World League Of American Football
The World League of American Football (WLAF) was founded in 1990 with support from the National Football League to play professional American football in North America, Europe and later possibly Asia. This came after the NFL had played popular American Bowls in London's Wembley Stadium and elsewhere since 1986.
The WLAF played two seasons with 10 teams in the spring of 1991 and 1992, with the World Bowl as championship games. Rules unique to WLAF included assigning increasing point value to field goals based on distance, and a requirement that at least one player of non-US nationality participate in at least every other series of downs.
New ideas were successfully tested, like using the two-point conversion rule also on the professional field before adopting it in the NFL in 1994. Other minor tweaks in gameplay, such as a shorter kickoff tee, were also first used in the WLAF. Several technical innovations, such as helmet mounted cameras and one-way radios, enabling coaches to tell plays directly to quarterbacks, were also developed.
In 1995, games in Europe were resumed as the World League, in 1998 as NFL Europe and in 2007 as NFL Europa. The league ceased operations on 29 June 2007.
Read more about World League Of American Football: WLAF History, Television Coverage, Stadiums
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