Minor leagues are professional

sports league A sports league is a group of individual athletes, sports teams or clubs who form a league to compete against each other and gain points in a specific sport. At its simplest, it may be a local group of amateur athletes who form teams among them ...

s which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

with regard to several organizations competing in various sports. They generally have lesser fan bases, much smaller revenues and salaries, and are used to develop players for bigger leagues. Minor leagues are also occasionally used as a testing ground for proposed rule changes prior to implementation at the top level. The minor league concept is a manifestation of the franchise system used in North American sports, whereby the group of major league teams in each sport is fixed for long periods between expansions or other adjustments, which only take place with the consent of the major league owners. In

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and many other parts of the world, association football (soccer), basketball, american football, baseball, handball, hockey, etc. leagues have many divisions below the ''top-flight level'' as part of the

football pyramid Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

. In other parts of the world there is usually either a system of annual

promotion and relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

, meaning that clubs have no fixed status in the hierarchy, or there is only one professional league per country in each sport, rendering the major/minor distinction irrelevant.

American football

While there are various

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a cons ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

leagues, none have any affiliation with the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). The NFL and its teams have had working relationships with several independent leagues in the past, including the Association of Professional Football Leagues, the

Atlantic Coast Football League The Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) was a professional American football Minor league football (gridiron), minor league that operated from 1962 to 1973. Until 1969, many of its franchises had working agreements with National Football Leagu ...

, and most recently, the league owned-and-operated

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

. In modern times, the NFL has developed players not ready for the active roster through each team's

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. Several NFL owners had purchased teams in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

in the mid-2000s, prior to its bankruptcy and restructuring.

Arena football Arena football is a variety of gridiron football designed to be played indoors. The game is played on a smaller field than American or Canadian football, designed to fit in the same surface area as a standard North American ice hockey rink, an ...

is played under very different conditions, and the AFL had its own minor league,

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football r ...

, until 2009. Several other independent indoor football leagues that play a similar game exist. Similarly, the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

, though it has developed ties with the NFL in recent years and has moved away from competing with the NFL for talent, plays a visibly different game than the American game, and the two sports favor different types of skills; the CFL arguably holds major league status in its home territory of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Several minor or developmental leagues, independent of the NFL, have come and gone. Some, such as the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

and

Fall Experimental Football League The Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL) was a professional football minor league that played two seasons in 2014 and 2015. This league's stated goal was to become a professional feeder-system for the National Football League (NFL). The le ...

(along with the FXFL's successor, the still extant but non-paying

The Spring League The Spring League (TSL) was an American football Minor league football (gridiron), developmental league and scouting event (pro showcase) that played from 2017 to 2021 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at professional football (gridiron), p ...

), have explicit minor league and developmental aspirations. Others, such as the United Football League and both the

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

and

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

incarnations of the XFL, have sought to maintain independence and maintain a national profile while acknowledging the lack of funds (particularly from television, which is by far the NFL's largest revenue stream) that would be needed to compete for NFL-caliber talent. The UFL during its existence was recognized and accepted as the second tier of professional football behind the NFL, with several former NFL stars playing in the UFL near the ends of their careers.

Current American football minor leagues

Pro football

''High-level'' * United Football League (UFL) ''Low-level'' *

Gridiron Developmental Football League The Gridiron Developmental Football League (GDFL) is a low-level American football minor league based in Memphis, Tennessee, using the franchise model. The GDFL acts as an umbrella group that encompasses teams from across the contiguous United St ...

(GDFL) *

Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional The Professional American Football League ( or LFA), is a semi-professional American football league in Mexico, founded in 2016. Starting with four teams, the LFA has since expanded to eleven members as of 2022. The regular season runs in the sp ...

(LFA) *

Rivals Professional Football League The Rivals Professional Football League (RPFL) is a low-level american football minor league owned by Quentin Hines and consisting of 12 teams in Michigan, Florida and Georgia. The majority of the league players are on fully incentive based cont ...

