Building the season,
not just the map.

On this date a year ago, we had two teams buying into the vision for the Continental Football League. Today, the work reaches from club fundraising and local partnerships to player advancement, broadcast development, and conversations about the next two seasons. That is a different place to be, and it is worth taking a moment to recognize.

What matters to me is whether the work we are doing now will hold up when it is time to play football. A player earning another opportunity, a club building local support, or a new partnership taking shape may look like separate stories. To me, they are connected. They are the work of building teams that can serve their communities beyond a single season.

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be back on the road meeting with prospective markets for 2027. Some conversations are already looking toward 2028, when we expect further expansion. I want to hear what each group can bring to its community, but I also need to understand how it plans to deliver. My responsibility is to ask those questions before we put a team on the schedule.

As we move into October, that is where our attention will be: ownership readiness, operating capital, venue plans, and the football and business standards that make a season possible. We will share confirmed participation and scheduling details as that work is completed. The final lineup will be determined by readiness, not by filling a predetermined number of places.

Manny Matsakis
Founder & CEO, Continental Football League

The Work of Building a League

Building a League Is Not a Straight Line

Building a football league has an ebb and flow. There are breakthroughs, setbacks, and decisions that require more work than anyone sees from the outside. Progress matters, but so does the willingness to adjust when the facts call for it.

This week, the UFL announced Rhode Island and Colorado for 2027, followed by planned additions in Utah and Oklahoma in 2028. Its announcement emphasized finding the right combination of markets, venues, local partners, and fans. Read the UFL announcement.

We respect the work involved in creating more opportunities for professional football. The CoFL has its own model and summer calendar, but the underlying responsibility is familiar: bring together the people, resources, facilities, and community support needed to deliver a season.

Our fans deserve both ambition and candor. Not every step will happen on the original timetable, and enthusiasm alone cannot replace preparation. Our job is to keep moving forward, communicate confirmed decisions clearly, and do the work that gives teams the best opportunity to last.

Inside the League Office

Building what fans will see on game day.

While clubs build locally, the league office is developing the work that connects them. The partnership package, broadcast presentation, and game-day experience need to support one another.

Michael Schetzel is working diligently on the CoFL media kit and partnership package. The goal is to give prospective partners a clear understanding of the League and the opportunities to participate in its growth.

Billy Gahagan is developing a distinctive broadcast presentation designed to align with the new game-day format work Jason Phillips has underway. The intent is to make what viewers see on the broadcast work with what is happening at the game, rather than build the two separately.

These projects are still in development, and we will share specifics as they are ready. For now, the important point is that the football, presentation, and commercial work are moving together.

Around the League

Progress takes more than one form.

San Antonio Toros: Support is growing.

$80,691

Reported raised

138

Investors

Toros campaign update shared September 25, 2026. Figures are a reported snapshot, not a live total.

The San Antonio Toros' Wefunder campaign is building support beyond the field. The latest supplied campaign update reports approximately $1,000 and five investors added over the preceding seven days, bringing the total to 139 investments from 138 investors.

Credit to Josh Mair and the Toros organization for continuing the work of broadening the club's support. Josh also reports increased activity from new investors in his campaign update.

Texas Syndicate: A player's next opportunity.

The Texas Syndicate announced that its first player has signed “at the next level,” marking a player-advancement milestone for the organization. The club credits the player's effort and emphasizes its commitment to helping players get seen and earn their next opportunity in its team announcement.

That is the kind of football story worth recognizing. Congratulations to the player and the Syndicate organization on the next step.

Indianapolis Capitols: A Teamsters partnership.

The Indianapolis Capitols have secured a partnership with the Teamsters Union in Indianapolis. It is a meaningful local connection as the club builds its place in the city, and a reminder that working families and community relationships belong at the center of the People's League.

Cincinnati and Tall City: Building stronger partnerships.

The Cincinnati Dukes and Tall City in Midland, Texas, are both working with Tommy Benizio to advance their partnership programs. That commercial work is an important part of preparing clubs to deliver on game day.

A thank-you from the league office to Tommy for the work he is doing with both organizations. Stronger local partnerships help support stronger football operations.

Sunday Reading · Gridiron Aficionado

For the serious football fan.
Your Sunday morning starts here.

If following football means more to you than checking the score, make room for Kept, a Sunday morning letter from Manny Matsakis at Gridiron Aficionado. It takes the longer view: coaching intelligence, football history, leadership, culture, and stories worth returning to after the weekend is over.

Manny's publishing roots run back to 1994, when he founded American Football Quarterly, the publication that became American Football Monthly, as detailed in his league biography. That publishing background reflects a longstanding commitment to helping readers understand the game more deeply.

The Continental keeps you connected to this league. Kept offers a separate Sunday read from Manny's independent football publication, Gridiron Aficionado. For our fans who want more football insight throughout the year, this is an invitation to go deeper.

Get Kept: Manny's Sunday Letter →

The People's League

The work continues.

We have more to build, and we will keep sharing the work as it takes shape. Thank you for following the clubs, supporting the people behind them, and staying with us as we prepare for 2027.

Manny Matsakis
Founder & CEO, Continental Football League

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