WWE boss Vince McMahon is relaunching the XFL to modernise "America’s favourite sport".
The sports entertainment mogul – who initially revealed his alternative football league for one season in 2001 – is aiming to unveil a faster paced and revamped version of the sport by 2020.
In a statement made on Thursday (25.01.18), McMahon said: "The new XFL is an exciting opportunity to reimagine America’s favourite sport.
"As we move towards kickoff, we look forward to listening and implementing innovative ideas from players, coaches, medical experts, technology executives, the media and most importantly football fans."
The XFL – which will remain separate to WWE – will include eight teams with 40 man rosters, and a 10-week season followed by playoff semi-finals and a championship final. The aim is to streamline the game to make it more enjoyable for fans, while other alterations will be made for the health and safety of the players.
He added with the focus on the issues of concussions in the NFL, he wanted to make the league "as safe as possible" for the athletes.
While further changes may include eliminating halftime in an effort to cut the matches down to two hours, details are still to be worked on over the next couple of years.
The chairman and CEO of WWE has put $100 million of his own money into new company Alpha Entertainment to fund the XFL, and insisted the new venture would not impact his role with the wrestling giant.
WWE’s Vince McMahon announces XFL