(RPFL)

Semi-pro

* American 7s Football League *

Alberta Football League The Alberta Football League (AFL) is an amateur Canadian football league. The league's schedule runs from the start of June through to the end of September. The league currently consists of six teams: Airdrie Irish, Calgary Gators, Calgary Wol ...

Empire Football League The Empire Football League (EFL) is a semi-professional American football league with franchises based primarily in New York State. The league was established in 1969. Many franchises have come and gone including in locations such as Pennsylvan ...

* Florida Football Alliance *

Maritime Football League The Maritime Football League (MFL) is a men's Canadian football minor league in the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces of Canada. The season runs from April until the end of June. The league consists of former Canadian Football League, CFL, U Sport ...

New England Football League The New England Football League (NEFL) is a semi-professional American football league based in Salisbury, Massachusetts, and is a Non-profit Corporation founded by Thomas Torrisi. It is the second largest semi-professional league in New England, ...

Northern Football Conference The Northern Football Conference (NFC) is a semi-professional Canadian football league with franchises based primarily in Ontario, Canada. The league consists of five teams and runs from May until mid-August. It's the oldest running senior amat ...

North Louisiana Football Alliance The North Louisiana Football Alliance (NLFA) is a nine-man football american football developmental league based in Bossier City, Louisiana. The league established itself as a single entity, owning all eight of its teams, and playing during sp ...

Indoor American football Arena football is a variety of gridiron football designed to be played indoors. The game is played on a smaller field than American football, American or Canadian football, Canadian football, designed to fit in the same surface area as a standa ...

''High-level'' *

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...

National Arena League The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. As of the end of the 2024 season, the league consisted of five teams. A team's typical payroll budget is $600,000 per season, but as of the 2022 ...

''Mid-level'' *

American Indoor Football American Indoor Football (AIF) is a professional Indoor American football, indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America. The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the ...

The Arena League The Arena League (The AL or TAL) is an indoor American football league in the United States. The league launched in 2024 with four teams playing six-on-six football, but expanded to six-teams and started playing regular 7-on-7 indoor football i ...

''Low-level'' *

American Arena League The American Arena League (AAL) is a professional Indoor American football, indoor football minor league that began playing in 2018. The league was initiated by a merger between Arena Pro Football (APF) and the Can-Am Indoor Football League (Ca ...

Great Lakes Arena Football The Great Lakes Arena Football (GLAF) was a professional American indoor football minor league based in the Great Lakes region in the United States whose operations are currently dormant. The GLAF was designed to be a regional "bus league" wit ...

Flag football Flag football is a variant of gridiron football (American football or Canadian football depending on location) where, instead of Tackle (football move)#Gridiron football, tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or ...

* American Flag Football League

Women's

Women's Football Alliance The Women's Football Alliance (WFA) is a semi-pro full-contact women's American football league in the United States. Founded in 2009, it is the largest 11-on-11 football league for women in the world, and the longest running active women's ...

Legends Football League The Extreme Football League (X League) is a women's Semi-professional sports, semi-professional indoor American football league operating in the United States. The league was originally founded in 2009 as the Lingerie Football League (LFL), and ...

* United States Women's Football League

Association football (soccer)

Men

Below

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

several lower-level leagues operate on both sides of the U.S.–Canada border as part of the American and

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

pyramids. As is standard for sports in both countries, the formal

system is not used, although teams have been informally "promoted" from lower leagues up to Major League Soccer. The

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

operates the

USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

(formerly the Premier Development League, or PDL), a semi-professional league that has some age restrictions. The

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup. ...

operates at approximately the same level as USL League Two. In 2013 Major League Soccer announced a partnership with the USL organization which began formal affiliation between some USL teams and MLS teams. The partnership continued to deepen through the 2010s; by the end of that decade, most MLS teams fielded their reserve teams in the USLC, while a few had their reserve sides in USL1 instead of the USLC. For several years, MLS nominally required all of its teams to either field a reserve team in the USL or officially affiliate with a separately owned USL team, but this was never strictly enforced. No formal relationship existed between NASL and the other leagues; NASL's commissioner had said he believed it would "stay that way for some time". However, MLS clubs started withdrawing their reserve sides from the USL system in 2020 amid rumors that MLS would relaunch its former

