The Richmond Raiders are happy to join the PIFL in welcoming the league’s newest franchise, the Charlotte Speed.  The eighth and final team to confirm membership in the league for 2013, the Speed will be a natural geographic rival for the Raiders and will fit well in the PIFL’s footprint – one which Speed officials decided was best for the organization’s future.  The Speed will be led by two former NFL veterans in General Manager Mo Collins and Head Coach Brentson Buckner with the Bojangles' Coliseum serving as their home venue.  The Speed are an expansion franchise, not to be confused with previous Charlotte-based teams of the same name that the Raiders played in earlier seasons.

The PIFL now consists of teams in Richmond, VA, Knoxville, TN, Columbus, GA, Albany, GA, Huntsville, AL, Lake Charles, LA, Lehigh Valley, PA, and Charlotte, NC. The league holds a 12-game regular season schedule that runs March through June. The PIFL's playoffs begin in late June culminating with the PIFL Championship Cup.

With the addition of the eighth and final member, the league has begun to put the final touches on the 2013 football schedule with a release coming in the next month.

The PIFL Communications Office contributed to this story.