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Wikipedia

Australian Football League

January 20, 2023

This article is about the sporting organisation. For the sport itself, see Australian rules football. For the association football league, see A-League Men.

The Australian Football League (AFL) is a company[1] operating the premier and fully professional competition of Australian rules football and the AFL Women's and other competitions. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition from the Victorian Football Association (VFA), with its inaugural season in 1897. It changed its name to Australian Football League in 1990 after expanding its competition to other Australian states in the 1980s. The AFL publishes its Laws of Australian football, which are used, with variations, by other Australian football organisations.

Australian Football League
Most recent season or competition:
2022 AFL season
AFL logo (since 2000)
FormerlyVictorian Football League (VFL)
(1897–1990)
SportAustralian rules football
Founded2 October 1896; 126 years ago (1896-10-02)
Inaugural season1897
CEOGillon McLachlan
No. of teams18
CountryAustralia
HeadquartersMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
Most recent
champion(s)		Geelong
(10th premiership)
Most titlesCarlton
Essendon
(16 premierships)
TV partner(s)Seven Network
Fox Footy
Streaming partner(s)Kayo Sports (Australia)
WatchAFL (Overseas)
Sponsor(s)Toyota
Related
competitions		AFL Women's
VFL
SANFL
WAFL
AFLX
Official websiteafl.com.au

The AFL competition currently consists of 18 teams spread over five of Australia's six states (Tasmania being the exception). Matches have been played in all states, the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory, as well as in New Zealand and China to expand the AFL audience. The AFL season currently consists of a 23-round regular (or "home-and-away") season, which runs during the Australian winter (March to September). The team with the best record after the home-and-away season is awarded the "minor premiership". The top eight teams then play off in a four-round finals series, culminating in the AFL Grand Final, which is normally held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground each year. The grand final winners are termed the "premiers" and are awarded the premiership cup and flag. Carlton and Essendon are the joint-most successful clubs in the competition, having won sixteen premierships apiece. The current premiers are Geelong, which won the 2022 AFL Grand Final.

History

For the history of the sport, distinct from the AFL, see History of Australian rules football

Main article: History of the Australian Football League

VFL era (1897–1989)

Background and founding

 
The final standing of the 1896 VFA ladder. Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, South Melbourne, Carlton and St Kilda would form the VFL the following year.

Several of the AFL's current member clubs date back to the origins of Australian football and were instrumental in establishing the sport's popularity and the AFL. The oldest club is Melbourne Football Club, which wrote the first laws of the code, and Geelong, which date back to 1858 and 1859 respectively, while Melbourne University, also founded in 1859, is also one of the oldest clubs to have later participated in the competition.

The Victorian Football Association (VFA) was established in 1877 and quickly went on to become Victoria's football competition. During the 1890s, an off-field power struggle occurred between the VFA's stronger and weaker clubs, the former seeking greater administrative control commensurate with their relative financial contribution to the game. This came to a head in 1896 when it was proposed that gate profits, which were always lower in matches involving the weaker clubs, be shared equally amongst all teams in the VFA. After it was intimated that the proposal would be put to a vote, six of the strongest clubs—Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne and South Melbourne—seceded from the VFA and later invited Carlton and St Kilda to join them in founding a new competition, the Victorian Football League (VFL). The remaining VFA clubs—Footscray, North Melbourne, Port Melbourne, Richmond and Williamstown—were given the opportunity to compete as junior sides at a level beneath the VFL but rejected the offer and remained for the 1897 VFA season.[2]

1897–1900s: Inaugural VFL season and early years

 
Essendon won the inaugural VFL premiership by finishing on top of the 1897 round robin finals ladder. A new finals system was implemented during the 1898 VFL season in order that a final match, or "grand final", determine the premiers.

The VFL's inaugural season occurred in 1897. It made several innovations early on to entice the public's interest, including an annual finals tournament, rather than awarding the premiership to the team with the best record through the season; and, the formal establishment of the modern scoring system, in which six points are awarded for a goal and one point for a behind.

Although the VFL and the VFA continued to compete for spectator interest for many years, the VFL quickly established itself as the premier competition in Victoria. In 1908, the league expanded to ten teams, with Richmond crossing from the VFA and University Football Club from the Metropolitan Junior Football Association. Professionalism began from the 1911 season, with clubs permitted to pay players beyond the reimbursement of expenses for the first time.[3] University, after three promising seasons, finished last each year from 1911 until 1914, including losing 51 matches in a row, in part caused by its players' focus on their studies rather than football and in part because it had chosen to remain amateur; as a result, the club withdrew from the VFL at the end of 1914.[4][5]

Beginning sporadically during the late 1890s and consistently from 1907 until World War I, the VFL premier and the premier of the South Australian Football League met in a playoff match for the Championship of Australia. South Australia's Port Adelaide was the most successful club of the competition winning three titles during the period along with an earlier victory.

1915–1945: Three VFA clubs join the VFL

Main article: The VFL during the World Wars
 
In 1924, Footscray, the premiers of the VFA, defeated Essendon, the VFL premiers, in the Championship of Victoria. The result played a large part in Footscray, Hawthorn and North Melbourne gaining entry into the VFL the following year.

In 1925, the VFL expanded from nine teams to twelve, with Footscray, Hawthorn and North Melbourne each crossing from the VFA. North Melbourne and Hawthorn remained very weak in the VFL for a very long period. Although North Melbourne would become the first of the 1925 expansion sides to reach a grand final in 1950, initially it was Footscray that adapted to the VFL with the most ease of the three clubs and by 1928 were well off the bottom of the ladder.

Between the years of 1927 and 1930, Collingwood became the first and only VFL team, to win four successive Premierships.

1946–1975: Post-war golden years

In 1952, the VFL hosted a "national day", when all six matches were played outside Melbourne. Matches were played at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Brisbane Exhibition Ground, North Hobart Oval, Albury Sports Ground and Victorian country towns Yallourn and Euroa.

Footscray became the first of the 1925 expansion teams to win the premiership in 1954.

Melbourne became a powerhouse during the 1950s and early 1960s under coach Norm Smith and star player Ron Barassi. The club contested seven consecutive grand finals from 1954 to 1960, winning five premierships, including three in a row from 1955 to 1957.

Television coverage commenced in 1957 with direct telecasts of the final quarter permitted. At first, several channels competed through broadcasting different games. When the VFL found that television reduced crowds it decided no coverage was to be allowed for 1960. In 1961 television replays in Melbourne were introduced although direct telecasts were rarely permitted. Other states and territories enjoyed live telecasts every Saturday afternoon.

In 1959, the VFL planned the first purpose-built mega-stadium, VFL Park (later known as Waverley Park), to give it some independence from the Melbourne Cricket Club, which managed the Melbourne Cricket Ground. VFL Park was planned to hold 155,000 spectators, which would have made it one of the largest stadiums in the world – although it would ultimately be built with a capacity of 78,000. Land for the stadium was purchased at Mulgrave, then farmland but predicted to be near the demographic centre of Melbourne's population.

The VFL premiership trophy was first awarded in addition to a pennant flag in 1959; essentially the same trophy design has been in use since.

 
VFL Logo used from 1972 to 1975

In the 1960s, television began to have a huge impact. Spectators hurried home from games to watch replays and many former players took up positions as commentators on pre-game preview programs and post-game review programs. There were also several attempts at variety programs featuring VFL players, who generally succeeded in demonstrating that their skills were limited to the football ground.

The VFL played the first of a series of exhibition matches in 1962 in an effort to lift the international profile of the league.

The 1970 season saw the opening of VFL Park, with the inaugural match being played between Geelong and Fitzroy, on 18 April 1970. Construction work was carried out at the stadium as the 1970s progressed, culminating in the building of the now heritage listed Sir Kenneth Luke Stand. Queen Elizabeth, was a guest at the game and formally opened the stadium to the public. The 1970 Grand Final between traditional rivals Carlton and Collingwood, arguably the league's most famous game, which saw Carlton recover from a 44-point deficit at half-time to win the game by 10 points, featured a famous spectacular mark by Alex Jesaulenko and was witnessed by a record crowd of 121,696.

1976–1981: VFL leaves Australian National Football Council

See also: Championship of Australia, 1976 NFL Championship Series (Australia), and Australian Football Championships Night Series

In 1976, the National Football League, which was the peak national administrative body of Australian rules football at the time, established the NFL Night Series to succeed the Championship of Australia. The Night Series was played concurrently with the premiership season and was contested among twelve clubs from the VFL, SANFL and WANFL, invited based on their finishing positions from the previous year. The event was mostly played on Tuesday nights, with night games at Norwood Oval in Adelaide and all games were televised live in colour on Channel 9, which opened-up unprecedented revenue streams from television rights and sponsorship opportunities for the sport.[6] The NFL began plans to expand its Night Series to incorporate more teams from the VFL, SANFL and WAFL, as well as state representative teams from other states.

In November 1976, the VFL announced that it was withdrawing from the NFL's competition, having arranged more substantial television and sponsorship deals for its own, rival night competition for 1977 to be based in Melbourne and feature only the VFL clubs. Light towers were erected at VFL Park specifically for the event.[7][8] The VFL established a proprietary limited company called Australian Football Championships Pty Ltd in 1978 to run its night competiton and offered shareholdings to the other state leagues in an attempt to lure other states into the competition.[9]

For the three years from 1977 until 1979, the NFL and VFL night competitions were run separately as rival night competitions. In 1978, the Tasmanian representative team competed in both the NFL and VFL night competitions but all SANFL and WAFL clubs and the minor states teams remained in the NFL Night Series. In 1979, the WAFL clubs and the New South Wales and A.C.T. representative teams defected from the NFL Night Series and joined the VFL's night competition, leaving the NFL Night Series mostly composed of SANFL teams. The NFL Night Series was not revived in 1980 and the SANFL clubs joined the VFL's night competition.[10] Although the NFL itself continued to exist as an administrative body into the early 1990s, the power gained by the VFL as a result of its take-over of night competition was one of the first significant steps in the VFL's spread interstate and ultimately its take-over and control of Australian football across Australia.[11]

 
VFL Logo used from 1976 to 1989

In 1980 and 1981, the first years after the NFL Night Series ended, the VFL night competition was at its largest, with all VFL, WAFL and SANFL clubs plus the four minor states teams (selected under residential qualification rather than state of origin qualification) competing for a total of 34 teams. In 1982, the size of the competition was reduced and, thereafter, only the top two or three teams from the SANFL and WAFL and the winner of the minor states' annual carnival were invited.

In 1987, the night competition reverted to include only the VFL teams. The competition was pushed earlier into the year, with the final played on 28 April.[12] The following season, the competition did not overlap with the day premiership season at all and became entirely a pre-season competition. The night competition is generally considered[by whom?] to be of equivalent importance as the pre-season competition and the VFL Night Series (1956–1971) and records relating to the three competitions are often combined.

With the number of players recruited from country leagues increasing, the wealthier VFL clubs were gaining an advantage that metropolitan zoning and the Coulter law (salary cap) restricting player payments had prevented in the past. Country zoning was introduced in the late 1960s and while it pushed Essendon and Geelong from the top of the ladder, it created severe inequality during the 1970s and 1980s. Between 1972 and 1987, only six of the league's twelve clubs – Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Hawthorn, North Melbourne and Richmond – played in grand finals.

1982–1989: Professionalism, club bankruptcy and expansion

See also: Proposed VFL/AFL clubs
Evolution of competition
Year States Salary
cap 		Average
salary 		TV rights
per year 		Draft Zoning
1980 · Victoria no $11,000[13] $600,000[14] no[15] yes
1991 · Victoria
· South Australia
· Western Australia
· New South Wales
· Queensland 		$1,500,000 $46,429[13] $6,000,000[14] yes[15] no

The 1980s was a period of significant structural change in Australian football around the country. The VFL was dominant among the Australian football leagues around the country in terms of overall attendance, interest and money and began to look towards expanding its influence directly into other states. The VFL and its top clubs were asserting their financial power to recruit top players from interstate. The resulting rising cost pressures drove the VFL's weaker clubs into dire financial situations. The South Melbourne Swans became the first VFL team to relocate interstate. The South Melbourne Football Club was deeply indebted, including to the VFL which took over the club's Swans team and moved the team's home games to Sydney in 1982 and renamed the team the Sydney Swans the following year. Under the private ownership of Dr Geoffrey Edelsten during the mid-1980s, the Sydney Swans became successful on-field. Moving the Swans team to Sydney effectively shifted the debts of a Melbourne club onto Australian football in Sydney and re-directed support and finance to the Swans team to the detriment of existing Australian Football clubs and league competitions in Sydney. However, the Swans team attracted new prominence and supporters for the sport. Despite becoming successful on the field, a succession of owners and transfer to its supporter "members", the Sydney Swans remain indebted to the AFL[16] and subject to its veto control and reversion rights[17] in what became a model for the AFL control of teams.

Throughout the 1980s approaches were made by SANFL and WAFL clubs to enter the VFL. Of particular note were approaches by the East Perth Royals in 1980,[18] the Norwood Redlegs in 1986[19] and 1988,[20] and an East–South Fremantle merger proposal in 1987.[21] None of these attempts were successful despite Norwood trying again in 1990 and 1994.

In 1986, the West Australian Football League and Queensland Australian Football League were awarded licences to field expansion teams in the VFL, leading to the establishment of the West Coast Eagles and Brisbane Bears, who both joined the league in 1987. These expansion team licences were awarded on payment of multimillion-dollar fees which were not required of the existing VFL clubs. In 1989 financial troubles nearly forced Footscray and Fitzroy to merge but fees paid by the West Coast Eagles and Brisbane Bears, propped up the struggling VFL sides.

The 1980s first saw new regular timeslots for VFL matches. VFL matches had previously been played on Saturday afternoons but Sydney began playing its home matches on Sunday afternoons and North Melbourne pioneered playing matches on Friday night. These have since become regular timeslots for all teams.

The first National Draft was introduced in 1986 and a salary cap was introduced in 1987.