MLS Reserve League The MLS Reserve League was a association football, soccer league for the reserve teams of Major League Soccer with teams in both the United States and Canada. It was inaugurated on April 9, 2005, with the first official reserve game being a 2 ...

in the coming years; these rumors were proved correct by the 2022 establishment of

MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro (MLSNP) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer (MLS). It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of MLS clu ...

MLS Next MLS Next (stylized as MLS NEXT) is a youth association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada that is managed, organized, and controlled by Major League Soccer. It was introduced by the league in 2020. It is a successor to th ...

(stylized in all caps) is a system of youth

leagues that are managed, organized and controlled by

. It was introduced by the league in 2020. Semi-professional and amateur leagues sanctioned by the

United States Adult Soccer Association The United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) is a national organization for Amateur sports, amateur Association football, soccer in the United States. It consists of 54 state associations in four regions, as well as national, regional, and ...

are

, NISA Nation and United Premier Soccer League. The system, introduced in mid-2020, was active for the first time during the 2020–21 season. It is a successor to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. The system covers the under-13, under-14, under-15, under-16, under-17 and under-19 age groups.

Women

The developmental pathway for players outside the collegiate system has so far been mostly an ad hoc affair, with semi-professional and amateur leagues including the former

USL W-League USL W-League may refer to: * USL W League * USL W-League (1995–2015) The USL W-League was a North American amateur women's soccer developmental organization. The league was a semi-professional, open league, giving college players the oppor ...

. The current

United Women's Soccer United Women's Soccer (UWS) is a national pro-am Women's association football, women's Association football, soccer league in the United States. The league was founded in 2015 as a response to the dual problems of disorganization in the Women's ...

, UWS League 2 and

Women's Premier Soccer League The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) is an amateur women's soccer league in the United States. History The WPSL is the longest-running active women's soccer league as it enters its 25th season in 2023. The WPSL is also the largest women ...

not being sanctioned directly through the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer ...

, but through the affiliated

. The USL organization has announced plans to create a full women's developmental pathway, establishing the semi-professional third-level

USL W League The USL W League (USLW) is a Women's association football, women's soccer league in the United States. It began play in May 2022 and follows the USL W-League (1995–2015), USL W-League, a similar league that existed from 1995 to 2015. It is c ...

(USLW; not to be confused with its former W-League) in 2022 and planning to launch the

USL Super League The USL Super League (USLS), officially known as the Gainbridge Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional women's soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system, alongside the National Women's Socce ...

(USLS) in 2023. The USL has applied for U.S. Soccer sanctioning of USLS; it has not yet announced its sanctioning plans for USLW.

Indoor soccer

The

Major Arena Soccer League 2 The Major Arena Soccer League 2 (MASL 2) is a North American indoor soccer league that serves as the Minor league, developmental league of the Major Arena Soccer League. History MASL 2 launched in 2017 to "provide an outlet for teams to either r ...

(M2) is a North American indoor soccer league that serves as the developmental league of the

Major Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a professional indoor soccer league in North America. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. The league is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. The le ...

Baseball

Minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

is almost as old as the professional game itself, and at first consisted of attempts to play baseball in smaller cities and towns independent of the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

, the first true major league. Soon,

scouts Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

for the National League were traveling to watch minor league teams play and attempting to sign the more talented ones away. Soon

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

began formal developmental agreements with some minor league teams, while others remained

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

. Since it was first developed in the 1920s by

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

executive

Branch Rickey Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...

