United Football Alliance
Current season or competition: 2026 United Football Alliance season | |
 | |
| Sport | Amorian football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2020 |
| Inaugural season | 2020 |
| No. of teams | 16 |
| Nation(s) |
 Floria |
| TV partner(s) | Sportworld |
| Related competitions |
FFL NCAF College Football Championship |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
The United Football Alliance is a professional gridiron football league comprising 16 teams divided into North and South divisions. The season runs in the spring, with each team playing a 12-game schedule. An eight-team playoff determines the championship. The league is considered the second tier of professional gridiron football. Roster compositions typically include former and loaned-out FFL practice squad players and undrafted NCAF players, making it the feeder league to the FFL.
History
Teams
Season structure
Players
Each UFA team carries a 75-player roster during training camp. Rosters are reduced to 50 players before the beginning of the regular season, of whom 45 may be designated as active on game day. Players placed on injured reserve are required to miss a minimum of five games. Players placed on season-ending injured reserve remain under the control of their club and are guaranteed an invitation to training camp for the following season.
Although the UFA has increasingly served as a developmental pathway to the FFL, the league also recruits experienced professional players seeking to continue their careers. UFA rosters typically consist of a mixture of young prospects, players released by FFL clubs, loaned out FFL practice squad players, undrafted NCAF players, former FFL players attempting to return to the league and established UFA veterans. As a result, the league does not formally describe itself solely as a developmental competition, instead promoting itself as an independent professional football league which also provides a pathway into the FFL.
The UFA maintains formal affiliations with FFL franchises. Each UFA club is affiliated with two FFL teams, although UFA clubs retain control over their own football operations and player recruitment. The affiliation system is intended to facilitate player development, scouting and movement between the two leagues without operating UFA clubs as conventional reserve teams. The league holds an annual UFA Draft to allocate negotiating rights to eligible incoming players. The draft primarily consists of players who were not selected in the FFL Draft, together with other eligible players entering professional football. Players selected in the UFA Draft are not required to sign with the club holding their rights and may continue to pursue opportunities in the FFL. The UFA Draft is held following the completion of the FFL's preseason roster reductions. This allows UFA clubs to evaluate players released by FFL organisations before finalising their offseason personnel plans. Players released during FFL training camps constitute a significant part of the UFA player pool, alongside undrafted NCAF graduates and returning UFA players. Players who have spent two consecutive seasons under contract with the same UFA club become eligible for unrestricted free agency following the completion of their second season. Until that point, the club retains the player's UFA rights unless the player is released, traded or signs an eligible contract with an FFL organisation. Players under UFA contracts are permitted to sign with FFL teams during designated transaction periods. Such moves are recorded as FFL signings rather than conventional trades between affiliated clubs, and an UFA team's FFL affiliates do not hold automatic rights to its players. This allows players to receive opportunities throughout the FFL while maintaining the UFA's status as an independent professional competition.
Salaries
UFA players are paid on a weekly basis during the season under a league-wide standard contract. Players on regular-season rosters receive approximately $5,500 per week, with additional payments made to players whose teams qualify for the postseason. Training camp players receive a separate weekly stipend until final roster reductions are completed. Unlike the FFL, the UFA operates a largely standardised player compensation system. Salaries therefore vary considerably less between players and positions, although quarterbacks and a limited number of veteran players may receive additional contractual incentives. Players also receive accommodation during training camp and other league-provided benefits during the season. Players placed on injured reserve continue to receive compensation in accordance with the terms of the league's standard player contract. Additional bonuses are paid for postseason appearances, conference championship victories and participation in the Alliance Bowl, with players on the Alliance Bowl-winning team receiving the league's largest postseason bonus. The comparatively short UFA season means annual earnings remain substantially below those available in the FFL. The league nevertheless operates as a fully professional competition, with its compensation structure intended to attract players seeking continued professional football opportunities while providing a route into the FFL.
Rules
The UFA uses a modified form of Amorian football rules. While the majority of the league's rules are shared with the FFL, the UFA has introduced a number of differences intended to encourage offensive play, increase the number of returns and provide opportunities to test rules which may subsequently be considered by the FFL.
The UFA's officiating department is responsible for the administration of the league rulebook, appointment and evaluation of officials and operation of the league's central replay system.
Major differences between UFA and FFL rules include:
- A receiver is required to establish only one foot in bounds for a forward pass to be ruled complete.
- Two forward passes may be thrown on the same play provided that both passes are thrown from behind the line of scrimmage.
- Following a touchdown, teams may choose between a one-point kick, a two-point conversion from the 2-yard line or a three-point conversion from the 8-yard line.
- A successful field goal attempted from 60 yards or greater is worth four points. All shorter field goals are worth three points.
- The UFA uses a modified kickoff formation designed to reduce high-speed collisions and increase the number of returns. With the exception of the kicker, players on the kicking and receiving teams line up downfield and may not move until the ball has been fielded or reaches the designated landing area.
- In place of an onside kick, a team trailing during the fourth quarter may attempt to retain possession by gaining 12 yards on a single offensive play.
- Once an offensive team has crossed midfield into opposing territory, it may not punt unless the play occurs after the two-minute warning of either half. A penalty which subsequently moves the offense back behind midfield does not restore the option to punt.
- Touchbacks place the ball at the receiving team's 25-yard line. Punts which travel out of bounds beyond the receiving team's 25-yard line are also treated as touchbacks.
- Defensive pass interference is penalised at the spot of the foul up to a maximum of 15 yards from the previous line of scrimmage.
- An offensive fumble which travels through the opponent's end zone does not result in a turnover. The ball is returned to the spot of the fumble and possession remains with the offensive team.
- Plays in which players positioned behind the quarterback immediately push the quarterback into the offensive line following the snap are prohibited. Conventional quarterback sneaks remain legal.
- Regular-season games tied at the end of regulation are decided by a conversion shootout. Each team receives three attempts from the 5-yard line, with successful attempts worth two points. If the teams remain tied, additional rounds are played until one team scores and the other fails on corresponding attempts. There is no game clock during overtime, although the play clock remains in operation.
- The game clock generally continues to run following incomplete passes and plays ending out of bounds outside the final two minutes of each half. Conventional clock-stoppage rules apply following the two-minute warning.
The UFA has periodically been used as a testing ground for potential FFL rule changes. The two leagues maintain separate rulebooks, however, and the adoption of a rule by the UFA does not automatically result in its introduction to the FFL.
