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Wednesday, November 14, 2007

AFA HELPS KICK OFF WOMEN

’S FOOTBALL DIVISION BY INDUCTING TWO FORMER FEMALE PLAYERS INTO THE AFA SEMI-PRO FOOTBALL HALL of FAME


By Anonymous



AFA PRESS RELEASE: (April 19, 2002)

Media - contact Dave Burch at AFA National Office (877)624-4485 or (941)388-3510

(e-mail) amerfoot@aol.com (or) usafoot@aol.com

www.americanfootballassn.com



AFA HELPS KICK OFF WOMEN’S FOOTBALL DIVISION BY INDUCTING TWO FORMER FEMALE PLAYERS INTO THE AFA SEMI-PRO FOOTBALL HALL of FAME



Twenty-one teams from the National Women's Football League will kick off it's second season around the country on April 20th. This is full contact football played by top female athletes. The NWFL teams are all ‘registered members’ of

the American Football Association.



The AFA has registered 4 different women’s leagues (with 59 teams) across the country for the 2002 season and recently announced the national association has begun selecting female players for induction into the AFA’s Semi-Pro Football Hall of Fame (not associated or affiliated with the Pro Football Hall of Fame

located in Canton, Ohio) starting with the “Class of 2002”.



Women’s football leagues were fairly organized in a few local areas in the mid 70’s but disappeared because of the difficulty in developing national interest among the league organizers. Today's female players want very much to be a part of the football world and are dedicating themselves to the sport much the same way as their male semi-pro football counterparts have been doing for the past century.



Recently the AFA announced that it will be inducting two former female players - who were standouts for their respective teams more than a quarter century ago. Linda Hodge, who played flanker, free safety and was the kicker for the

Pittsburgh (Penn.) Powerkegs and Linda Jefferson, outstanding runningback for the Toledo (Ohio) Troopers, were both selected for induction into the AFA Hall of Fame ‘Class of 2002’ and will be enshrined on June 22nd in *Canton, Ohio

along with their male counterparts. The two ladies will bring the total number people inducted into the AFA/HOF to 399 over the past 22 years.



“Although we have inducted women in the past (in the executive category) for their contributions and dedication to their leagues and teams, Hodge and Jefferson will be the AFA’s first two ‘female players’ to be inducted into our Hall of Fame,” says the AFA President Ron Real from his Sarasota, Florida headquarters. “I think this will be a great incentive for the players, coaches and organizers of the women’s football leagues to realize there’s a possibility they too one day may be nominated and selected to the American Football Association’s Hall of Fame.”



This weekend the NWFL will begin their 2002 season. The teams include the Nashville Dream, The Asheville Assault, The SW Michigan Jaguars, The Atlanta Leopards, The Mass Mutiny, The Philadelphia Liberty Belles, The Chattanooga

Locomotion, The Tennessee Venom, The Pensacola Power, The New Orleans Spice, The Panama City Beach Rumble, The Biloxi Hurricanes, The Alabama Renegades, The Connecticut Crush, The Maine Freeze, The Detroit Danger, The South Bend Golden

Hawks, The Knoxville Summit, The Baltimore Burn, The DC Divas, and The Cleveland Fusion.



The NWFL played an inaugural season in the fall of 2000 with 2 teams, the Nashville Dream and the Alabama Renegades. The league expanded to 10 teams and played again in the spring of 2001. The Philadelphia Liberty Belles beat the Pensacola Power 40-0 in front of 5,000 fans in Pensacola, Florida to win the Championship.



League Owner Catherine Masters added 11 teams and 3 additional divisions for 2002. "The growth of the league is staggering. I have had to turn down potential owners because they wanted to start teams that we weren't ready for. We have been careful where we placed our expansion teams," states Masters.



Each team will play 4 home and 4 away games. The top team from each division will compete in playoffs and the Championship game will played July, 20th. The location of the Championship game has not been determined yet.



Look for some great rivalry this year. The Nashville Dream and the Alabama Renegades are meeting for their third season. The Mass Mutiny and the Philadelphia Liberty Belles meeting will be another game to watch. Last season the Belles and the Mutiny met 3 times and either could have gone to the Championship game. Points determined the advancement of the Belles to the Championship game.



The league website, www.nwflcentral.com, received over a million hits in March 2002 (according to Webtrends). " Our fan base is definitely growing," states Debby Lening, VP Marketing/Media. "The level of play has improved tremendously and we hope to have television coverage of our Championship game. Some teams

games will be aired on local radio. Fox has partnered with our South West Michigan Jaguars team," adds Lening. And, if that wasn't enough, a full length motion picture is being produced about the league.



For more information about the NWFL, please visit the league website, www.nwflcentral.com, or call the league office at (615) 860-4084.



On another note, consistent with our focus to bring more premium services to our membership, the AFA has partnered to provide the following services (visit website for hotlinks):

eteamz Personal & Team websites

Liability Insurance

Legal

Services

Fund Raiser Programs

Sports Equipment Deals

Pay Pal

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