AFL era (1990–present)

 
AFL Logo used from 1990 to 1999

The league was renamed the Australian Football League in 1990 to reflect its national composition.[22]

1990–2010: A professional national competition

 
In 1992 the West Coast Eagles became the first non-Victorian team to win an AFL premiership. Pictured is the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1992 where the grand final was held. The stadium is pictured as configured for a cricket match, note the visible pitch and absent goal posts.

In 1990 the AFLPA, the players union, signed its first Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the league which outlined wages and conditions in what was becoming a sole source of income for players who had previously had part-time or full-time jobs outside of football.[23] Functionally, the AFL gave up control over its Victorian-based minor grades at the end of 1991 – clubs continued to field reserves teams in a competition run by the new Victorian State Football League and the under-19s competition and zone-based recruiting were abolished and replaced with an independent system.

Midway through 1990, the SANFL's most successful club, Port Adelaide, made a bid for an AFL licence. In response, the SANFL gained an injunction via Glenelg and Norwood against Port Adelaide, allowing it time to establish a composite South Australian team called the Adelaide Crows, which was awarded the licence and joined the league in 1991 as the fourth non-Victorian club. The same year saw the West Coast Eagles become the first non-Victorian club to reach the grand final, which was won by Hawthorn. The Eagles would then win the premiership in 1992 and 1994. In 1994, the Fremantle Football Club was formed in Western Australia and joined the AFL in 1995, becoming the fifth non-Victorian club.[24]

The VFA took over the Victorian Football League name in 1996.[22] In 1996 several Victorian clubs were in severe financial difficulties, most notably Fitzroy and Hawthorn. Hawthorn proposed to merge with Melbourne to form the Melbourne Hawks but the merger ultimately fell through and both teams continued as separate entities. Fitzroy, however, was too weak to continue by itself. The club nearly merged with North Melbourne to form the Fitzroy-North Melbourne Kangaroos but the other clubs voted against it. In 1994 Port Adelaide was awarded an AFL licence but could not enter until a Victorian team had folded or merged. At the end of 1996 Fitzroy played its last match and merged with Brisbane to form the Brisbane Lions.[25] This allowed Port Adelaide to enter the AFL for the 1997 season as the sixth and only pre-existing non Victorian club.

Through the 1990s there was a significant trend of Melbourne-based teams abandoning the use of their small (20,000–30,000 capacity) suburban venues for home matches in favour of the larger MCG and Waverley Park. The 1990s saw the last matches played at Windy Hill (Essendon), Moorabbin Oval (St Kilda), Western Oval (Footscray) and Victoria Park (Collingwood) and saw Princes Park abandoned by its long-term co-tenant, Hawthorn. The transition to the use of only two venues in Melbourne was ultimately completed in 2005 when Carlton abandoned the use of Princes Park. In 1999, the league sold Waverley Park stadium and used the funds in a joint venture to begin construction of a brand-new stadium situated at Melbourne's Docklands. Representative state football came to an end, with the last State of Origin match held in 1999.

2011–present: 18-team era

In the late 2000s, the AFL looked to establish a permanent presence on the Gold Coast in the state of Queensland, which was fast-developing as a major population centre. North Melbourne, which was in financial difficulty and had played a few home games on the Gold Coast in previous years, was offered significant subsidies to relocate to the Gold Coast but declined. The AFL then began work to establish a club on the Gold Coast as a new expansion team.

Early in 2008, a meeting held by the AFL discussed having two new teams enter the AFL competition.[26] In March 2008, the AFL won the support of the league's 16 club presidents to establish sides on the Gold Coast and in Western Sydney. The Gold Coast Suns were established and joined the AFL in 2011 as the 17th team.[27] The Greater Western Sydney Giants, representing both Western Sydney and Canberra, were then established and entered the league as the 18th team in 2012.

On 25 April 2013 the Westpac Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand hosted the first ever Australian Football League game played for premiership points outside Australia. The night game between St Kilda and Sydney was played in front of a crowd of 22,183 on Anzac Day to honour the Anzac bond between the two countries.[28][29]

A national women's league comprising a subset of AFL clubs began in 2017. Thirteen AFL clubs placed bids to participate in the women's competition. Eight clubs – Adelaide, Brisbane Lions, Carlton, Collingwood, Fremantle, Greater Western Sydney, Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs – were granted licences to participate in the inaugural season.[30] Six clubs joined the league in the coming years; Geelong and North Melbourne entered the competition in 2019, while Gold Coast, Richmond, St Kilda and West Coast made their debut in 2020.[31] The remaining four clubs—Essendon, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and Sydney— entered AFL Women's in the seventh season in 2022.[32]

On 14 May 2017, Port Adelaide and the Gold Coast played the first-ever AFL match for premiership points in Shanghai, China, attracting a crowd of 10,114 at Jiangwan Stadium. Port Adelaide won the game by 72 points.

In 2020, the AFL season was severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The first round of matches was played in front of no crowds due to the pandemic, before the season was suspended on 22 March due to health concerns and strict government regulations on non-essential travel. After nearly two months of planning with the assistance of state governments and health officials, the season resumed on 11 June, with the length of the season reduced from 22 matches per team to 17 matches. The grand final was played in October at The Gabba in Brisbane, the first time it was held outside of Victoria since the creation of the league due to the spiking cases in that state. The pandemic caused the league to lose out on up to $400 million in anticipated revenue and also precipitated a 20% cut in industry jobs.[33]

In 2021 the grand final was played in September at Perth Stadium in Perth, because an ongoing COVID-19 lockdown prevented the match from being played with spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Victoria. It was the first grand final played in Perth and the second consecutive grand final to be played outside Victoria. The event set a new attendance record for Australian rules football in Western Australia, eclipsing the previous record set in 2018, despite not featuring any WA based teams and being played during the COVID pandemic.

Clubs


The AFL operates on a single table system, with no divisions and conferences, nor promotion and relegation from other leagues.

The league was founded as the Victorian Football League (VFL) in 1897, comprising eight teams only based in the state of Victoria. Over the next century, a series of expansions, a relocation, a merger and a club withdrawal saw the league's teams expand to the 18 teams there are today.

In 1990, the national nature of the competition resulted in the name change to the Australian Football League (AFL). Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and Tasmania are the only states or territories not to have AFL clubs, although at least two games per year are played in each of these parts of the country. The current 18 teams are based across five states of Australia; the majority (ten) still remain in Victoria, nine of which are located in the Melbourne metropolitan area. The states of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia have two teams each.

Current clubs

Club Colours Moniker State Home venue 2022
members[34]		 Est. Former
league 		VFL/AFL seasons VFL/AFL premierships
First Total Total Most recent
Adelaide   Crows South Australia Adelaide Oval 63,099 1990 — 1991 32 2 1998
Brisbane Lions   Lions Queensland The Gabba 43,319 1996 — 1997 26 3 2003
Carlton   Blues Victoria Docklands Stadium and Melbourne Cricket Ground 88,776 1864 VFA 1897+ 126 16 1995
Collingwood   Magpies Victoria Melbourne Cricket Ground 100,384 1892 VFA 1897+ 126 15 2010
Essendon   Bombers Victoria Docklands Stadium 86,001 1872 VFA 1897+ 124† 16 2000
Fremantle   Dockers Western Australia Perth Stadium 56,105 1994 — 1995 28 0 —
Geelong   Cats Victoria Kardinia Park 71,943 1859 VFA 1897+ 123† 10 2022
Gold Coast   Suns Queensland Carrara Stadium 21,422 2009 — 2011 12 0 —
Greater Western Sydney   Giants New South Wales Sydney Showground Stadium 32,614 2009 — 2012 11 0 —
Hawthorn   Hawks Victoria Melbourne Cricket Ground 81,494 1902 VFA 1925 98 13 2015
Melbourne   Demons Victoria Melbourne Cricket Ground 66,484 1858 VFA 1897+ 123† 13 2021
North Melbourne   Kangaroos Victoria Docklands Stadium 50,191 1869 VFA 1925 98 4 1999
Port Adelaide   Power South Australia Adelaide Oval 58,643 1870 SANFL 1997 26 1 2004
Richmond   Tigers Victoria Melbourne Cricket Ground 100,792 1885 VFA 1908 115 13 2020
St Kilda   Saints Victoria Docklands Stadium 60,172 1873 VFA 1897+ 125† 1 1966
Sydney   Swans New South Wales^ Sydney Cricket Ground 55,394 1874 VFA 1897+ 125† 5 2012
West Coast   Eagles Western Australia Perth Stadium 102,897 1986 — 1987 36 4 2018
Western Bulldogs   Bulldogs Victoria Docklands Stadium 50,941 1877 VFA 1925 98 2 2016
^ denotes that the club relocated from a different state at some point in its existence
+ denotes that the club was a founding member of the VFL
† denotes that the club did not participate in one or more seasons due to one or both of the World Wars

Former clubs

Since the league commenced in 1897 as the VFL, only one club, University, has withdrawn from the competition. It last competed in 1914 and withdrew because, as an amateur club, it was unable to remain competitive in a time when player payments were becoming common;[35][36] the club still competes to this day in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA).[37] Two other clubs, Fitzroy and the Brisbane Bears, merged in 1996 to form the Brisbane Lions. However, after coming out of financial administration in 1998, Fitzroy resumed its playing operations in 2009 and also competes in the VAFA.[38]

Club Colours Moniker State Home venue Est. Former
league 		VFL/AFL seasons VFL/AFL premierships
First Last Total Total Last
Brisbane Bears   Bears Queensland Carrara Stadium 1986 — 1987 1996 10 0 —
Fitzroy   Lions Victoria Brunswick Street Oval 1883 VFA 1897+ 1996 100 8 1944
University   Students Victoria Melbourne Cricket Ground 1859 MJFA 1908 1914 7 0 —
+ denotes that the club was a founding member of the VFL

Timeline of clubs

Non-formal/junior competitions †
Victorian Football Association (1877) †
Victorian Football League (1897, later renamed AFL)
Australian Football League (1990, formerly VFL)
South Australian National Football League (1877) †

† Not all teams shown. These competitions are current.

Venues

For a more comprehensive list, see List of Australian Football League grounds.

Throughout the history of the VFL/AFL, there have been a total of 45 different grounds used, with 17 used during the 2019 AFL season.[39] The largest capacity ground in use is the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), which has a capacity of over 100,000 people and hosts the Grand Final each year (see AFL Grand Final location debate).[40] The MCG is shared by four teams as a home ground, while the other grounds used as home venues by multiple teams are Docklands Stadium in Melbourne (five teams), Adelaide Oval in Adelaide (two teams) and Perth Stadium in Perth (two teams). The AFL has had exclusive ownership of Docklands Stadium (commercially known as Marvel Stadium) since late 2016.[41]

Prior to the expansion of the competition, most grounds were located in suburban Melbourne, with Princes Park, Victoria Park, the Junction Oval, Waverley Park and the Lake Oval each having hosted over 700 games.[39] However, since the introduction of a national competition, each state and territory of Australia has hosted AFL games.[42] On 25 April 2013 (Anzac Day), a match took place between St Kilda and Sydney at Wellington Regional Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand, being the first AFL match played outside Australia for premiership points.[43]

Current venues

Below are the venues that will host AFL matches during the 2022 season.

Melbourne Cricket Ground Accor Stadium Optus Stadium Marvel Stadium
Melbourne, Victoria Sydney, New South Wales Perth, Western Australia Melbourne, Victoria
Capacity: 100,024 Capacity: 82,000 Capacity: 60,000 Capacity: 56,347
       
Adelaide Oval Sydney Cricket Ground The Gabba GMHBA Stadium
Adelaide, South Australia Sydney, New South Wales Brisbane, Queensland Geelong, Victoria
Capacity: 53,500 Capacity: 48,000 Capacity: 41,974 Capacity: 26,000[a]
       
GIANTS Stadium Metricon Stadium Blundstone Arena University of Tasmania Stadium
Sydney, New South Wales Gold Coast, Queensland Hobart, Tasmania Launceston, Tasmania
Capacity: 24,000 Capacity: 22,500 Capacity: 19,500 Capacity: 19,000
       
Manuka Oval Cazalys Stadium TIO Stadium Mars Stadium
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Cairns, Queensland Darwin, Northern Territory Ballarat, Victoria
Capacity: 16,000 Capacity: 13,500 Capacity: 12,500 Capacity: 11,000
       
TIO Traeger Park
Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Capacity: 7,200
 

Former venues

Below are the other venues to have hosted matches during the AFL era (1990–present), with audience capacities at the time.

Adelaide Arena at Jiangwan Stadium Waverley Park Football Park Subiaco Oval
Shanghai, China Melbourne, Victoria Adelaide, South Australia Perth, Western Australia
Capacity: 11,000 Capacity: 72,000 Capacity: 51,240 Capacity: 42,922
       
Wellington Regional Stadium Princes Park WACA Ground Moorabbin Oval
Wellington, New Zealand Melbourne, Victoria Perth, Western Australia Melbourne, Victoria
Capacity: 36,000 Capacity: 35,000 Capacity: 35,000 Capacity: 27,000
       
Victoria Park Whitten Oval Windy Hill Blacktown International Sportspark
Melbourne, Victoria Melbourne, Victoria Melbourne, Victoria Sydney, New South Wales
Capacity: 27,000 Capacity: 25,000 Capacity: 15,000 Capacity: 10,000
       
Riverway Stadium
Townsville, Queensland
Capacity: 10,000
 

Players

See also: List of current AFL team squads and Category:VFL/AFL players
 
Dustin Martin, the third pick in the 2009 AFL draft

AFL players are drawn from a number of sources; however, most players enter the league through the AFL draft, held at the end of each season. A small number of players have converted from other sports, or been recruited internationally. Prior to the nationalisation of the competition, a zoning system was in place. At the end of the season, the best 22 players and coach from across the competition are selected in the All-Australian team.

