Fan Controlled Football (FCF) is a professional indoor football league created in 2017 as the first sports league controlled by fans.[1][2] The league's inaugural season began on February 13, 2021, and will last six weeks (four regular-season weeks, one playoff week, and a championship week). All games will be held at the Infinite Energy Arena in Duluth, Georgia and broadcast on Twitch.[3][4][5]
It was created by Project Fanchise, who established the first fan-controlled professional sports franchise, the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles, and operated the Colorado Crush to play in the Indoor Football League in 2017 before Fanchise pulled both teams out of the league.[6]
History
The idea, then known as Project Franchise, was covered by The New York Times with the business concept of a fan-controlled baseball team in 2008, but was written as satirical piece by comedian Steve Hofstetter.[7] At the time, the project was just a website created by Grant Cohen with investors consisting of lawyers such as Joe Scura. In 2010, a GOOD Magazine article described the group's business plan, including asking fans to invest in creating or purchasing a minor league baseball team to become publicly owned and operated.[8] The project ultimately failed when purchasing an existing team proved to carry too much debt.[9] In June 2015, an Arena Football League team minority owner, Sohrob Farudi, read about the dead project and contacted Cohen about restarting the concept as Project Fanchise.[9]
In April 2016, Project Fanchise purchased an expansion team in the Indoor Football League for the 2017 season. The group created a mobile app for subscribed fans to vote on naming the team, chose its colors, and hire a coach before the season started. The team became the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles, and when the team began to play, the fans chose plays for the team to run.[10] The experience successfully proved the concept of fans controlling the team, but it did not equate to success on the field finishing with a 5–11 record. Fanchise had also acquired the Colorado Crush just prior to the start of the season but did not implement the system at that time. On April 20, 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported that Project Fanchise was planning on launching a new league called the "Interactive Football League".[11] Project Fanchise CEO Sohrob Farudi confirmed that the Screaming Eagles and Crush would finish the 2017 season.[12] Project Fanchise folded both teams after the season and began the process to create the new league.
In 2020, the league had rebranded once again as Fan Controlled Football (FCF). In December 2020, the league had signed quarterbacks Johnny Manziel and Deondre Francois.[17] In January 2021, the league announced the first season will be played at the Infinite Energy Arena in the Atlanta suburb of Duluth, Georgia. The arena is to be turned into a film stage with screens and lights to enhance viewer experience, similar to that of the 2020 NBA Bubble. No fans will be allowed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[18]
