 The 16-week contracts with the individual AF2 teams also prevented players from leaving for the parent league mid-season; this preserved the quality of play in the lower league and did not destroy team dynamics with players coming and going throughout the season as they do in the NHL and MLB.The foundation of the AF2 was a response to the launch of several small-market indoor football leagues in the mid-to-late 1990s, including the Professional Indoor Football League, Indoor Professional Football League, and Indoor Football League.Each of these leagues, though they would eventually fold, managed to last for multiple seasons, proving that the game had some traction in the smaller cities.