The AFL has tight controls over the player lists of each club. Currently, apart from the recently added expansion clubs who have some additional players, each team can have a senior list of 38 to 40 players plus 4 to 6 rookie players, to a total of 44 players[47] (following a reduction by two of the number of rookies in 2012) and up to three development rookies (international, alternative talent or New South Wales scholarship players).[48] Changes to playing lists are permitted only in the off-season: clubs can trade players during a "trade period" which follows each season and recruit new players through the three AFL drafts, the national draft, the pre-season draft and the rookie draft, which take place after the trade period. A mid-year draft was conducted between 1990 and 1993.[49] The national draft is the primary method of recruiting new players and has been used since 1986. The draft order is based on reverse-finishing position from the previous year but selections can be traded. Free agency player movements have only been permitted since the 2012/13 offseason,[50] previously having been rejected by the AFL.[51]

Salary cap

Main article: AFL salary cap

A salary cap (known as the Total Player Payments or TPP) is also in place as part of the league's equalisation policy; this was $9,130,000 for the 2013 season with a salary floor of $8,673,500 except for the Gold Coast, whose salary cap was $9,630,000 with a salary floor of $9,171,500 and Greater Western Sydney, whose salary cap was $9,987,000 with a floor of $9,530,500. As part of the AFL's enhanced equalisation policies, in 2014 the league announced an increase of the TPP for the 2015 and 2016 seasons. TPP increased an additional $150,000 per club in 2015 above previously contracted amounts, increasing from $9.92m to $10.07m in 2015 and $10.22m to $10.37m in 2016.[52]

The salary cap was set at $1.25 million for 1987–1989 as per VFL agreement, with the salary floor set at 90% of the cap or $1.125 million; the salary floor was increased to 92.5% of the cap in 2001 and 95% of the cap for 2013 due to increased revenues. Both the salary cap and salary floor has increased substantially since the competition was rebranded as the AFL in 1990.

Salaries of draft selections are fixed for two years. Salaries for senior players are not normally released to the public, though the average AFL player salary at the conclusion of the 2012 season was $251,559[53] and the top few players can expect to earn up to and above $1,000,000 a year.[54] Upon successfully trading to the Sydney Swans in 2013, marquee player Lance Franklin signed a 9-year contract with the club, reportedly worth over $10 million and resulting in subsequent payments of $1.8 million annually in consecutive seasons.[55] The Total Player Earnings (TPE) – or total amount of revenue spent on reimbursement of AFL listed players – at the conclusion of the 2012 season was $173.7 million, up by 13 per cent from $153.7 million in 2011.[53]

In June 2017, the AFL and AFL Players Association agreed to a new CBA deal which resulted in a 20% increase in players' salaries. The six-year deal, which began in 2017 and ends in 2022 means that the average player wage rises from $309,000 to $371,000 and the player salary cap from $10.37m to $12.45m. In 2022, the final year of the agreement, the average player wage will be $389,000 with a salary cap of $13.54m.[56]

The breaches of the salary cap and salary floor regulations outlined by the AFL are: exceeding the TPP; falling below the salary floor; not informing the AFL of payments; late or incorrect lodgement or loss of documents; or engaging in draft tampering. Penalties include fines of up to triple the amount involved ($10,000 for each document late or incorrect lodged or lost), forfeiture of draft picks and/or deduction of premiership points. The most significant breach of the salary cap was that of the Carlton Football Club in the early 2000s.

Demographics

Main articles: List of VFL/AFL players born outside Australia, VFL/AFL players with international backgrounds, and List of VFL/AFL and AFL Women's players of Indigenous Australian descent
 
Indigenous player Lance Franklin. Although comprising only 2.7% of the broader Australian population, Indigenous Australians make up 9% of AFL players.

There were 801 players on AFL club senior, veteran, rookie and international lists in 2011, including players from every state and mainland territory of Australia.[57] As of 2014, there were 68 players of Indigenous Australian descent on AFL club lists, comprising approximately 9% of the overall playing population.[58]

There were 12 players recruited from outside Australia on AFL lists in 2011, including 10 from Ireland, all converts from Gaelic football drafted as part of the Irish Experiment and one each from the United States and Canada. There were also another five overseas-born players who emigrated to Australia at an early age on AFL lists.[59]

An international rookie list and international scholarship list were introduced in 2006. The international rookie list includes up to two players between the ages of 15 and 23 who are not Australian citizens. These players may remain on this list for up to three years before they must be transferred to the senior or rookie list. For the first year, payments made to international-rookie-listed players fell outside the salary cap. The international scholarship list gives AFL clubs the option of recruiting up to eight players from outside Australia (other than Ireland). Irish players are required to either be placed on clubs' senior or rookie lists.[60] At the beginning of 2011, there were 14 international scholarship players.[61]

Of the 121 multicultural players, more than half have one parent from Anglophone countries, mainly the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand.[62]

Season structure

Pre-season

Main article: Australian Football League pre-season competition

From 1988 until 2013, the AFL ran a pre-season competition that finished prior to the commencement of the premiership season, which served as both warm-up matches for the season and as a stand-alone competition.

It was mostly contested as a four-week knock out tournament but the format changed after the expansion of the league beyond sixteen clubs in 2011 and has frequently been used to trial rule changes.

In 2014, the competition format was abandoned and practice matches are now played under the sponsored name Marsh Community Series. This consists of all 18 clubs playing two matches each, which are played on some weekdays and weekends, throughout February and early March.

Premiership season

See also: 2022 AFL season

The AFL home-and-away season at present lasts for 23 rounds, starting in mid-March and ending in late August. As of the 2022 AFL season, each team plays 22 matches, with one bye. Teams receive four premiership points for a win and two premiership points for a draw. Ladder finishing positions are based on the number of premiership points won. "Percentage," calculated as the ratio of points scored to points conceded throughout the season, is used as a tie-breaker when teams finish with equal premiership points. Further tie-breakers, if required, are the premiership points accumulated in head-to-head matches between the tied teams and then the percentage earned in such matches, with a final tie-breaker being a random drawing of lots.[63] At the end of the home-and-away season, the McClelland Trophy is awarded to the minor premiers.

Themed rounds and special matches

 
The Anzac Day clash is one of the marquee fixtures in the AFL home and away season.

Several teams also play against each other at set times each year, with the most prominent of these being when Collingwood play Essendon in the annual Anzac Day clash at the MCG.[64] Other prominent matches include the Queen's Birthday match between Collingwood and Melbourne and the Easter Monday clash between Geelong and Hawthorn.[65][66]

There are separate trophies for matches between several clubs.

Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round

Perhaps the most well-known of the themed rounds is the Indigenous Round.

In 2007, following the success of the Dreamtime at the 'G matches in 2005 and 2006, the AFL nominated a specific Indigenous Round (round 9) which has become an annual event in which the Dreamtime at the 'G match takes centre stage on a Saturday night. The success of the annual match, which now usually features crowds in excess of 80,000, led to the two clubs agreeing to cement the match arrangement for an additional decade in May 2016.[67]

In 2016 the Round was named after Sir Doug Nicholls, the only VFL player to have been knighted and who served as a state governor (of South Australia). The round is now named the Sir Doug Nicholls Round, although it is still commonly referred to as the Indigenous Round.[68][69]

Each year, each player in all 18 clubs wears a specially-commissioned artwork by an Indigenous artist on their guernsey.[70] In 2020, there was controversy over the Aboriginal flag copyright issue, after the AFL had decided not to enter into a commercial agreement with the clothing company who own the copyright over its use on clothing, as the general sentiment of the Aboriginal community that it should be free for use in Australia.[71]

Finals series

See also: List of Australian Football League premiers

The top eight teams at the end of the AFL Premiership season compete in a four-week finals series throughout September, culminating in a grand final to determine the premiers. The finals series is played under the AFL final eight system and the grand final is traditionally played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the afternoon of the last Saturday in September.

The winning team receives a silver premiership cup, a navy blue premiership flag – a new one of each is manufactured each year – and is recorded on the perpetual E. L. Wilson Shield. The flag has been presented since the league began and is traditionally unfurled at the team's first home game of the following season. The Wilson Shield, named after Edwin Lionel Wilson, was first awarded after the 1929 premiership.[72] The premiership cup was first introduced in 1959 and is manufactured annually by Cash's International at their metalworks in Frankston, Victoria.[73] Additionally, each player in the grand final-winning team receives a premiership medallion.

Awards

The following major individual awards and accolades are presented each season:

Other independent best and fairest awards are presented by different football and media organisations.

Team of the Century

To celebrate the 100th season of the VFL/AFL, the "AFL Team of the Century" was named in 1996.

Jack Elder was declared the Umpire of the Century to coincide with the Team of the Century. Since the naming of this side, most AFL clubs have nominated their own teams of the century. An Indigenous Team of the Century was also selected in 2005, featuring the best Aboriginal players of the previous 100 years from both the VFL/AFL and other state leagues.

Representative football

State football

Main article: Interstate matches in Australian rules football

State representation football in the AFL initially ended in 1999. The concept has been revived twice since then in 2008 and 2020 when a Victorian state team took on all stars teams (in 2008 against The Dream Team and in 2020 against the All Stars).[74][75]

History of the VFL/AFL's involvement

 
Statue of Footscray legend and leading State of Origin proponent Ted Whitten, after whom the E. J. Whitten Legends Game is named

VFL players first represented the Victoria representative team in 1897 regardless of their state of origin.

Being the dominant league drawing many of the country's best players, the Victoria Australian rules football team (nicknamed the "Big V" and composed mostly of VFL players) dominated interstate matches until the introduction of State of Origin selection criteria by the Australian Football Council in 1977, after which Victoria's results with the other main Australian football states became more even.

The AFL assumed control of interstate football in 1993[how?][further explanation needed][citation needed] and coordinated an annual State of Origin series typically held during a mid-season bye round.

However, after the 1999 series, the AFL declared the concept of interstate football "on hold", citing club unwillingness to release star players and a lack of public interest: the 1999 series, where Victoria defeated South Australia by 54 points, was played in wet conditions in front of a crowd of 26,063, whereas 10 years earlier, the same match with a plethora of star players attracted a crowd of 91,960.

The AFL shifted its focus of representative football to the International Rules Series, where at the time in the late 1990's, drew a greater television revenue. A once-off representative match, known as the AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match, was played in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport between a team of players of Victorian origin and a team of players of interstate origin (the "Dream Team"), which was won by Victoria.

In 2020 The AFL hosted a State of Origin match with the money raised from the event going towards affected bushfire communities. On 28 February the game took place at Marvel Stadium with Victoria defeating an All Stars team and Dustin Martin taking out best on ground.

Some past AFL players participate and help promote the E. J. Whitten Legends Game.

Global expansion

Although no professional leagues or teams exist outside Australia, the AFL has stated that it wishes to showcase Australian rules football to other countries such as India, China and South Africa so as to create a global following thus creating more exposure for its sponsors in the increasing Asian and African markets.[76][77] On 17 October 2010, AFL clubs Melbourne Demons and Brisbane Lions played an exhibition game in front of 7,000 people at the Jiangwan Sports Center in Shanghai.[78] This was the first professional AFL game to be played in China. Since then AFL premiership matches have been played in New Zealand and China and the competition developed some interest in North America amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.[79]

International Rules Series

See also: International rules football

The AFL has garnered increased interest in Ireland due to the introduction of the International Rules Series played between an AFL picked All Australian Team and Ireland international rules football team beginning from 1984. The series is organised under the auspices of the AFL and the Gaelic Athletic Association.[80] The game itself is a hybrid sport, consisting of rules from both Australian football and Gaelic football. The series provides the only outlet for AFL players to represent their nation.[81] This series encouraged young Irish footballers switching code to join AFL teams because of much higher salaries in the AFL than that of Gaelic Football. However, most Irish players fail to make the grade into 1st team football.[82] This also paved the way for extended news coverage and increased broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland.[citation needed]

Corporate Governance

Main article: AFL Commission
See also: List of VFL/AFL presidents
 
Gillon McLachlan, CEO of the AFL

The AFL is governed by directors known as the AFL Commission. The commission was established in December 1985 and replaced the board of directors elected by and representing the original member clubs in 1993,[83] after the club parochialism and self-interest which came with the traditional club delegate based administrative structure threatened to undermine the competition.[further explanation needed][citation needed]

The commission chairman is Richard Goyder, who took over from Mike Fitzpatrick on 4 April 2017. The CEO of the AFL is Gillon McLachlan, who replaced Andrew Demetriou in 2014.

In addition to administering the national competition, the AFL is heavily involved in promoting and developing the sport in Australia. It provides funds for local leagues and in conjunction with local clubs, administers the Auskick program for young boys and girls.

The AFL also plays a leading role in developing the game outside Australia, with projects to develop the game at junior level in other countries (e.g. South Africa) and by supporting affiliated competitions around the world (See Australian football around the world).

The players of the AFL are represented by the AFL Players Association, the coaches are represented by the AFL Coaches Association, the umpires are represented by the AFL Umpires Association and the related media employees are represented by the Australian Football Media Association.

