In a press conference on September 13, 2017, the Richmond Roughriders officially left the National Arena League (NAL). They will plan on joining the American Arena League (AAL). The Roughriders leave NAL for the AAL will leave a lot of people concerned. Here is what you need to know about the league change.

Richmond Roughriders to Leave NAL; Join AAL

After a month and a half after confirming with the NAL that they intend on joining the league, they decide to turn away from the league. Instead, they decided to move on and joined the AAL.

Not everything was all set in stone for the Richmond Roughriders with the NAL.

Although the Roughriders confirmed that they joined the league for the 2018 season, the owners and managers of the team still needed to sign papers to make things official.

Forming the New League

The AAL wanted to make their league sound like the greatest in the country, merging with another league.

With this happening, the Roughriders took it to the NAL’s attention that they will not be committing to the upcoming NAL season.

The Roughriders were in the American Pro Football (APF) last season. They went undefeated, won the championship, then left.

The APF and Can-Am Indoor Football League made the AAL when they decided to merge together and make one league. The choice was made and Richmond was convinced that this was the correct league to join.

The league has nine other teams, four Northern division teams and five Southern division teams. With the Roughriders joining, it sets the league at an even number of teams. This could be as simple as helping the schedules become more balanced.

So far, the AAL’s Northern division teams are the Glens Falls Gladiators in Glens Falls, NY; Rochester Kings in Brighton, NY; Upstate Dragons in Anderson, SC; Vermont Bucks in Burlington, VT, and the Richmond Roughriders in Richmond, VA.

The Southern teams are the Cape Fear Heroes in Fayetteville, NC; Florida Tarpons in Estero, FL; Georgia Doom in Macon, GA; Savannah Coastal Outlaws in Savannah, GA; and the Triangle Torch in Raleigh, NC.

To stay updated on what is happening with the Richmond Roughriders, they have social media accounts, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.