![\"AFC](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/afc-nfc-american-football-400px.jpg\")
Just as the Premier League is the top league of professional football (soccer) in the UK, the National Football League (NFL) is the top American football league in the United States.<\/p>\nJust as the Premier League is the top league of professional football (soccer) in the UK, the National Football League (NFL) is the top American football league in the United States.<\/p>\n
But unlike the Premier League, which is a single division that is made up of 20 sides, the 32 teams of the NFL are split into a number of divisions and conferences.<\/p>\n
This can all prove rather confusing to people who are not familiar with the structural nuances of gridiron (as American football is also known). But fear not, because in this article we\u2019ll explain how the NFL is structured and which teams feature in the AFC, the NFC and also take a look at the constituent divisions.<\/p>\n
As well as this we will explain what bets you can place on the AFC and NFC (known as conference betting) and we\u2019ll also attempt to work out whether teams from the NFC or AFC have proved the more successful over the decades.<\/p>\n
![\"NFL](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/NFL-STRUCTURE-800px.jpg\")
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Before we get into which teams are in which divisions and conferences, let us first run through the basic structure of the NFL. As mentioned, there are currently 32 teams \u2013 or franchises \u2013 in the NFL and these are split into two conferences containing 16 teams each, the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). To very simply answer the titular question of this article, there is no real difference between these Conferences. The AFC and the NFC are really just sub-divisions of the wider NFL. That said, let us now look at them in more detail.<\/p>\n
Both the NFC and the AFC are also split, in this case into four divisions of four teams each. Known \u2013 intuitively \u2013 as East, North, South and West, the four divisions in each conference generally contain sides that are relatively geographically close to one another, though there are some exceptions (such as the Miami Dolphins being in the AFC East and the Dallas Cowboys being in the NFC East).<\/p>\n
The reason for the geographically split divisions is the sheer size of the USA. Whilst teams do play some games against rivals from further afield, most of their matches take place against opponents based relatively nearby. All the teams in the NFL are based in the United States, though on occasion some teams play some games overseas (for instance in the UK, Canada or Mexico) to build up their international fanbase.<\/p>\n
![\"American](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/american-football-helmet-and-ball-400px.jpg\")
The NFL is split into two conferences rather than just being a single, all-encompassing league that is split into geographical divisions for historical reasons. The NFL itself was formed way back in 1920 when it was known as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) before it became the National Football League from 1922 onwards. Some years later, in 1959 to be precise, the American Football League (AFL) was formed as a rival to the NFL.<\/p>\n
After a few years of what some saw as a rather pointless rivalry, the leagues decided to merge and in 1970 the enlarged NFL was formed that incorporated the two conferences. The 10 AFL sides all went into the newly formed AFC to be joined by three teams from the NFL, with the remaining 13 NFL teams going into the newly formed NFC. Back then each conference was split into three divisions, East, Central and West. After expansion to a total of 32 teams in 2002, however, each conference was split into the four divisions we have today.<\/p>\n
Over the years, various teams (or franchises) have become defunct, while new ones have been formed. Franchises have sometimes changed location too, sometimes after merging with other franchises. This is almost always for commercial reasons. Some notable examples include the following:<\/p>\n
Now let\u2019s turn our attention to the current teams in the AFC and NFC and the various divisions therein.<\/p>\n
![\"AFC](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/afc-400px.jpg\")
Starting first with the AFC and, from a geographical perspective, the divisions make quite good sense on the whole.<\/p>\n
As mentioned earlier, though, there are some exceptions.<\/p>\n
With the AFC East division, for example, the Bills, the Patriots and the Jets are all located in the north-eastern corner of the USA, but clearly the Dolphins are nowhere near.<\/p>\n
The AFC West stretches from the West coast to Missouri, and the AFC South has a team (the Colts) from as far north as Indianapolis.<\/p>\n
But then again, it\u2019s a big country and there are always going to be significant distances to travel between the teams, with no perfect solution possible.<\/p>\n
| Division<\/th>\n | Club<\/th>\n | Location<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East<\/td>\n | Buffalo Bills<\/td>\n | Orchard Park, New York<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miami Dolphins<\/td>\n | Miami Gardens, Florida<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New England Patriots<\/td>\n | Foxborough, Massachusetts<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New York Jets<\/td>\n | East Rutherford, New Jersey<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North<\/td>\n | Baltimore Ravens<\/td>\n | Baltimore, Maryland<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cincinnati Bengals<\/td>\n | Cincinnati, Ohio<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cleveland Browns<\/td>\n | Cleveland, Ohio<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pittsburgh Steelers<\/td>\n | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South<\/td>\n | Houston Texans<\/td>\n | Houston, Texas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indianapolis Colts<\/td>\n | Indianapolis, Indiana<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jacksonville Jaguars<\/td>\n | Jacksonville, Florida<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee Titans<\/td>\n | Nashville, Tennessee<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West<\/td>\n | Denver Broncos<\/td>\n | Denver, Colorado<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kansas City Chiefs<\/td>\n | Kansas City, Missouri<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Las Vegas Raiders<\/td>\n | Paradise, Nevada<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Los Angeles Chargers<\/td>\n | Inglewood, California<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nWhich Teams Are In The NFC?<\/h2>\n
The big exception here is the Dallas Cowboys who are in the NFC East division despite being half a country away from the other three.<\/p>\n To drive from Dallas to New York, for example, is a journey of more than 1,500 miles!<\/p>\n On the whole though NFC teams have it easier than AFC teams where long distance travel is concerned at least.<\/p>\n
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![\"NFC](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/nfc-400px.jpg\")
In the NFC, the geographical groupings of the teams in the four divisions work better than the AFC on the face of it.<\/p>\n![\"NFL](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/nfl-playoffs-800px.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"NFL](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/nfl-conference-betting-800px.jpg\")
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