Audience

The AFL was the best-attended sporting league in Australia in 2012.[84] According to market research, the AFL is the second-most-watched sporting event in Australia, behind cricket.[85] Currently, broadcast rights for the AFL are shared between the Seven Network (free-to-air), Foxtel (pay TV) and Kayo Sports (internet). In 2019, a record 1,057,572 people were members of an AFL club.[86] Total TV audiences during the 2022 AFL season 125.4 million viewers with an average of 537,000 people watching each match. 54% of viewers watched using the paid services of Foxtel or Kayo, while 46% watched the Seven Network's free-to-air broadcasts.[87]

Attendance

The following are the most recent season attendances:

Year Home and Away Average Finals1 Average1 Grand final
2022 6,112,431 30,871 639,980 71,109 100,024
20216 3,976,228 19,209 272,746 30,305 61,118
20206 826,458 6,665 206,579 22,953 29,7077
2019 6,954,187 35,122 563,460 62,607 100,014
2018 6,894,772 34,822 700,393 77,821 100,022
2017 6,734,062 34,010 553,818 61,535 100,021
2016 6,311,656 31,877 558,343 62,038 99,981
2015 6,367,302 32,321 518,694 57,663 98,633
2014 6,403,941 32,343 570,568 63,396 99,454
2013 6,372,784 32,186 558,391 62,043 100,007
2012 6,238,876 31,509 538,934 59,882 99,683
2011 6,533,138 34,937 614,250 68,250 99,537
2010 6,494,564 36,901 651,764 65,176 100,0164 and 93,8535
2009 6,375,622 36,225 615,463 68,385 99,251
2008 6,512,999 37,0062 571,760 63,258 100,012
2007 6,475,521 36,793 575,424 63,936 97,302
2006 6,204,056 35,250 532,178 59,131 97,431
2005 6,283,788 35,703 480,112 53,346 91,8983
2004 5,909,836 33,579 458,326 50,925 77,6713
2003 5,876,515 33,389 478,425 53,158 79,4513
2002 5,648,021 32,091 449,445 49,938 91,817
2001 5,919,026 33,631 525,993 58,444 91,482
2000 5,731,091 32,563 566,562 62,951 96,249
1999 5,768,611 32,776 472,007 52,445 94,228
1998 6,119,861 34,772 572,733 63,637 94,431
1997 5,853,449 33,258 560,406 62,267 99,645
1996 5,222,266 29,672 478,773 53,197 93,102
1995 5,119,694 29,089 594,919 66,102 93,678

1 Finals total and Finals average include grand final crowds.
2 Record.
3 Capacity reduced due to MCG refurbishment.
4 Crowd for the drawn grand final.
5 Crowd for the grand final replay, played one week after the drawn grand final.
6 Attendance reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
7 Capacity reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Television

Australian television

See also: List of Australian Football League television shows

AFL matches are currently broadcast in Australia by the free-to-air Seven Network and subscription television provider Foxtel. The current deal was announced in August 2015 and covered the inclusive 2017–2022 seasons.[88] In 2020, the deal was extended until 2024 inclusive.

The Seven Network broadcasts an average of three-and-a-half games a round; Friday Night, Saturday Night, Sunday Afternoon and any Thursday or Monday Night matches that may occur throughout the year. Channel Seven also airs the AFL Finals Series and the AFL Grand Final. Foxtel broadcasts every match through their Fox Footy channels, including simulcasts from the Seven Network except for the grand final, which is aired exclusively on Channel Seven. Foxtel also has the rights to air rounds on their internet protocol television platform titled Foxtel Now, as well as via the sports streaming service Kayo.

Telecast history

The 1957 VFL season was the first broadcast after the commencement of television in Australia (introduced in 1956 to coincide with the Melbourne Olympic Games). During the late 1950s and 1960s, all Melbourne stations (ABV2, HSV7, GTV9 and, after it commenced in 1965, ATV0/ATV10) broadcast some games. However, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the VFL was concerned that direct telecasts may affect attendances and stations were only permitted to telecast a delayed replay of the last quarter of games. In the early 1970s until 1986, the Seven Network and the Australian Broadcast Corporation (ABC) were given exclusive rights to VFL/AFL games. The only year Seven did not telecast games was 1987 when the rights were bought by Broadcom, which on-sold the rights to the ABC in Victoria. Seven regained the rights in 1988 and also exclusive rights.

With the launch of subscription television in Australia, AFL match coverage commenced on cable television. Optus Vision bid for and won exclusive pay-TV rights from 1996 to 2001, screening coverage on its own 24-hour AFL channel, branded Sports AFL in Brisbane Sydney and Melbourne (where available). The Sports AFL channel was later closed due to financial issues and relaunched in March 1999 as C7 Sport by the Seven Network with AFL match coverage also transferred to the new channel. C7 Sport became available in regional areas not in the Foxtel or Optus Vision licence area via Austar soon after the re-launch. The AFL coverage was not available through Foxtel at this time as the Seven Network and Foxtel disagreed on the cost of carrying the C7 channel. These issues regarding C7 and AFL broadcasting rights evolved into a court case between not just the Seven Network and News Limited but Seven against the owners of the Nine Network and Network Ten in the years that followed.

On 25 January 2001, the Seven Network's main rivals, the Kerry Packer led Nine Network, Network Ten and pay-TV's Foxtel set up a consortium which bid $500 million for the right to broadcast the 2002–2006 seasons inclusive. Seven had purchased a guaranteed right to make the last bid in 1995,[89] but decided not to outbid their rivals.[90] The games were split between the networks, with Nine screening Friday Night Football, a live Sunday afternoon game in the east and, if needed, a doubleheader for WA and SA, Ten screened a Saturday afternoon and a Saturday night match, with the remaining four matches shown on Foxtel. Foxtel set up its own version of a dedicated AFL-only channel, the Fox Footy Channel, which showed every game on replay during the week, as well as many news, talkback and general interest shows related to Australian rules football.[91]

When the rights were offered again in January 2006 for the 2007 to 2011 seasons, Seven formed an alliance with Ten and used its guaranteed last bid rights to match Nine's offer of $780 million to win back the broadcast rights in what was the biggest sport telecasting deal in Australian history at the time. After lengthy negotiations, Foxtel agreed to be a broadcast partner and showed four live matches each week, although no longer on a dedicated AFL channel.[89] Seven took back the Friday night match and only one game on Sunday, while Ten retained showing two matches on Saturdays. Foxtel showed two games on Saturday and two on Sunday, including a late afternoon or twilight game.[92]

The 2012–2016 rights were bought by Seven, Foxtel and Telstra for $1.25 billion, the biggest sport telecasting deal in Australian history at the time. As part of the deal, Foxtel would show all home-and-away AFL matches live, as well as all Finals bar the grand final, via the resurrected Fox Footy. Telstra would broadcast all matches via mobile and Seven would broadcast three live matches (Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon) and one delayed match (Saturday afternoon). Seven also had the option to on-sell one game a week to either Nine or Ten; this did not happen.[93][94]

The 2017–2022 rights were re-bought by Seven, Foxtel and Telstra for $2.5 billion, besting the previous deal to become the most lucrative in Australian history at the time. Under the terms of the deal, Seven broadcasts at least three live matches per round as well as all Finals matches, whilst Foxtel broadcasts (or simulcasts Seven's feed) all nine matches per round, as well as all Finals bar the grand final, which is exclusively broadcast by Seven. Telstra continues to maintain exclusive mobile broadcast rights to all matches.[88] There are some variations in broadcasting dependent on the relevant state or territory.[95] The agreement with Seven, Foxtel and Telstra was extended in 2020 by two years to include the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

In 2021 Telstra's AFL streaming service, AFL Live Pass, was removed and replaced with access to Kayo, run by Streamotion, a wholly owned subsidiary of Foxtel.[96]

The 2025-2031 rights were re-bought by Seven, Foxtel and Telstra for $4.5 billion, once again besting the previous deal to become the most lucrative in Australian history. As part of the deal, Seven would show three-and-a-half games a week on average during the home-and-away season, as well as all Finals and the Brownlow Medal. This includes Thursday Night games for the first 15 rounds of each season and streaming rights to all matches they broadcast via 7+. Fox Footy would continue to show every home-and-away game and every final live bar the Grand Final via Foxtel and Kayo. All Foxtel matches will have Fox Footy commentary, including simulcasts of Channel Seven matches and Saturday matches will be exclusive to Fox Footy for the first eight rounds bar any marquee matches. These arrangements differ outside of Victoria, where every local team's match will be broadcast on free-to-air, most of them live.[97]

International broadcasts

International broadcast history

Historically AFL broadcasts in other countries have varied.

In late 1979, the brand new ESPN cable network signed the league's first international TV contract. Coverage began with the 1980 season with matches airing on late Friday and Saturday nights, sometimes live but usually one or two week tape delayed to up to 2.5 million subscribers.[98] At the time, reports indicated ESPN paid the VFL nearly $100,000 (the VFL's Australian TV rights deal at the time was just $600,000[99]). The 1983 VFL Grand Final was the first time in history that the Grand Final was broadcast live into the US.[100] Coverage continued on ESPN until 1986, when the sport was dropped after which it was not broadcast in the US for over a decade.

New Zealand was the second country which held broadcast rights in 1980, with highlight packages with the Grand Final going live into the country.[101]

In the early 1990s, American regional sports network Prime Sports (unrelated to the Australian regional television network) aired Seven's weekly highlight show as well as the grand final. Some other English speaking countries have shown the game, however, it has been since 2008 that channels in other countries began televising matches. From 1998 to 2006 games were broadcast in the United States by the Fox Sports World network.[102]

In 2007, after the record domestic television rights deal, the AFL secured an additional bonus: greater international television rights and increase exposure to overseas markets, including a five-year deal with Setanta Sports and new deals with other overseas pay-TV networks. The deal ended early in 2009 when Setanta stopped broadcasting into Great Britain. ESPN again took up the contract.[103]

Additionally, AFL games can be shown in Irish pubs and sport pubs by request in Bangkok although Thailand has no AFL rights because these pubs have subscribed internet cable services.

International broadcast partners

The following countries are ranked by the approximate extent of their current television coverage (and whether it is free to air):

Station/Channel Countries Free/Subscription Home & Away Finals Grand final Broadcasting since Notes
SuperSport Africa Subscription One game per week (live/delay) Live See also Australian rules football in Africa
TSN2 Canada Subscription Two games per week (live/replay) Live See also Australian rules football in Canada, AFANA
Digicel SportsMax Caribbean Subscription Four games per week (live/highlights/replay) Live Live
TG4 Ireland Free One game per week (highlights) See also Australian rules football in Ireland
UPC Ireland Ireland Subscription See also Australian rules football in Ireland
EM TV Papua New Guinea Free Up to three games per week (highlights) Live Live See also Australian rules football in Papua New Guinea
Fiji TV Fiji Free One game per week, replay also available Live Live See also Australian rules football in Fiji
International Channel Shanghai People's Republic of China Free One game per week Live Live See also Australian rules football in China
CCTV-5+ People's Republic of China Free One game per week Live Live See also Australian rules football in China
ABC Australia Asia-Pacific region
Indian Subcontinent
Middle East		 Free (may required subscription in selected operators) Five games per week Yes Live
Eurosport 2 Europe Free One game per week (highlights/live/replay) Live See also Australian rules football in Europe
Fox Sports Israel Israel Subscription See also Australian rules football in the Middle East
Star+ Mexico
Central America
South America		 Subscription Five games per week (live/replay) Live Live
OSN Sports Middle East
North Africa		 Subscription
Sky Sport New Zealand Subscription Up to two games per week (live/delayed) + highlights See also Australian rules football in New Zealand
Movistar+ Spain Free highlights, delayed matches 2009 See also Australian rules football in Spain
Sky United Kingdom Subscription See also Australian rules football in the United Kingdom
BT Sport
BT Sport ESPN		 United Kingdom
Republic of Ireland		 Subscription Three games per week (highlights/live/replay) 2013 See also Australian rules football in the United Kingdom, See also Australian rules football in Ireland
Fox Sports 2 United States Subscription Up to three games per week, some finals Yes 2013 See also Australian rules football in the United States, AFANA
Fox Soccer Plus United States Subscription varying number of games per week, some finals, grand final Yes See also Australian rules football in the United States, AFANA
MHz Worldview United States Subscription "Game of the Week" (one-week delay; highlights) Live See also Australian rules football in the United States, AFANA
Viasat Sport[104] Russia
Other CIS countries		 Live See also Australian rules football in Russia

Radio

The first broadcast of a VFL game was by 3AR in 1923, the year that licenced broadcasting commenced in Australia. The first commentator was Wallace (Jumbo) Shallard, a former Geelong player who went on to have a long and respected career in print and broadcast media. The VFL/AFL has been broadcast every year since then by the ABC and (since 1927) by various commercial stations. The saturation period was the early 1960s when seven of the eight extant radio stations (3AR, 3UZ, 3DB, 3KZ, 3AW, 3XY and 3AK) broadcast VFL games each week, as well as broadcasts of Geelong games by local station 3GL. (At this time, the only alternative that radio listeners had to listen to the football on a Saturday afternoon were the classical music and fine arts programs that were broadcast by 3LO).

The AFL's contracted radio broadcast partners are:

Internet

The AFL's contracted internet/mobile broadcast partner is Telstra. The AFL also provides exclusive broadband content, including streaming video for international fans, via its website. Telstra also hosts the websites of all the 18 AFL clubs.

However, the website is frequently derided by users for its convoluted information architecture and bloated presentation.[105][106]

Since 2012, Telstra has broadcast live matches over its Next G mobile network for a pay-per-view or season fee.[107]

Since 2019, Kayo has broadcast every game, except the Grand Final, live. In Feb 2021, Telstra terminated the AFL Live Pass service, replacing it with access to Kayo at a discount for Telstra customers.

Streaming rights outside of Australia for full games are currently held by the Watch AFL subscription service operated by Fox Sports Australia.

Corporate relations

Sponsorship

The VFL/AFL's competition naming sponsors have been:

The AFL's contracted print media partner is News Corp Australia. The AFL Record is a match-day magazine published by the AFL and is read by around 225,000 people each week.

Membership

The AFL sells memberships that entitle subscribers to reserve seats for matches at Docklands Stadium and the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne. AFL members also receive priority access to finals. Three levels of memberships are offered, bronze, silver and full (gold). Only full members have guaranteed access to preliminary and grand final matches. Bronze members are restricted to fewer matches at the MCG only.[108]

Merchandising

The AFL runs a chain of stores that sell merchandise from all clubs. Merchandise is also available from other retailers.

AFL World

A modern museum called the Hall of Fame and Sensation opened in Melbourne in 2003 to celebrate the culture of the AFL and to provide a venue for the Australian Football Hall of Fame. The museum, a licensed offshoot of the AFL, was originally touted for the MCG but the Hall of Fame failed to receive support from the Melbourne Cricket Club. The new QV shopping centre on Swanston Street was then chosen as the location. However, controversy followed the appointment of an administrator as the museum began running at a loss. Many blamed high entry prices, which were subsequently reduced and the museum remained open to the public. In early 2006 the name was changed to AFL World. It featured various honour boards and memorabilia as well as a range of innovative interactive displays designed to immerse visitors in the experience of elite Australian rules football. It was closed in 2008.