, the formal developmental affiliations have come to dominate minor league baseball, and the majority of minor leagues are part of the affiliated system. A general decline in minor league attendance occurred following the advent of television; minor league clubs only survived in many markets because their major league affiliations included financial support. The trend began to reverse in the 1990s, as new independent minor leagues began for the first time in decades and have become successful to varying levels. In 2021, a major reorganization of the minor leagues saw the number of affiliated teams (i.e., those with formal links to MLB teams) reduced from 160 to 120, the Short-Season A level eliminated from the minor leagues, and all leagues above Rookie level in the affiliated system renamed. Also, four independent leagues were officially designated as "MLB Partner Leagues". In 2022, the leagues renamed in 2021 reverted to their traditional names. *

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

(Class AAA) **

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

(Class AAA) ** Eastern League (Class AA) ** Southern League (Class AA) **

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

(Class AA) **

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

(Class A+) **

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseba ...

(Class A+) **

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

(Class A+) **

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leagu ...

(Class A) **

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

(Class A) **

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

(Class A) **

Arizona Complex League The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona, since 1988. Prior to 2021, it was known as the Arizona League (AZL). Along with the Florida Complex League (FCL), it fo ...

(rookie) **

Florida Complex League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the low ...

(rookie) **

Dominican Summer League The Dominican Summer League (DSL) is a branch of affiliated Minor League Baseball which is played in the Dominican Republic. The league was founded in 1985. After the demise of the Venezuelan Summer League after the 2015 season, it is the only ...

(rookie) * Off-season leagues **

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

** Colombian Professional Baseball League ** Dominican Winter Baseball League **

Mexican Pacific League The Mexican Pacific League (, or LMP), also known as the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons, is a professional baseball Winter league baseball, winter league based in Northwestern Mexico. The league comprises 10 teams. It wa ...

Puerto Rico Baseball League Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Oriental Mi ...

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (, or LVBP) is the top-level professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Background and predecessors Baseball had been play ...

Independent baseball league An independent baseball league is a professional baseball league in the United States or Canada that is not overseen by Major League Baseball or its affiliated Minor League Baseball system (historically referred to as organized baseball). Inde ...

** MLB Partner Leagues: *** American Association *** Atlantic League ***

Frontier League The Frontier League (FL; French: ''Ligue Frontière'', LF) is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 18 teams – 15 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the eight independent baseball leagues in North Ame ...

*** Pioneer League ** Other leagues: *** Empire League ***

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

***

Pacific Association The Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs was an independent baseball league based in Northern California. The league was founded in 2013 by four former North American League teams. History During the initial season, two Hawaii- ...

***

Pecos League The Pecos League of Professional Baseball Clubs is an independent professional baseball league headquartered in Houston, which operates in cities in desert mountain regions throughout California, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, ...

*** United Shore Professional Baseball League

Basketball

The National Basketball Association has affiliated minor leagues: the NBA G League (formerly called the "NBA D-League") and NBA Summer League. The now-defunct Continental Basketball Association (CBA) served some of the purposes of a minor league for the NBA for many years. However, there were no direct developmental agreements between CBA and NBA teams the way that there are between Major League Baseball and National Hockey League teams and their minor league affiliates.

Current basketball minor leagues

Affiliated

* NBA G League * NBA Summer League

Independent

''Pro'' * Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) * National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada) * The Basketball League (TBL) * The Basketball Tournament (TBT) ''Semi-Pro'' * American Basketball Association (2000–present), American Basketball Association (ABA) * Central Basketball Association (CBA) * East Coast Basketball League (ECBL) * Florida Basketball Association (FBA) * Maximum Basketball League (MBL) * North American Basketball League (NABL) * Official Basketball Association (OBA) * Premier Basketball League (PBL) * United Basketball League (UBL) * Universal Basketball Association (UBA)

