Jul 8 2026
The Story of The AAFL
The story of the Amarillo Adult Flag League began long before its first official season.
Founder and Commissioner Albert O. Sifuentez Jr grew up loving the game of football. From a young age, he wanted the opportunity to play, but due to a heart condition he was born with, tackle football was not an option. By the time he was old enough to look for other ways to play, he was already too old for youth flag football.
Years later, that passion for the game was reignited when Albert played flag football for the first time through intramurals as a freshman at Amarillo College in September 2019. That experience inspired him to create his first league, the All-Star Flag Football League, which officially began on October 4, 2019.
The first league was more of a pickup-style league, with no entry fees, referees, or major structure outside of rules similar to Amarillo College’s intramural rules. Games were played at Bonham Middle School, but the first season only saw three games completed due to teams dropping out. Although there were no playoffs or championship, the league still ended the season with player awards.
Albert hoped to bounce back in 2020 with a new season planned for October and four teams lined up. However, due to rising COVID-19 cases and players testing positive, the 2020 season was canceled.
In 2021, Albert returned to Amarillo College intramural flag football for the second time after the college's 2020 season had also been canceled due to COVID-19. Joining as a free agent, he missed the first half of the season because of COVID-19-related responsibilities at work but was able to return for the second half. Although he wished he had been able to play the entire season, his team went on to win the intramural championship.
That same year, Albert remained hopeful about restarting his own league and began making plans for a 2021 season. However, due to a lack of structure and the difficulty of organizing teams and players, those plans ultimately fell through.
For the next couple of years, there were no official plans to restart the league, though Albert still hoped to bring adult flag football back someday. In late 2023, that idea began to resurface when friends and family started meeting almost every weekend from November through February to play pickup two-touch football at Bonham Middle School. During one of those games, one of Albert’s cousins jokingly said, “We basically got a mini league going.” That comment reignited the idea of starting again.
In early 2024, Albert began planning a new league under the name Flag Football League of Amarillo. A rulebook was created, but the league never officially launched. He later considered trying again in late 2024, but the idea still did not fully come together.
In early 2025, Albert, his friends, and family once again began playing pickup football. He attempted to gather interest from others who had played with them, hoping they might help build the league. However, due to either a lack of interest or the message not being relayed to others, he received no input and struggled to find people willing to help. At that point, Albert scrapped the idea and decided he was not going to try to start another league again.
Still, the need for adult recreational flag football in Amarillo remained. Albert began researching whether any organizations, the City of Amarillo, or other groups offered an adult recreational flag football league. He reached out to an organization that had hosted one for several years, but never received a response and later found out they were no longer offering adult recreational flag football. The City of Amarillo had not had a league since 2016, and other leagues in the area were no longer in operation.
By July 2025, with friends and family wanting to play football again, Albert decided something needed to be done. Amarillo did not have an active adult recreational flag football league, and flag football was rapidly growing in popularity across the country. In August 2025, he began putting together a new plan—this time with better organization, referees, entry fees, and a stronger foundation.
That new league became the Amarillo Adult Flag League, also known as the AAFL.
Although the plan at first seemed like it might fall apart like previous attempts, the league began gaining momentum. Ads were posted, referees came on board, several individuals signed up as free agents, and there was enough interest to make a season possible.
The inaugural AAFL season officially began on October 12, 2025. Unlike past attempts, the league completed the season strong with playoffs and a championship.
Albert’s vision for the AAFL was not only to give himself an opportunity to play adult recreational flag football, but also to create a new opportunity for Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle. The goal was to build something organized, competitive, and lasting for adults who still love the game.
Before the start of the 2026 fall season, the league revealed a new logo identity and introduced rule changes to add even more structure moving forward. What began as a personal love for football, and years of trial and error, has grown into the Amarillo Adult Flag League—a league built for the players, the community, and the future of adult flag football in Amarillo.
Founder and Commissioner Albert O. Sifuentez Jr grew up loving the game of football. From a young age, he wanted the opportunity to play, but due to a heart condition he was born with, tackle football was not an option. By the time he was old enough to look for other ways to play, he was already too old for youth flag football.
Years later, that passion for the game was reignited when Albert played flag football for the first time through intramurals as a freshman at Amarillo College in September 2019. That experience inspired him to create his first league, the All-Star Flag Football League, which officially began on October 4, 2019.
The first league was more of a pickup-style league, with no entry fees, referees, or major structure outside of rules similar to Amarillo College’s intramural rules. Games were played at Bonham Middle School, but the first season only saw three games completed due to teams dropping out. Although there were no playoffs or championship, the league still ended the season with player awards.
Albert hoped to bounce back in 2020 with a new season planned for October and four teams lined up. However, due to rising COVID-19 cases and players testing positive, the 2020 season was canceled.
In 2021, Albert returned to Amarillo College intramural flag football for the second time after the college's 2020 season had also been canceled due to COVID-19. Joining as a free agent, he missed the first half of the season because of COVID-19-related responsibilities at work but was able to return for the second half. Although he wished he had been able to play the entire season, his team went on to win the intramural championship.
That same year, Albert remained hopeful about restarting his own league and began making plans for a 2021 season. However, due to a lack of structure and the difficulty of organizing teams and players, those plans ultimately fell through.
For the next couple of years, there were no official plans to restart the league, though Albert still hoped to bring adult flag football back someday. In late 2023, that idea began to resurface when friends and family started meeting almost every weekend from November through February to play pickup two-touch football at Bonham Middle School. During one of those games, one of Albert’s cousins jokingly said, “We basically got a mini league going.” That comment reignited the idea of starting again.
In early 2024, Albert began planning a new league under the name Flag Football League of Amarillo. A rulebook was created, but the league never officially launched. He later considered trying again in late 2024, but the idea still did not fully come together.
In early 2025, Albert, his friends, and family once again began playing pickup football. He attempted to gather interest from others who had played with them, hoping they might help build the league. However, due to either a lack of interest or the message not being relayed to others, he received no input and struggled to find people willing to help. At that point, Albert scrapped the idea and decided he was not going to try to start another league again.
Still, the need for adult recreational flag football in Amarillo remained. Albert began researching whether any organizations, the City of Amarillo, or other groups offered an adult recreational flag football league. He reached out to an organization that had hosted one for several years, but never received a response and later found out they were no longer offering adult recreational flag football. The City of Amarillo had not had a league since 2016, and other leagues in the area were no longer in operation.
By July 2025, with friends and family wanting to play football again, Albert decided something needed to be done. Amarillo did not have an active adult recreational flag football league, and flag football was rapidly growing in popularity across the country. In August 2025, he began putting together a new plan—this time with better organization, referees, entry fees, and a stronger foundation.
That new league became the Amarillo Adult Flag League, also known as the AAFL.
Although the plan at first seemed like it might fall apart like previous attempts, the league began gaining momentum. Ads were posted, referees came on board, several individuals signed up as free agents, and there was enough interest to make a season possible.
The inaugural AAFL season officially began on October 12, 2025. Unlike past attempts, the league completed the season strong with playoffs and a championship.
Albert’s vision for the AAFL was not only to give himself an opportunity to play adult recreational flag football, but also to create a new opportunity for Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle. The goal was to build something organized, competitive, and lasting for adults who still love the game.
Before the start of the 2026 fall season, the league revealed a new logo identity and introduced rule changes to add even more structure moving forward. What began as a personal love for football, and years of trial and error, has grown into the Amarillo Adult Flag League—a league built for the players, the community, and the future of adult flag football in Amarillo.