Video games

Main article: AFL (video game series)

The following is a list of all the video games from the AFL video game series:

Gambling

The AFL is the subject of footy tipping and betting competitions around Australia run by individuals, syndicates, workplaces and professional bookmakers. In recent years national website based tipping competitions have started to replace the traditional but more labour-intensive, office or pub run competitions.[citation needed]

Fantasy football competitions based on actual player statistics (number of kicks, marks, goals etc.) are also very popular on websites and in newspapers.[citation needed]

Activism

LGBTI policy

The AFL is a supporter of the LGBTI community.[109] In September 2017, in conjunction with the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey, the AFL modified its logo in support of same-sex marriage.[110] However they reverted to the original logo 24 hours later.[111]

However, in September 2017 the AFL ruled that Hannah Mouncey, a transgender woman, was ineligible for selection in the 2018 AFLW draft.[112] There has been some opposition to the AFL's decision.[113][114]

See also

Lists

Notes

  1. ^ The stadium is currently undergoing construction, which has reduced the stadium's capacity to around 26,000.[44][45] The stadium will have a capacity of 40,000 once construction is complete.[46]

References

  1. ^ Australian Securities & Investments Commission registers www.asic.gov.au
  2. ^ "The Victorian Football Association". North Melbourne Courier and West Melbourne Advertiser. No. 72. North Melbourne. 19 March 1897. p. 3.
  3. ^ McConville, Andrew (5 May 2020). "Player payments and the great bribery scandal". State Library Victoria. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  4. ^ "The University Team". The Argus. Melbourne. 18 September 1914. p. 4.
  5. ^ "Exit University – Football League Retirement". The Argus. Melbourne. 17 October 1914. p. 20.
  6. ^ Barry Rollings (15 April 1976). "First NFL Cup match next month". The Canberra Times. Canberra, ACT. p. 18.
  7. ^ "Rules pools plan". The Canberra Times. Canberra, ACT. 16 November 1976. p. 18.
  8. ^ "VFL criticised". The Canberra Times. Canberra, ACT. 12 November 1976. p. 22.
  9. ^ "$2m night-football plan". The Canberra Times. Canberra, ACT. 28 June 1978. p. 36.
  10. ^ Eastman, David. "1979 NFL Escort Cup". from the original on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  11. ^ Devaney, John (2014), Clubs of the South Australian National Football League, Great Britain: Full Points Publication, p. 252
  12. ^ "National Panasonic Cup". AustralianFootball.com. from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  13. ^ a b Stewart, Bob (31 July 2017). Sport Funding and Finance (2nd ed.). Routledge. ISBN 9781134470846. from the original on 30 October 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Timeline of VFL/AFL Broadcast Rights". Footy Industry. 28 July 2014. from the original on 30 October 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
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January 20, 2023
australian, football, league, this, article, about, sporting, organisation, sport, itself, australian, rules, football, association, football, league, league, company, operating, premier, fully, professional, competition, australian, rules, football, women, ot. This article is about the sporting organisation For the sport itself see Australian rules football For the association football league see A League Men The Australian Football League AFL is a company 1 operating the premier and fully professional competition of Australian rules football and the AFL Women s and other competitions It was originally named the Victorian Football League VFL and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition from the Victorian Football Association VFA with its inaugural season in 1897 It changed its name to Australian Football League in 1990 after expanding its competition to other Australian states in the 1980s The AFL publishes its Laws of Australian football which are used with variations by other Australian football organisations Australian Football LeagueMost recent season or competition 2022 AFL seasonAFL logo since 2000 FormerlyVictorian Football League VFL 1897 1990 SportAustralian rules footballFounded2 October 1896 126 years ago 1896 10 02 Inaugural season1897CEOGillon McLachlanNo of teams18CountryAustraliaHeadquartersMelbourne Victoria AustraliaMost recentchampion s Geelong 10th premiership Most titlesCarltonEssendon 16 premierships TV partner s Seven NetworkFox FootyStreaming partner s Kayo Sports Australia WatchAFL Overseas Sponsor s ToyotaRelatedcompetitionsAFL Women sVFLSANFLWAFLAFLXOfficial websiteafl com auThe AFL competition currently consists of 18 teams spread over five of Australia s six states Tasmania being the exception Matches have been played in all states the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory as well as in New Zealand and China to expand the AFL audience The AFL season currently consists of a 23 round regular or home and away season which runs during the Australian winter March to September The team with the best record after the home and away season is awarded the minor premiership The top eight teams then play off in a four round finals series culminating in the AFL Grand Final which is normally held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground each year The grand final winners are termed the premiers and are awarded the premiership cup and flag Carlton and Essendon are the joint most successful clubs in the competition having won sixteen premierships apiece The current premiers are Geelong which won the 2022 AFL Grand Final Contents 1 History 1 1 VFL era 1897 1989 1 1 1 Background and founding 1 1 2 1897 1900s Inaugural VFL season and early years 1 1 3 1915 1945 Three VFA clubs join the VFL 1 1 4 1946 1975 Post war golden years 1 1 5 1976 1981 VFL leaves Australian National Football Council 1 1 6 1982 1989 Professionalism club bankruptcy and expansion 1 2 AFL era 1990 present 1 2 1 1990 2010 A professional national competition 1 2 2 2011 present 18 team era 2 Clubs 2 1 Current clubs 2 2 Former clubs 2 3 Timeline of clubs 3 Venues 3 1 Current venues 3 2 Former venues 4 Players 4 1 Salary cap 4 2 Demographics 5 Season structure 5 1 Pre season 5 2 Premiership season 5 2 1 Themed rounds and special matches 5 2 2 Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round 5 3 Finals series 6 Awards 6 1 Team of the Century 7 Representative football 7 1 State football 7 1 1 History of the VFL AFL s involvement 8 Global expansion 8 1 International Rules Series 9 Corporate Governance 10 Audience 10 1 Attendance 10 2 Television 10 2 1 Australian television 10 2 2 Telecast history 10 2 3 International broadcasts 10 2 3 1 International broadcast history 10 2 3 2 International broadcast partners 10 3 Radio 10 4 Internet 11 Corporate relations 11 1 Sponsorship 11 2 Membership 11 3 Merchandising 11 3 1 AFL World 11 3 2 Video games 11 3 3 Gambling 12 Activism 12 1 LGBTI policy 13 See also 14 Notes 15 References 16 External linksHistory EditFor the history of the sport distinct from the AFL see History of Australian rules football Main article History of the Australian Football League VFL era 1897 1989 Edit Background and founding Edit The final standing of the 1896 VFA ladder Collingwood Essendon Fitzroy Geelong Melbourne South Melbourne Carlton and St Kilda would form the VFL the following year Several of the AFL s current member clubs date back to the origins of Australian football and were instrumental in establishing the sport s popularity and the AFL The oldest club is Melbourne Football Club which wrote the first laws of the code and Geelong which date back to 1858 and 1859 respectively while Melbourne University also founded in 1859 is also one of the oldest clubs to have later participated in the competition The Victorian Football Association VFA was established in 1877 and quickly went on to become Victoria s football competition During the 1890s an off field power struggle occurred between the VFA s stronger and weaker clubs the former seeking greater administrative control commensurate with their relative financial contribution to the game This came to a head in 1896 when it was proposed that gate profits which were always lower in matches involving the weaker clubs be shared equally amongst all teams in the VFA After it was intimated that the proposal would be put to a vote six of the strongest clubs Collingwood Essendon Fitzroy Geelong Melbourne and South Melbourne seceded from the VFA and later invited Carlton and St Kilda to join them in founding a new competition the Victorian Football League VFL The remaining VFA clubs Footscray North Melbourne Port Melbourne Richmond and Williamstown were given the opportunity to compete as junior sides at a level beneath the VFL but rejected the offer and remained for the 1897 VFA season 2 1897 1900s Inaugural VFL season and early years Edit Essendon won the inaugural VFL premiership by finishing on top of the 1897 round robin finals ladder A new finals system was implemented during the 1898 VFL season in order that a final match or grand final determine the premiers The VFL s inaugural season occurred in 1897 It made several innovations early on to entice the public s interest including an annual finals tournament rather than awarding the premiership to the team with the best record through the season and the formal establishment of the modern scoring system in which six points are awarded for a goal and one point for a behind Although the VFL and the VFA continued to compete for spectator interest for many years the VFL quickly established itself as the premier competition in Victoria In 1908 the league expanded to ten teams with Richmond crossing from the VFA and University Football Club from the Metropolitan Junior Football Association Professionalism began from the 1911 season with clubs permitted to pay players beyond the reimbursement of expenses for the first time 3 University after three promising seasons finished last each year from 1911 until 1914 including losing 51 matches in a row in part caused by its players focus on their studies rather than football and in part because it had chosen to remain amateur as a result the club withdrew from the VFL at the end of 1914 4 5 Beginning sporadically during the late 1890s and consistently from 1907 until World War I the VFL premier and the premier of the South Australian Football League met in a playoff match for the Championship of Australia South Australia s Port Adelaide was the most successful club of the competition winning three titles during the period along with an earlier victory 1915 1945 Three VFA clubs join the VFL Edit Main article The VFL during the World Wars In 1924 Footscray the premiers of the VFA defeated Essendon the VFL premiers in the Championship of Victoria The result played a large part in Footscray Hawthorn and North Melbourne gaining entry into the VFL the following year In 1925 the VFL expanded from nine teams to twelve with Footscray Hawthorn and North Melbourne each crossing from the VFA North Melbourne and Hawthorn remained very weak in the VFL for a very long period Although North Melbourne would become the first of the 1925 expansion sides to reach a grand final in 1950 initially it was Footscray that adapted to the VFL with the most ease of the three clubs and by 1928 were well off the bottom of the ladder Between the years of 1927 and 1930 Collingwood became the first and only VFL team to win four successive Premierships 1946 1975 Post war golden years Edit In 1952 the VFL hosted a national day when all six matches were played outside Melbourne Matches were played at the Sydney Cricket Ground Brisbane Exhibition Ground North Hobart Oval Albury Sports Ground and Victorian country towns Yallourn and Euroa Footscray became the first of the 1925 expansion teams to win the premiership in 1954 Melbourne became a powerhouse during the 1950s and early 1960s under coach Norm Smith and star player Ron Barassi The club contested seven consecutive grand finals from 1954 to 1960 winning five premierships including three in a row from 1955 to 1957 Television coverage commenced in 1957 with direct telecasts of the final quarter permitted At first several channels competed through broadcasting different games When the VFL found that television reduced crowds it decided no coverage was to be allowed for 1960 In 1961 television replays in Melbourne were introduced although direct telecasts were rarely permitted Other states and territories enjoyed live telecasts every Saturday afternoon In 1959 the VFL planned the first purpose built mega stadium VFL Park later known as Waverley Park to give it some independence from the Melbourne Cricket Club which managed the Melbourne Cricket Ground VFL Park was planned to hold 155 000 spectators which would have made it one of the largest stadiums in the world although it would ultimately be built with a capacity of 78 000 Land for the stadium was purchased at Mulgrave then farmland but predicted to be near the demographic centre of Melbourne s population The VFL premiership trophy was first awarded in addition to a pennant flag in 1959 essentially the same trophy design has been in use since VFL Logo used from 1972 to 1975 In the 1960s television began to have a huge impact Spectators hurried home from games to watch replays and many former players took up positions as commentators on pre game preview programs and post game review programs There were also several attempts at variety programs featuring VFL players who generally succeeded in demonstrating that their skills were limited to the football ground The VFL played the first of a series of exhibition matches in 1962 in an effort to lift the international profile of the league The 1970 season saw the opening of VFL Park with the inaugural match being played between Geelong and Fitzroy on 18 April 1970 Construction work was carried out at the stadium as the 1970s progressed culminating in the building of the now heritage listed Sir Kenneth Luke Stand Queen Elizabeth was a guest at the game and formally opened the stadium to the public The 1970 Grand Final between traditional rivals Carlton and Collingwood arguably the league s most famous game which saw Carlton recover from a 44 point deficit at half time to win the game by 10 points featured a famous spectacular mark by Alex Jesaulenko and was witnessed by a record crowd of 121 696 1976 1981 VFL leaves Australian National Football Council Edit See also Championship of Australia 1976 NFL Championship Series Australia and Australian Football Championships Night Series In 1976 the National Football League which was the peak national administrative body of Australian rules football at the time established the NFL Night Series to succeed the Championship of Australia The Night Series was played concurrently with the premiership season and was contested among twelve clubs from the VFL SANFL and WANFL invited based on their finishing positions from the previous year The event was mostly played on Tuesday nights with night games at Norwood Oval in Adelaide and all games were televised live in colour on Channel 9 which opened up unprecedented revenue streams from television rights and sponsorship opportunities for the sport 6 The NFL began plans to expand its Night Series to incorporate more teams from the VFL SANFL and WAFL as well as state representative teams from other states In November 1976 the VFL announced that it was withdrawing from the NFL s competition having arranged more substantial television and sponsorship deals for its own rival night competition for 1977 to be based in Melbourne and feature only the VFL clubs Light towers were erected at VFL Park specifically for the event 7 8 The VFL established a proprietary limited company called Australian Football Championships Pty Ltd in 1978 to run its night competiton and offered shareholdings to the other state leagues in an attempt to lure other states into the competition 9 For the three years from 1977 until 1979 the NFL and VFL night competitions were run separately as rival night competitions In 1978 the Tasmanian representative team competed in both the NFL and VFL night competitions but all SANFL and WAFL clubs and the minor states teams remained in the NFL Night Series In 1979 the WAFL clubs and the New South Wales and A C T representative teams defected from the NFL Night Series and joined the VFL s night competition leaving the NFL Night Series mostly composed of SANFL teams The NFL Night Series was not revived in 1980 and the SANFL clubs joined the VFL s night competition 10 Although the NFL itself continued to exist as an administrative body into the early 1990s the power gained by the VFL as a result of