Ice hockey

The sport with the next most extensive system of minor league teams other than baseball is ice hockey. In North America, between 1988 and 2005, 233 minor league ice hockey teams played in a total of 160 cities in 13 minor professional leagues. The vast majority of these teams played in the United States, with only 21 of these teams based in Canadian cities. 123 of these minor professional teams played in the southern United States. One reason given for the large number of American-based teams is that minor league franchises will frequently move from city to city, and even between leagues. In contrast, Canadian cities more commonly host junior ice hockey, major junior teams, which develop teenage prospects prior to their move to the professional leagues. All National Hockey League teams have a farm team in the American Hockey League and often have a secondary affiliated team in the ECHL. On "the farm", the NHL team will develop young players, occasionally rehabilitate older players who are injured or whose quality of play has slumped. These teams, in turn, have lower-level minor leagues to draw players from and pass players down to. Minor professional ice hockey leagues should not be confused with Junior ice hockey, Junior (amateur players) or Senior ice hockey, Senior (semi-professional to amateur) ice hockey leagues. The American Hockey League is the most prominent of the minor hockey leagues in North America.

Current ice hockey minor leagues

Affiliated

* American Hockey League (AHL) * ECHL, East Coast Hockey League (ECHL)

Independent

* Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) * Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH) * SPHL (formerly known as the Southern Professional Hockey League)

Junior

* North American Hockey League (NAHL) * United States Hockey League (USHL) * Western Hockey League (WHL) * Ontario Hockey League (OHL) * Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)

Senior ice hockey

* Mountain West Hockey League (MWHL) * Allan Cup Hockey (Ontario Sr. AAA) * Big 6 Hockey League (Saskatchewan Sr. AAA) * Allan Cup Hockey West (Alberta Sr. AAA)
North East Senior Hockey League
(New Brunswick Sr. AAA) * North Peace Hockey League (Alberta Sr. AAA)

Former minor leagues

* Atlantic Coast Hockey League (2002–03), Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL), now part of the Southern Professional Hockey League * Central Hockey League (CHL), merged into the ECHL * International Hockey League (1945–2001), International Hockey League (IHL), merged into the American Hockey League * International Hockey League (2007-2010), International Hockey League (2007) (IHL), formerly the ''United Hockey League'' and ''Colonial Hockey League'', merged into the Central Hockey League * South East Hockey League (SEHL), now part of the Southern Professional Hockey League * West Coast Hockey League (WCHL), merged into the ECHL * Western Hockey League (1952–1974) (WHL), merged into the Central Professional Hockey League, Central Hockey League * Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL), merged into the Central Hockey League * World Hockey Association 2 (WHA2), now part of the Southern Professional Hockey League

Cricket

Minor League Cricket (MiLC) is a developmental league of Major League Cricket that began play in 2021.

Other sports

Other sports organizations considered to be minor leagues are golf's Korn Ferry Tour and Epson Tour, respectively affiliated with the PGA Tour and LPGA; NASCAR's NASCAR Xfinity Series, Xfinity Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Craftsman Truck Series and Whelen All-American Series (and to a lesser extent Automobile Racing Club of America, ARCA and its ARCA Menards Series since ARCA's buyout by NASCAR in 2018); Monster Jam's Triple Threat Series; Overwatch Contenders; the FIA Formula 2 Championship and FIA Formula 3 Championship for Formula One; and various other affiliated satellite tours of other individual sports, including the Challengers Tour of Professional Tennis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minor League Terminology used in multiple sports

American football

Current American football minor leagues

Pro football

Semi-pro

Indoor American football Arena football is a variety of gridiron football designed to be played indoors. The game is played on a smaller field than American football, American or Canadian football, Canadian football, designed to fit in the same surface area as a standa ...

Flag football Flag football is a variant of gridiron football (American football or Canadian football depending on location) where, instead of Tackle (football move)#Gridiron football, tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or ...

Women's

Association football (soccer)

Men

Women

Indoor soccer

Baseball

Basketball

Current basketball minor leagues

Affiliated

Independent

Ice hockey

Current ice hockey minor leagues

Affiliated

Independent

Junior

Senior ice hockey

Former minor leagues

Cricket

Other sports

See also

References