<P> The American Football Conference ( AFC ) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League ( NFL ) , the highest professional level of American football in the United States . This conference and its counterpart , the National Football Conference ( NFC ) , currently contain 16 teams each , making up the 32 teams of the NFL . Both conferences were created as part of the 1970 merger with the rival American Football League ( AFL ) , with all ten of the former AFL teams and three NFL teams forming the AFC , and the remaining thirteen NFL clubs forming the NFC . A series of league expansions and division realignments have occurred since the merger , thus making the current total 16 clubs per each conference . </P>
what does nfc and afc stand for in the nfl
National Football Conference American Football Conference