its take over of night competition was one of the first significant steps in the VFL s spread interstate and ultimately its take over and control of Australian football across Australia 11 VFL Logo used from 1976 to 1989 In 1980 and 1981 the first years after the NFL Night Series ended the VFL night competition was at its largest with all VFL WAFL and SANFL clubs plus the four minor states teams selected under residential qualification rather than state of origin qualification competing for a total of 34 teams In 1982 the size of the competition was reduced and thereafter only the top two or three teams from the SANFL and WAFL and the winner of the minor states annual carnival were invited In 1987 the night competition reverted to include only the VFL teams The competition was pushed earlier into the year with the final played on 28 April 12 The following season the competition did not overlap with the day premiership season at all and became entirely a pre season competition The night competition is generally considered by whom to be of equivalent importance as the pre season competition and the VFL Night Series 1956 1971 and records relating to the three competitions are often combined With the number of players recruited from country leagues increasing the wealthier VFL clubs were gaining an advantage that metropolitan zoning and the Coulter law salary cap restricting player payments had prevented in the past Country zoning was introduced in the late 1960s and while it pushed Essendon and Geelong from the top of the ladder it created severe inequality during the 1970s and 1980s Between 1972 and 1987 only six of the league s twelve clubs Carlton Collingwood Essendon Hawthorn North Melbourne and Richmond played in grand finals 1982 1989 Professionalism club bankruptcy and expansion Edit See also Proposed VFL AFL clubs Evolution of competitionYear States Salarycap Averagesalary TV rightsper year Draft Zoning1980 Victoria no 11 000 13 600 000 14 no 15 yes1991 Victoria South Australia Western Australia New South Wales Queensland 1 500 000 46 429 13 6 000 000 14 yes 15 noThe 1980s was a period of significant structural change in Australian football around the country The VFL was dominant among the Australian football leagues around the country in terms of overall attendance interest and money and began to look towards expanding its influence directly into other states The VFL and its top clubs were asserting their financial power to recruit top players from interstate The resulting rising cost pressures drove the VFL s weaker clubs into dire financial situations The South Melbourne Swans became the first VFL team to relocate interstate The South Melbourne Football Club was deeply indebted including to the VFL which took over the club s Swans team and moved the team s home games to Sydney in 1982 and renamed the team the Sydney Swans the following year Under the private ownership of Dr Geoffrey Edelsten during the mid 1980s the Sydney Swans became successful on field Moving the Swans team to Sydney effectively shifted the debts of a Melbourne club onto Australian football in Sydney and re directed support and finance to the Swans team to the detriment of existing Australian Football clubs and league competitions in Sydney However the Swans team attracted new prominence and supporters for the sport Despite becoming successful on the field a succession of owners and transfer to its supporter members the Sydney Swans remain indebted to the AFL 16 and subject to its veto control and reversion rights 17 in what became a model for the AFL control of teams Throughout the 1980s approaches were made by SANFL and WAFL clubs to enter the VFL Of particular note were approaches by the East Perth Royals in 1980 18 the Norwood Redlegs in 1986 19 and 1988 20 and an East South Fremantle merger proposal in 1987 21 None of these attempts were successful despite Norwood trying again in 1990 and 1994 In 1986 the West Australian Football League and Queensland Australian Football League were awarded licences to field expansion teams in the VFL leading to the establishment of the West Coast Eagles and Brisbane Bears who both joined the league in 1987 These expansion team licences were awarded on payment of multimillion dollar fees which were not required of the existing VFL clubs In 1989 financial troubles nearly forced Footscray and Fitzroy to merge but fees paid by the West Coast Eagles and Brisbane Bears propped up the struggling VFL sides The 1980s first saw new regular timeslots for VFL matches VFL matches had previously been played on Saturday afternoons but Sydney began playing its home matches on Sunday afternoons and North Melbourne pioneered playing matches on Friday night These have since become regular timeslots for all teams The first National Draft was introduced in 1986 and a salary cap was introduced in 1987 AFL era 1990 present Edit AFL Logo used from 1990 to 1999 The league was renamed the Australian Football League in 1990 to reflect its national composition 22 1990 2010 A professional national competition Edit In 1992 the West Coast Eagles became the first non Victorian team to win an AFL premiership Pictured is the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1992 where the grand final was held The stadium is pictured as configured for a cricket match note the visible pitch and absent goal posts In 1990 the AFLPA the players union signed its first Collective Bargaining Agreement CBA with the league which outlined wages and conditions in what was becoming a sole source of income for players who had previously had part time or full time jobs outside of football 23 Functionally the AFL gave up control over its Victorian based minor grades at the end of 1991 clubs continued to field reserves teams in a competition run by the new Victorian State Football League and the under 19s competition and zone based recruiting were abolished and replaced with an independent system Midway through 1990 the SANFL s most successful club Port Adelaide made a bid for an AFL licence In response the SANFL gained an injunction via Glenelg and Norwood against Port Adelaide allowing it time to establish a composite South Australian team called the Adelaide Crows which was awarded the licence and joined the league in 1991 as the fourth non Victorian club The same year saw the West Coast Eagles become the first non Victorian club to reach the grand final which was won by Hawthorn The Eagles would then win the premiership in 1992 and 1994 In 1994 the Fremantle Football Club was formed in Western Australia and joined the AFL in 1995 becoming the fifth non Victorian club 24 The VFA took over the Victorian Football League name in 1996 22 In 1996 several Victorian clubs were in severe financial difficulties most notably Fitzroy and Hawthorn Hawthorn proposed to merge with Melbourne to form the Melbourne Hawks but the merger ultimately fell through and both teams continued as separate entities Fitzroy however was too weak to continue by itself The club nearly merged with North Melbourne to form the Fitzroy North Melbourne Kangaroos but the other clubs voted against it In 1994 Port Adelaide was awarded an AFL licence but could not enter until a Victorian team had folded or merged At the end of 1996 Fitzroy played its last match and merged with Brisbane to form the Brisbane Lions 25 This allowed Port Adelaide to enter the AFL for the 1997 season as the sixth and only pre existing non Victorian club Through the 1990s there was a significant trend of Melbourne based teams abandoning the use of their small 20 000 30 000 capacity suburban venues for home matches in favour of the larger MCG and Waverley Park The 1990s saw the last matches played at Windy Hill Essendon Moorabbin Oval St Kilda Western Oval Footscray and Victoria Park Collingwood and saw Princes Park abandoned by its long term co tenant Hawthorn The transition to the use of only two venues in Melbourne was ultimately completed in 2005 when Carlton abandoned the use of Princes Park In 1999 the league sold Waverley Park stadium and used the funds in a joint venture to begin construction of a brand new stadium situated at Melbourne s Docklands Representative state football came to an end with the last State of Origin match held in 1999 2011 present 18 team era Edit In the late 2000s the AFL looked to establish a permanent presence on the Gold Coast in the state of Queensland which was fast developing as a major population centre North Melbourne which was in financial difficulty and had played a few home games on the Gold Coast in previous years was offered significant subsidies to relocate to the Gold Coast but declined The AFL then began work to establish a club on the Gold Coast as a new expansion team Early in 2008 a meeting held by the AFL discussed having two new teams enter the AFL competition 26 In March 2008 the AFL won the support of the league s 16 club presidents to establish sides on the Gold Coast and in Western Sydney The Gold Coast Suns were established and joined the AFL in 2011 as the 17th team 27 The Greater Western Sydney Giants representing both Western Sydney and Canberra were then established and entered the league as the 18th team in 2012 On 25 April 2013 the Westpac Stadium in Wellington New Zealand hosted the first ever Australian Football League game played for premiership points outside Australia The night game between St Kilda and Sydney was played in front of a crowd of 22 183 on Anzac Day to honour the Anzac bond between the two countries 28 29 A national women s league comprising a subset of AFL clubs began in 2017 Thirteen AFL clubs placed bids to participate in the women s competition Eight clubs Adelaide Brisbane Lions Carlton Collingwood Fremantle Greater Western Sydney Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs were granted licences to participate in the inaugural season 30 Six clubs joined the league in the coming years Geelong and North Melbourne entered the competition in 2019 while Gold Coast Richmond St Kilda and West Coast made their debut in 2020 31 The remaining four clubs Essendon Hawthorn Port Adelaide and Sydney entered AFL Women s in the seventh season in 2022 32 On 14 May 2017 Port Adelaide and the Gold Coast played the first ever AFL match for premiership points in Shanghai China attracting a crowd of 10 114 at Jiangwan Stadium Port Adelaide won the game by 72 points In 2020 the AFL season was severely disrupted by the COVID 19 pandemic The first round of matches was played in front of no crowds due to the pandemic before the season was suspended on 22 March due to health concerns and strict government regulations on non essential travel After nearly two months of planning with the assistance of state governments and health officials the season resumed on 11 June with the length of the season reduced from 22 matches per team to 17 matches The grand final was played in October at The Gabba in Brisbane the first time it was held outside of Victoria since the creation of the league due to the spiking cases in that state The pandemic caused the league to lose out on up to 400 million in anticipated revenue and also precipitated a 20 cut in industry jobs 33 In 2021 the grand final was played in September at Perth Stadium in Perth because an ongoing COVID 19 lockdown prevented the match from being played with spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne Victoria It was the first grand final played in Perth and the second consecutive grand final to be played outside Victoria The event set a new attendance record for Australian rules football in Western Australia eclipsing the previous record set in 2018 despite not featuring any WA based teams and being played during the COVID pandemic Clubs Edit West Coast Fremantle Adelaide Port Adelaide Brisbane Lions Gold Coast Sydney Greater Western Sydney Western Bulldogs Geelong Essendon North Melbourne Carlton Collingwood Melbourne Richmond Hawthorn St Kilda The AFL operates on a single table system with no divisions and conferences nor promotion and relegation from other leagues The league was founded as the Victorian Football League VFL in 1897 comprising eight teams only based in the state of Victoria Over the next century a series of expansions a relocation a merger and a club withdrawal saw the league s teams expand to the 18 teams there are today In 1990 the national nature of the competition resulted in the name change to the Australian Football League AFL Australian Capital Territory Northern Territory and Tasmania are the only states or territories not to have AFL clubs although at least two games per year are played in each of these parts of the country The current 18 teams are based across five states of Australia the majority ten still remain in Victoria nine of which are located in the Melbourne metropolitan area The states of New South Wales Queensland South Australia and Western Australia have two teams each Current clubs Edit Club Colours Moniker State Home venue 2022members 34 Est Formerleague VFL AFL seasons VFL AFL premiershipsFirst Total Total Most recentAdelaide Crows South Australia Adelaide Oval 63 099 1990 1991 32 2 1998Brisbane Lions Lions Queensland The Gabba 43 319 1996 1997 26 3 2003Carlton Blues Victoria Docklands Stadium and Melbourne Cricket Ground 88 776 1864 VFA 1897 126 16 1995Collingwood Magpies Victoria Melbourne Cricket Ground 100 384 1892 VFA 1897 126 15 2010Essendon Bombers Victoria Docklands Stadium 86 001 1872 VFA 1897 124 16 2000Fremantle Dockers Western Australia Perth Stadium 56 105 1994 1995 28 0 Geelong Cats Victoria Kardinia Park 71 943 1859 VFA 1897 123 10 2022Gold Coast Suns Queensland Carrara Stadium 21 422 2009 2011 12 0 Greater Western Sydney Giants New South Wales Sydney Showground Stadium 32 614 2009 2012 11 0 Hawthorn Hawks Victoria Melbourne Cricket Ground 81 494 1902 VFA 1925 98 13 2015Melbourne Demons Victoria Melbourne Cricket Ground 66 484 1858 VFA 1897 123 13 2021North Melbourne Kangaroos Victoria Docklands Stadium 50 191 1869 VFA 1925 98 4 1999Port Adelaide Power South Australia Adelaide Oval 58 643 1870 SANFL 1997 26 1 2004Richmond Tigers Victoria Melbourne Cricket Ground 100 792 1885 VFA 1908 115 13 2020St Kilda Saints Victoria Docklands Stadium 60 172 1873 VFA 1897 125 1 1966Sydney Swans New South Wales Sydney Cricket Ground 55 394 1874 VFA 1897 125 5 2012West Coast Eagles Western Australia Perth Stadium 102 897 1986 1987 36 4 2018Western Bulldogs Bulldogs Victoria Docklands Stadium 50 941 1877 VFA 1925 98 2 2016 denotes that the club relocated from a different state at some point in its existence denotes that the club was a founding member of the VFL denotes that the club did not participate in one or more seasons due to one or both of the World WarsFormer clubs Edit Since the league commenced in 1897 as the VFL only one club University has withdrawn from the competition It last competed in 1914 and withdrew because as an amateur club it was unable to remain competitive in a time when player payments were becoming common 35 36 the club still competes to this day in the Victorian Amateur Football Association VAFA 37 Two other clubs Fitzroy and the Brisbane Bears merged in 1996 to form the Brisbane Lions However after coming out of financial administration in 1998 Fitzroy resumed its playing operations in 2009 and also competes in the VAFA 38 Club Colours Moniker State Home venue Est Formerleague VFL AFL seasons VFL AFL premiershipsFirst Last Total Total LastBrisbane Bears Bears Queensland Carrara Stadium 1986 1987 1996 10 0 Fitzroy Lions Victoria Brunswick Street Oval 1883 VFA 1897 1996 100 8 1944University Students Victoria Melbourne Cricket Ground 1859 MJFA 1908 1914 7 0 denotes that the club was a founding member of the VFLTimeline of clubs Edit Non formal junior competitions Victorian Football Association 1877 Victorian Football League 1897 later renamed AFL Australian Football League 1990 formerly VFL South Australian National Football League 1877 Not all teams shown These competitions are current Venues EditFor a more comprehensive list see List of Australian Football League grounds Throughout the history of the VFL AFL there have been a total of 45 different grounds used with 17 used during the 2019 AFL season 39 The largest capacity ground in use is the Melbourne Cricket Ground MCG which has a capacity of over 100 000 people and hosts the Grand Final each year see AFL Grand Final location debate 40 The MCG is shared by four teams as a home ground while the other grounds used as home venues by multiple teams are Docklands Stadium in Melbourne five teams Adelaide Oval in Adelaide two teams and Perth Stadium in Perth two teams The AFL has had exclusive ownership of Docklands Stadium commercially known as Marvel Stadium since late 2016 41 Prior to the expansion of the competition most grounds were located in suburban Melbourne with Princes Park Victoria