During a recent conversation with a friend of mine who played for the same team in Pennsylvania for 22 seasons, who won the American Football Association "National Championship" in 1984 and 1989, and played for another in 1986; we came to an estimate of "somewhere in the neighborhood of 27, National Championships" claimed during any given season in the past decade.  Basically anyone with a field and two teams can claim the game is for a "National Championship" in the Semi-Pro world.

So how do you navigate the claims, the invitations and find out what matters to you and your team?  Well, first answer what makes a National Championship game?  With over 500 teams nationwide, playing 3-4 weeks of playoffs is pretty unfeasible with extensive time off from work and travel expenses, especially in the Northwest, or anywhere west of the Mississippi River for that matter.  Distances are too great.  The North American Football League of the early 2000's proved that.

Here, we are only going to focus on those organizations with a LONG track record and give you an understanding of how the process works.

American Football Association (est. 1980)

Founded in 1980 by Ron Real as the Minor League Football System, the American Football Association (AFA) has long been the recognized United States Semi-Pro football "authority" nationwide for many years.  With a National Hall of Fame, the Arkush Cup AFA Championship Trophy and 40 years of history, the AFA has crowned champions in each of those 40 years.  The National Hall of Fame is the most rigorous vetting and qualification process in semi-pro football.  Today, active member leagues are eligible for a shot at the AFA Championship.  The ENTIRE league must be registered with the AFA prior to the season to qualify.

Noteable AFA/MLFS National Champions from the Northwest:

2002 Puget Sound Jets

2004 Eastside Hawks

National Football Events (est. 1999)

National organization supporting semi pro/minor league football for over 20 years, NFE has been involved in regional and national team rankings through a weekly coaches poll, torunaments and all-star games.  NFE operates the United States Football Association, National Bowl Weekend in Florida and the Casino Bowl All-Star game in Las Vegas.  The NFE is entirely made up of volunteer staff with many years of semi-pro football experience as players, coaches, managers and owners

www.nationalfootballevents.com

The USFA is the nation's oldest "National Championship Series" of semi pro football operating regional tournaments and crowing champions for over 30 years beginning in 1989.  Operated under the umbrella of National Football Events (NFE), the USFA holds several regional post season tournament qualifiers, producing regional representatives to play for the USFA National Championship at both the AAA and AA levels of play.  USFA National Champions have to EARN their way to Florida by playing the best teams across the region in tournament form, or league champions vs league champions challenge match ups.  The USFA and NFE host National Bowl Weekend during January where National Champions and National Bowl Game winners are crowned.

www.nationalfootballevents.com/united-states-football-association

National Bowl Weekend

Begun as a warm-weather destination for the USFA National Championship, the event has grown to a two-day weekend event matching up the top teams from across the nation in several bowl game settings.  National Bowl Weekend provides teams an opportunity to test themselves and increase their national notoriety on a grand stage that pits East-vs-West, North-vs-South, Spring-vs-Summer and all challenges in-between.  The January games culminate the previous years tournament and regional championships, over the course of 5-6 games.  A team does not simply get invited by winning their league...they MUST win their way to Florida against other league champions from their region, or in a tournament format outside of their own league.

www.nationalfootballevents.com/national-bowl-weekend

January 2021 National Bowl Weekend Results

AFE USA Women's All Stars 50 Women's Tackle Football League All-Stars 0

Palm Bowl:  NFE AAA National Championship: Oklahoma Bears 17 Detroit (MI) Ravens 6

North American Bowl: USFA AAA National Championship: Brooklyn (NY) Seminoles 13 Midway (IL) Marauders 6

Orange Blossom Bowl: USFA AA National Championship: Iredell (NC) Warriors 32 Delco (PA) Scorpions 0

Florida Bowl: NFE AAA Spring vs Fall National Championship: Orlando (FL) Phantoms 31 Middle Tennessee Bulldawgs 12

Casino Bowl National All-Star Game

The premier national all-star game since 1996, the Casino Bowl is played each spring in Las Vegas, Nevada with players selected from across the country based on all-league selections and coaches recommendations.

www.nationalfootballevents.com/casino-bowl

Minor League Football Report (formerly MLFN)

Created in February 1996 by Dick Seuss, the MLFN reported on semi pro football, operated the Free Agent Scouting Combine (FASCO) All-Star games in Las Vegas, Hawaii and other locations across the country, put out rankings and established a Hall of Fame.  The MLFN changed hands in the 2000s eventually landing with Darren Magpie who changed the name to Minor League Football Report.  Darren passed away suddenly in 2020 and a volunteer board of directors is currently operating the Hall of Fame and the December All-Star games in Las Vegas.  Selection into the MLFN Championship is based on National Ranking, partially utilizing the NFE Coaches Poll and other metrics, and is based on an invitation from the MLFR staff.

American Football Events (AFE) Team USA All Stars

The place for semi-pro players to represent the Red, White and Blue in international competition.  The AFE USA All-Stars have a stringent selection process and and even more stringent code of conduct required to be a member of the team.  With both Men's and Women's teams scheduling games across the world, if you think you have what it takes and have the make-up to wear the colors of the greatest country on earth, this is the team to try out for.

The Pacific Northwest All Stars take on Team USA in the "Stars and Stripes Bowl" October 16th, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

www.afeusaallstars.com

At publishing time, these are the current LONGEST running and nationally recognized "National Games" to be a part of.