 as the Lingerie Football League (LFL), and later rebranded as the Legends Football League in 2013.[1]

On December 13, 2019, the league announced that it would not be holding a 2020 season[2] and that it had instead restructured under its current name, placing new teams mostly in the same locations as the 2019 LFL season.[3] The league also did not operate during 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The X League's eight-team 2022 season spanned June to September, concluding with the restructured league's inaugural championship, the X Cup, won by the Chicago Blitz.

Since 2021, the league is owned by Mike Ditka,[4] a former National Football League (NFL) player and an inductee of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[5] Samantha Gordon was also named an owner in May 2022.[6]

The league is scheduled for return in 2026, in a hybrid format of tackle and flag football.

  1. ^ Mitchell, Houston (January 11, 2013). "Lingerie Football League changes name; players to wear uniforms". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference No2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference X2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Football Icon and Hall of Famer Mike Ditka Takes on Ownership and Named Chairman of X League". xleague.live (Press release). July 14, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  5. ^ "Mike Ditka becomes owner of X League, a women's tackle football league". NBC Sports. July 15, 2020.
  6. ^ "Women's Football Pioneer Sam Gordon Takes Ownership of X League". xleague.live (Press release). May 3, 2022. Retrieved February 26, 2023.