Park the Junction Oval Waverley Park and the Lake Oval each having hosted over 700 games 39 However since the introduction of a national competition each state and territory of Australia has hosted AFL games 42 On 25 April 2013 Anzac Day a match took place between St Kilda and Sydney at Wellington Regional Stadium in Wellington New Zealand being the first AFL match played outside Australia for premiership points 43 Current venues Edit Below are the venues that will host AFL matches during the 2022 season Melbourne Cricket Ground Accor Stadium Optus Stadium Marvel StadiumMelbourne Victoria Sydney New South Wales Perth Western Australia Melbourne VictoriaCapacity 100 024 Capacity 82 000 Capacity 60 000 Capacity 56 347 Adelaide Oval Sydney Cricket Ground The Gabba GMHBA StadiumAdelaide South Australia Sydney New South Wales Brisbane Queensland Geelong VictoriaCapacity 53 500 Capacity 48 000 Capacity 41 974 Capacity 26 000 a GIANTS Stadium Metricon Stadium Blundstone Arena University of Tasmania StadiumSydney New South Wales Gold Coast Queensland Hobart Tasmania Launceston TasmaniaCapacity 24 000 Capacity 22 500 Capacity 19 500 Capacity 19 000 Manuka Oval Cazalys Stadium TIO Stadium Mars StadiumCanberra Australian Capital Territory Cairns Queensland Darwin Northern Territory Ballarat VictoriaCapacity 16 000 Capacity 13 500 Capacity 12 500 Capacity 11 000 TIO Traeger ParkAlice Springs Northern TerritoryCapacity 7 200 Optus Stadium TIO Stadium Cazalys Stadium Metricon Stadium The Gabba Manuka Oval York Park Adelaide Oval Kardinia Mars MCG Marvel SCG GIANTS Accor Blundstone Arena TIO Traeger ParkFormer venues Edit Below are the other venues to have hosted matches during the AFL era 1990 present with audience capacities at the time Adelaide Arena at Jiangwan Stadium Waverley Park Football Park Subiaco OvalShanghai China Melbourne Victoria Adelaide South Australia Perth Western AustraliaCapacity 11 000 Capacity 72 000 Capacity 51 240 Capacity 42 922 Wellington Regional Stadium Princes Park WACA Ground Moorabbin OvalWellington New Zealand Melbourne Victoria Perth Western Australia Melbourne VictoriaCapacity 36 000 Capacity 35 000 Capacity 35 000 Capacity 27 000 Victoria Park Whitten Oval Windy Hill Blacktown International SportsparkMelbourne Victoria Melbourne Victoria Melbourne Victoria Sydney New South WalesCapacity 27 000 Capacity 25 000 Capacity 15 000 Capacity 10 000 Riverway StadiumTownsville QueenslandCapacity 10 000 Players EditSee also List of current AFL team squads and Category VFL AFL players Dustin Martin the third pick in the 2009 AFL draft AFL players are drawn from a number of sources however most players enter the league through the AFL draft held at the end of each season A small number of players have converted from other sports or been recruited internationally Prior to the nationalisation of the competition a zoning system was in place At the end of the season the best 22 players and coach from across the competition are selected in the All Australian team The AFL has tight controls over the player lists of each club Currently apart from the recently added expansion clubs who have some additional players each team can have a senior list of 38 to 40 players plus 4 to 6 rookie players to a total of 44 players 47 following a reduction by two of the number of rookies in 2012 and up to three development rookies international alternative talent or New South Wales scholarship players 48 Changes to playing lists are permitted only in the off season clubs can trade players during a trade period which follows each season and recruit new players through the three AFL drafts the national draft the pre season draft and the rookie draft which take place after the trade period A mid year draft was conducted between 1990 and 1993 49 The national draft is the primary method of recruiting new players and has been used since 1986 The draft order is based on reverse finishing position from the previous year but selections can be traded Free agency player movements have only been permitted since the 2012 13 offseason 50 previously having been rejected by the AFL 51 Salary cap Edit Main article AFL salary cap A salary cap known as the Total Player Payments or TPP is also in place as part of the league s equalisation policy this was 9 130 000 for the 2013 season with a salary floor of 8 673 500 except for the Gold Coast whose salary cap was 9 630 000 with a salary floor of 9 171 500 and Greater Western Sydney whose salary cap was 9 987 000 with a floor of 9 530 500 As part of the AFL s enhanced equalisation policies in 2014 the league announced an increase of the TPP for the 2015 and 2016 seasons TPP increased an additional 150 000 per club in 2015 above previously contracted amounts increasing from 9 92m to 10 07m in 2015 and 10 22m to 10 37m in 2016 52 The salary cap was set at 1 25 million for 1987 1989 as per VFL agreement with the salary floor set at 90 of the cap or 1 125 million the salary floor was increased to 92 5 of the cap in 2001 and 95 of the cap for 2013 due to increased revenues Both the salary cap and salary floor has increased substantially since the competition was rebranded as the AFL in 1990 Salaries of draft selections are fixed for two years Salaries for senior players are not normally released to the public though the average AFL player salary at the conclusion of the 2012 season was 251 559 53 and the top few players can expect to earn up to and above 1 000 000 a year 54 Upon successfully trading to the Sydney Swans in 2013 marquee player Lance Franklin signed a 9 year contract with the club reportedly worth over 10 million and resulting in subsequent payments of 1 8 million annually in consecutive seasons 55 The Total Player Earnings TPE or total amount of revenue spent on reimbursement of AFL listed players at the conclusion of the 2012 season was 173 7 million up by 13 per cent from 153 7 million in 2011 53 In June 2017 the AFL and AFL Players Association agreed to a new CBA deal which resulted in a 20 increase in players salaries The six year deal which began in 2017 and ends in 2022 means that the average player wage rises from 309 000 to 371 000 and the player salary cap from 10 37m to 12 45m In 2022 the final year of the agreement the average player wage will be 389 000 with a salary cap of 13 54m 56 The breaches of the salary cap and salary floor regulations outlined by the AFL are exceeding the TPP falling below the salary floor not informing the AFL of payments late or incorrect lodgement or loss of documents or engaging in draft tampering Penalties include fines of up to triple the amount involved 10 000 for each document late or incorrect lodged or lost forfeiture of draft picks and or deduction of premiership points The most significant breach of the salary cap was that of the Carlton Football Club in the early 2000s Demographics Edit Main articles List of VFL AFL players born outside Australia VFL AFL players with international backgrounds and List of VFL AFL and AFL Women s players of Indigenous Australian descent This section needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information August 2022 Indigenous player Lance Franklin Although comprising only 2 7 of the broader Australian population Indigenous Australians make up 9 of AFL players There were 801 players on AFL club senior veteran rookie and international lists in 2011 including players from every state and mainland territory of Australia 57 As of 2014 there were 68 players of Indigenous Australian descent on AFL club lists comprising approximately 9 of the overall playing population 58 There were 12 players recruited from outside Australia on AFL lists in 2011 including 10 from Ireland all converts from Gaelic football drafted as part of the Irish Experiment and one each from the United States and Canada There were also another five overseas born players who emigrated to Australia at an early age on AFL lists 59 An international rookie list and international scholarship list were introduced in 2006 The international rookie list includes up to two players between the ages of 15 and 23 who are not Australian citizens These players may remain on this list for up to three years before they must be transferred to the senior or rookie list For the first year payments made to international rookie listed players fell outside the salary cap The international scholarship list gives AFL clubs the option of recruiting up to eight players from outside Australia other than Ireland Irish players are required to either be placed on clubs senior or rookie lists 60 At the beginning of 2011 there were 14 international scholarship players 61 Of the 121 multicultural players more than half have one parent from Anglophone countries mainly the United Kingdom Ireland and New Zealand 62 Season structure EditPre season Edit Main article Australian Football League pre season competition From 1988 until 2013 the AFL ran a pre season competition that finished prior to the commencement of the premiership season which served as both warm up matches for the season and as a stand alone competition It was mostly contested as a four week knock out tournament but the format changed after the expansion of the league beyond sixteen clubs in 2011 and has frequently been used to trial rule changes In 2014 the competition format was abandoned and practice matches are now played under the sponsored name Marsh Community Series This consists of all 18 clubs playing two matches each which are played on some weekdays and weekends throughout February and early March Premiership season Edit See also 2022 AFL season The AFL home and away season at present lasts for 23 rounds starting in mid March and ending in late August As of the 2022 AFL season each team plays 22 matches with one bye Teams receive four premiership points for a win and two premiership points for a draw Ladder finishing positions are based on the number of premiership points won Percentage calculated as the ratio of points scored to points conceded throughout the season is used as a tie breaker when teams finish with equal premiership points Further tie breakers if required are the premiership points accumulated in head to head matches between the tied teams and then the percentage earned in such matches with a final tie breaker being a random drawing of lots 63 At the end of the home and away season the McClelland Trophy is awarded to the minor premiers Themed rounds and special matches Edit The Anzac Day clash is one of the marquee fixtures in the AFL home and away season Several teams also play against each other at set times each year with the most prominent of these being when Collingwood play Essendon in the annual Anzac Day clash at the MCG 64 Other prominent matches include the Queen s Birthday match between Collingwood and Melbourne and the Easter Monday clash between Geelong and Hawthorn 65 66 There are separate trophies for matches between several clubs Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round Edit Perhaps the most well known of the themed rounds is the Indigenous Round In 2007 following the success of the Dreamtime at the G matches in 2005 and 2006 the AFL nominated a specific Indigenous Round round 9 which has become an annual event in which the Dreamtime at the G match takes centre stage on a Saturday night The success of the annual match which now usually features crowds in excess of 80 000 led to the two clubs agreeing to cement the match arrangement for an additional decade in May 2016 67 In 2016 the Round was named after Sir Doug Nicholls the only VFL player to have been knighted and who served as a state governor of South Australia The round is now named the Sir Doug Nicholls Round although it is still commonly referred to as the Indigenous Round 68 69 Each year each player in all 18 clubs wears a specially commissioned artwork by an Indigenous artist on their guernsey 70 In 2020 there was controversy over the Aboriginal flag copyright issue after the AFL had decided not to enter into a commercial agreement with the clothing company who own the copyright over its use on clothing as the general sentiment of the Aboriginal community that it should be free for use in Australia 71 Finals series Edit See also List of Australian Football League premiers The top eight teams at the end of the AFL Premiership season compete in a four week finals series throughout September culminating in a grand final to determine the premiers The finals series is played under the AFL final eight system and the grand final is traditionally played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the afternoon of the last Saturday in September The winning team receives a silver premiership cup a navy blue premiership flag a new one of each is manufactured each year and is recorded on the perpetual E L Wilson Shield The flag has been presented since the league began and is traditionally unfurled at the team s first home game of the following season The Wilson Shield named after Edwin Lionel Wilson was first awarded after the 1929 premiership 72 The premiership cup was first introduced in 1959 and is manufactured annually by Cash s International at their metalworks in Frankston Victoria 73 Additionally each player in the grand final winning team receives a premiership medallion Awards EditThe following major individual awards and accolades are presented each season Brownlow Medal to the fairest and best player in the league voted by the umpires Coleman Medal to the player who kicks the most goals during the home and away season All Australian team a squad of 22 players deemed the best in their positions voted by an AFL appointed committee Rising Star Award to the fairest and best young player under the age of 21 and with fewer than ten games experience at the beginning of the year voted by the All Australian committee Norm Smith Medal the best player on the ground in the grand final voted by a committee Jock McHale Medal the coach of the premiership winning team Mark of the Year to the player who takes the best or most spectacular mark during the season Goal of the Year to the player who kicks the best or most spectacular goal during the season Leigh Matthews Trophy to the best player in the league voted by the players through the AFL Players AssociationOther independent best and fairest awards are presented by different football and media organisations Team of the Century Edit To celebrate the 100th season of the VFL AFL the AFL Team of the Century was named in 1996 VFL AFL Team of the Century B Bernie Smith Geelong West Adelaide Stephen Silvagni Carlton John Nicholls Carlton HB Bruce Doull Carlton Ted Whitten Footscray Captain Kevin Murray Fitzroy East Perth C Francis Bourke Richmond Ian Stewart Hobart St Kilda Richmond Keith Greig North Melbourne HF Alex Jesaulenko Carlton St Kilda Royce Hart Richmond Dick Reynolds Essendon F Leigh Matthews Hawthorn John Coleman Essendon Haydn Bunton Sr Fitzroy Subiaco Port Adelaide Foll Graham Farmer Geelong East Perth West Perth Ron Barassi Melbourne Carlton Bob Skilton South Melbourne Int Gary Ablett Sr Hawthorn Geelong Jack Dyer Richmond Greg Williams Geelong Sydney Carlton Coach Norm Smith Melbourne Fitzroy South Melbourne Jack Elder was declared the Umpire of the Century to coincide with the Team of the Century Since the naming of this side most AFL clubs have nominated their own teams of the century An Indigenous Team of the Century was also selected in 2005 featuring the best Aboriginal players of the previous 100 years from both the VFL AFL and other state leagues Representative football EditState football Edit Main article Interstate matches in Australian rules football State representation football in the AFL initially ended in 1999 The concept has been revived twice since then in 2008 and 2020 when a Victorian state team took on all stars teams in 2008 against The Dream Team and in 2020 against the All Stars 74 75 History of the VFL AFL s involvement Edit Statue of Footscray legend and leading State of Origin proponent Ted Whitten after whom the E J Whitten Legends Game is named VFL players first represented the Victoria representative team in 1897 regardless of their state of origin Being the dominant league drawing many of the country s best players the Victoria Australian rules football team nicknamed the Big V and composed mostly of VFL players dominated interstate matches until the introduction of State of Origin selection criteria by the Australian Football Council in 1977 after which Victoria s results with the other main Australian football states became more even The AFL assumed control of interstate football in 1993 how further explanation needed citation needed and coordinated an annual State of Origin series typically held during a mid season bye round However after the 1999 series the AFL declared the concept of interstate football on hold citing club unwillingness