The New England Patriots are an American football team based in Foxborough, Massachusetts. They compete in the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) of the National Football League (NFL). Originally called the Boston Patriots, the team was founded as one of eight charter members of the American Football League (AFL) in 1960 under the ownership of Billy Sullivan. The team became part of the NFL when the two leagues merged in 1970. The following year they moved from Boston to nearby Foxborough, and changed their name to the New England Patriots.