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When was the NFL founded?

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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The National Football League was founded in 1920 in Canton, Ohio, as the American Professional Football Association. It originally had 14 teams, mostly from Midwest states, including Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. The NFL survived many years of instability and competition from rival organizations to became the strongest American professional football league. The most serious challenge to its leading role came from the American Football League (AFL) in the 1960s. The NFL and AFL completed a merger in 1970, creating a 26-team circuit under the name of the older NFL. Since then the league has expanded four times, adding six new franchises.