FOR USE AS DESIRED
NFL-100         12/14/00

The National Football League has agreed to oversee and manage game officials of the Arena Football League (AFL) and the AFL’s minor league, arenafootball2 (af2), beginning with the 2001 AFL and af2 seasons. The announcement was made jointly today by NFL Commissioner PAUL TAGLIABUE and AFL Commissioner DAVID BAKER.

"Developing game officials for all levels of football is part of our Officiating Department’s overall mission," said Commissioner Tagliabue. "We are pleased to be working with the Arena Football League in this area."

The NFL Officiating Department will be led next year by Director of Officiating Mike Pereira and NFL Director of Officiating Operations Larry Upson. Current NFL Director of Officiating Jerry Seeman will retire following the 2000 season.

The NFL Officiating Department will oversee the endeavor for both the AFL and af2 with assistance from four regional supervisors -- Jim Lapetina in the north, Ed Manning in the east, Bob Mantooth in the west, and Buddy Ward in the south. All are retired AFL officials with 49 combined seasons of Arena Football experience.

The four regional supervisors will report to the NFL. They will assist in the hiring and training of officials, review of game tape, performance grading, game observation, and crew assignment for the 357 AFL and af2 games next season.

The NFL also trains and supervises the NFL Europe League officials, cooperates on various programs with college officiating, and sponsors clinics to train youth football game officials in the U.S. and internationally.

In the AFL’s previous 14 seasons, a total of 11 officials have ascended to NFL officiating crews.

"The Arena Football League is the fastest growing league in the world today," said Baker. "We have a vision for world-wide major league Arena Football and potentially as many as 150 af2 developmental teams. To marry the integrity and credibility of NFL officiating with the grassroots growth of the AFL is good for everyone associated with the sport of football, especially for football fans everywhere."

The AFL will kick off its 15th season next April with a record 19 teams, including new teams in Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Long Island (NY), and Toronto, Ontario -- the AFL’s first Canadian team. Last year, twice as many fans watched games than ever before, with the AFL exceeding one million fans for a fifth consecutive season, and arenafootball2 surpassing 800,000 fans in its inaugural season.

The Arena Football League is the second-longest running professional football league in the United States behind the NFL. The alliance between the NFL and Arena Football originated on May 22, 1998, when an amendment to NFL rules was adopted allowing owners to invest in AFL teams in their own markets. The NFL also holds an exclusive option to acquire an equity interest of 49.9 percent in the AFL, subject to the approval of NFL owners.