Arena football will make its return to the Nassau Coliseum this summer. The newly formed Entertainment Football Association is scheduled to make its debut on Saturday, June 7.

The league will kick off the 2025 season with four teams — one based on Long Island and three in other Northeast venues in Fitchburg, Massachusetts; Danbury, Connecticut; and Morristown, New Jersey.

“We feel like Long Island is the right spot for our fourth team and we are in the process of hiring a general manager,” said league founder Doug Freeman. “We looked at 20 other markets and the Long Island area and the Nassau Coliseum stuck out as our best option.”

Freeman said his group expects to hire a general manager within the next month and then have a head coach and staff selected to get started. There will be an open recruitment of players nationwide.

“We expect to unveil the team nickname and colors at our next press conference in about a month,” Freeman said. “And we will have an open recruitment of players. But we are committed to a standard local combine to give those players an opportunity to make the team. And we plan on a consolidated combine where all four teams will attend and can sign players right on the spot.”

Freeman said individual players and agents have been peppering his phone and reaching out to get information on the tryouts.

“There’s a lot of excitement about the team and the league,” he said. “The preference is to hire a local coach that would attract local players making it like a community team.”

The Arena style league will be a seven-on-seven, full-contact format, with no kicking game and a 20-second play clock. Teams will play a nine-game schedule, four at home and four on the road with the ninth and final game at a neutral site identified for its potential to serve as a future expansion community.

“The whole concept is to have a fast-paced action-packed game on a 50-yard field back at the Nassau Coliseum,” said Peter Schwartz, the local adviser for the Long Island team, who worked as the radio play by play announcer for the AFL’s New York Dragons at Nassau Coliseum from 2001-2008. “The Dragons scored a lot of points and won a lot of games to attract a large fan base, and this franchise will do the same. The business model will make it a fan friendly experience from the time they get to the Coliseum until the time they leave.”

All four home dates will feature a tailgating event, celebrity meet-and-greet, the football game, followed by a music concert, according to Freeman. The performers for the concert series have not yet been confirmed.

ENTFLA officials are calling upon the community to assist in naming the team by going online at www.goentfla.com to make a name suggestion.

“This is Long Island’s team, we want the people of this community to name it,” National Football League Hall of Famer and former Buffalo Bills receiver Andre Reed, the league’s commissioner said. “We’re excited about Long Island.”