to release star players and a lack of public interest the 1999 series where Victoria defeated South Australia by 54 points was played in wet conditions in front of a crowd of 26 063 whereas 10 years earlier the same match with a plethora of star players attracted a crowd of 91 960 The AFL shifted its focus of representative football to the International Rules Series where at the time in the late 1990 s drew a greater television revenue A once off representative match known as the AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match was played in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport between a team of players of Victorian origin and a team of players of interstate origin the Dream Team which was won by Victoria In 2020 The AFL hosted a State of Origin match with the money raised from the event going towards affected bushfire communities On 28 February the game took place at Marvel Stadium with Victoria defeating an All Stars team and Dustin Martin taking out best on ground Some past AFL players participate and help promote the E J Whitten Legends Game Global expansion EditAlthough no professional leagues or teams exist outside Australia the AFL has stated that it wishes to showcase Australian rules football to other countries such as India China and South Africa so as to create a global following thus creating more exposure for its sponsors in the increasing Asian and African markets 76 77 On 17 October 2010 AFL clubs Melbourne Demons and Brisbane Lions played an exhibition game in front of 7 000 people at the Jiangwan Sports Center in Shanghai 78 This was the first professional AFL game to be played in China Since then AFL premiership matches have been played in New Zealand and China and the competition developed some interest in North America amidst the COVID 19 pandemic 79 International Rules Series Edit See also International rules football The AFL has garnered increased interest in Ireland due to the introduction of the International Rules Series played between an AFL picked All Australian Team and Ireland international rules football team beginning from 1984 The series is organised under the auspices of the AFL and the Gaelic Athletic Association 80 The game itself is a hybrid sport consisting of rules from both Australian football and Gaelic football The series provides the only outlet for AFL players to represent their nation 81 This series encouraged young Irish footballers switching code to join AFL teams because of much higher salaries in the AFL than that of Gaelic Football However most Irish players fail to make the grade into 1st team football 82 This also paved the way for extended news coverage and increased broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland citation needed Corporate Governance EditMain article AFL Commission See also List of VFL AFL presidents Gillon McLachlan CEO of the AFL The AFL is governed by directors known as the AFL Commission The commission was established in December 1985 and replaced the board of directors elected by and representing the original member clubs in 1993 83 after the club parochialism and self interest which came with the traditional club delegate based administrative structure threatened to undermine the competition further explanation needed citation needed The commission chairman is Richard Goyder who took over from Mike Fitzpatrick on 4 April 2017 The CEO of the AFL is Gillon McLachlan who replaced Andrew Demetriou in 2014 In addition to administering the national competition the AFL is heavily involved in promoting and developing the sport in Australia It provides funds for local leagues and in conjunction with local clubs administers the Auskick program for young boys and girls The AFL also plays a leading role in developing the game outside Australia with projects to develop the game at junior level in other countries e g South Africa and by supporting affiliated competitions around the world See Australian football around the world The players of the AFL are represented by the AFL Players Association the coaches are represented by the AFL Coaches Association the umpires are represented by the AFL Umpires Association and the related media employees are represented by the Australian Football Media Association Audience EditThe AFL was the best attended sporting league in Australia in 2012 84 According to market research the AFL is the second most watched sporting event in Australia behind cricket 85 Currently broadcast rights for the AFL are shared between the Seven Network free to air Foxtel pay TV and Kayo Sports internet In 2019 a record 1 057 572 people were members of an AFL club 86 Total TV audiences during the 2022 AFL season 125 4 million viewers with an average of 537 000 people watching each match 54 of viewers watched using the paid services of Foxtel or Kayo while 46 watched the Seven Network s free to air broadcasts 87 Attendance Edit The following are the most recent season attendances Year Home and Away Average Finals1 Average1 Grand final2022 6 112 431 30 871 639 980 71 109 100 02420216 3 976 228 19 209 272 746 30 305 61 11820206 826 458 6 665 206 579 22 953 29 70772019 6 954 187 35 122 563 460 62 607 100 0142018 6 894 772 34 822 700 393 77 821 100 0222017 6 734 062 34 010 553 818 61 535 100 0212016 6 311 656 31 877 558 343 62 038 99 9812015 6 367 302 32 321 518 694 57 663 98 6332014 6 403 941 32 343 570 568 63 396 99 4542013 6 372 784 32 186 558 391 62 043 100 0072012 6 238 876 31 509 538 934 59 882 99 6832011 6 533 138 34 937 614 250 68 250 99 5372010 6 494 564 36 901 651 764 65 176 100 0164 and 93 85352009 6 375 622 36 225 615 463 68 385 99 2512008 6 512 999 37 0062 571 760 63 258 100 0122007 6 475 521 36 793 575 424 63 936 97 3022006 6 204 056 35 250 532 178 59 131 97 4312005 6 283 788 35 703 480 112 53 346 91 89832004 5 909 836 33 579 458 326 50 925 77 67132003 5 876 515 33 389 478 425 53 158 79 45132002 5 648 021 32 091 449 445 49 938 91 8172001 5 919 026 33 631 525 993 58 444 91 4822000 5 731 091 32 563 566 562 62 951 96 2491999 5 768 611 32 776 472 007 52 445 94 2281998 6 119 861 34 772 572 733 63 637 94 4311997 5 853 449 33 258 560 406 62 267 99 6451996 5 222 266 29 672 478 773 53 197 93 1021995 5 119 694 29 089 594 919 66 102 93 6781 Finals total and Finals average include grand final crowds 2 Record 3 Capacity reduced due to MCG refurbishment 4 Crowd for the drawn grand final 5 Crowd for the grand final replay played one week after the drawn grand final 6 Attendance reduced due to the COVID 19 pandemic 7 Capacity reduced due to the COVID 19 pandemic Television Edit Australian television Edit See also List of Australian Football League television showsAFL matches are currently broadcast in Australia by the free to air Seven Network and subscription television provider Foxtel The current deal was announced in August 2015 and covered the inclusive 2017 2022 seasons 88 In 2020 the deal was extended until 2024 inclusive The Seven Network broadcasts an average of three and a half games a round Friday Night Saturday Night Sunday Afternoon and any Thursday or Monday Night matches that may occur throughout the year Channel Seven also airs the AFL Finals Series and the AFL Grand Final Foxtel broadcasts every match through their Fox Footy channels including simulcasts from the Seven Network except for the grand final which is aired exclusively on Channel Seven Foxtel also has the rights to air rounds on their internet protocol television platform titled Foxtel Now as well as via the sports streaming service Kayo Telecast history Edit The 1957 VFL season was the first broadcast after the commencement of television in Australia introduced in 1956 to coincide with the Melbourne Olympic Games During the late 1950s and 1960s all Melbourne stations ABV2 HSV7 GTV9 and after it commenced in 1965 ATV0 ATV10 broadcast some games However in the late 1950s and early 1960s the VFL was concerned that direct telecasts may affect attendances and stations were only permitted to telecast a delayed replay of the last quarter of games In the early 1970s until 1986 the Seven Network and the Australian Broadcast Corporation ABC were given exclusive rights to VFL AFL games The only year Seven did not telecast games was 1987 when the rights were bought by Broadcom which on sold the rights to the ABC in Victoria Seven regained the rights in 1988 and also exclusive rights With the launch of subscription television in Australia AFL match coverage commenced on cable television Optus Vision bid for and won exclusive pay TV rights from 1996 to 2001 screening coverage on its own 24 hour AFL channel branded Sports AFL in Brisbane Sydney and Melbourne where available The Sports AFL channel was later closed due to financial issues and relaunched in March 1999 as C7 Sport by the Seven Network with AFL match coverage also transferred to the new channel C7 Sport became available in regional areas not in the Foxtel or Optus Vision licence area via Austar soon after the re launch The AFL coverage was not available through Foxtel at this time as the Seven Network and Foxtel disagreed on the cost of carrying the C7 channel These issues regarding C7 and AFL broadcasting rights evolved into a court case between not just the Seven Network and News Limited but Seven against the owners of the Nine Network and Network Ten in the years that followed On 25 January 2001 the Seven Network s main rivals the Kerry Packer led Nine Network Network Ten and pay TV s Foxtel set up a consortium which bid 500 million for the right to broadcast the 2002 2006 seasons inclusive Seven had purchased a guaranteed right to make the last bid in 1995 89 but decided not to outbid their rivals 90 The games were split between the networks with Nine screening Friday Night Football a live Sunday afternoon game in the east and if needed a doubleheader for WA and SA Ten screened a Saturday afternoon and a Saturday night match with the remaining four matches shown on Foxtel Foxtel set up its own version of a dedicated AFL only channel the Fox Footy Channel which showed every game on replay during the week as well as many news talkback and general interest shows related to Australian rules football 91 When the rights were offered again in January 2006 for the 2007 to 2011 seasons Seven formed an alliance with Ten and used its guaranteed last bid rights to match Nine s offer of 780 million to win back the broadcast rights in what was the biggest sport telecasting deal in Australian history at the time After lengthy negotiations Foxtel agreed to be a broadcast partner and showed four live matches each week although no longer on a dedicated AFL channel 89 Seven took back the Friday night match and only one game on Sunday while Ten retained showing two matches on Saturdays Foxtel showed two games on Saturday and two on Sunday including a late afternoon or twilight game 92 The 2012 2016 rights were bought by Seven Foxtel and Telstra for 1 25 billion the biggest sport telecasting deal in Australian history at the time As part of the deal Foxtel would show all home and away AFL matches live as well as all Finals bar the grand final via the resurrected Fox Footy Telstra would broadcast all matches via mobile and Seven would broadcast three live matches Friday night Saturday night and Sunday afternoon and one delayed match Saturday afternoon Seven also had the option to on sell one game a week to either Nine or Ten this did not happen 93 94 The 2017 2022 rights were re bought by Seven Foxtel and Telstra for 2 5 billion besting the previous deal to become the most lucrative in Australian history at the time Under the terms of the deal Seven broadcasts at least three live matches per round as well as all Finals matches whilst Foxtel broadcasts or simulcasts Seven s feed all nine matches per round as well as all Finals bar the grand final which is exclusively broadcast by Seven Telstra continues to maintain exclusive mobile broadcast rights to all matches 88 There are some variations in broadcasting dependent on the relevant state or territory 95 The agreement with Seven Foxtel and Telstra was extended in 2020 by two years to include the 2023 and 2024 seasons In 2021 Telstra s AFL streaming service AFL Live Pass was removed and replaced with access to Kayo run by Streamotion a wholly owned subsidiary of Foxtel 96 The 2025 2031 rights were re bought by Seven Foxtel and Telstra for 4 5 billion once again besting the previous deal to become the most lucrative in Australian history As part of the deal Seven would show three and a half games a week on average during the home and away season as well as all Finals and the Brownlow Medal This includes Thursday Night games for the first 15 rounds of each season and streaming rights to all matches they broadcast via 7 Fox Footy would continue to show every home and away game and every final live bar the Grand Final via Foxtel and Kayo All Foxtel matches will have Fox Footy commentary including simulcasts of Channel Seven matches and Saturday matches will be exclusive to Fox Footy for the first eight rounds bar any marquee matches These arrangements differ outside of Victoria where every local team s match will be broadcast on free to air most of them live 97 International broadcasts Edit International broadcast history Edit Historically AFL broadcasts in other countries have varied In late 1979 the brand new ESPN cable network signed the league s first international TV contract Coverage began with the 1980 season with matches airing on late Friday and Saturday nights sometimes live but usually one or two week tape delayed to up to 2 5 million subscribers 98 At the time reports indicated ESPN paid the VFL nearly 100 000 the VFL s Australian TV rights deal at the time was just 600 000 99 The 1983 VFL Grand Final was the first time in history that the Grand Final was broadcast live into the US 100 Coverage continued on ESPN until 1986 when the sport was dropped after which it was not broadcast in the US for over a decade New Zealand was the second country which held broadcast rights in 1980 with highlight packages with the Grand Final going live into the country 101 In the early 1990s American regional sports network Prime Sports unrelated to the Australian regional television network aired Seven s weekly highlight show as well as the grand final Some other English speaking countries have shown the game however it has been since 2008 that channels in other countries began televising matches From 1998 to 2006 games were broadcast in the United States by the Fox Sports World network 102 In 2007 after the record domestic television rights deal the AFL secured an additional bonus greater international television rights and increase exposure to overseas markets including a five year deal with Setanta Sports and new deals with other overseas pay TV networks The deal ended early in 2009 when Setanta stopped broadcasting into Great Britain ESPN again took up the contract 103 Additionally AFL games can be shown in Irish pubs and sport pubs by request in Bangkok although Thailand has no AFL rights because these pubs have subscribed internet cable services International broadcast partners Edit The following countries are ranked by the approximate extent of their current television coverage and whether it is free to air Station Channel Countries Free Subscription Home amp Away Finals Grand final Broadcasting since NotesSuperSport Africa Subscription One game per week live delay Live See also Australian rules football in AfricaTSN2 Canada Subscription Two games per week live replay Live See also Australian rules football in Canada AFANADigicel SportsMax Caribbean Subscription Four games per week live highlights replay Live LiveTG4 Ireland Free One game per week highlights See also Australian rules football in IrelandUPC Ireland Ireland Subscription See also Australian rules football in IrelandEM TV Papua New Guinea Free Up to three games per week highlights Live Live See also Australian rules football in Papua New GuineaFiji TV Fiji Free One game per week replay also available Live Live See also Australian rules football in FijiInternational Channel Shanghai People s Republic of China Free One game per week Live Live See also Australian rules football in ChinaCCTV 5 People s Republic of China Free One game per week Live Live See also Australian rules football in ChinaABC Australia Asia Pacific regionIndian SubcontinentMiddle East Free may required subscription in selected operators Five games per week Yes LiveEurosport 2 Europe Free One game per week highlights live replay Live See also Australian rules football in EuropeFox Sports Israel Israel Subscription See also Australian rules football in the Middle EastStar MexicoCentral AmericaSouth America Subscription Five games per week live replay Live LiveOSN Sports Middle EastNorth Africa SubscriptionSky Sport New Zealand Subscription Up to two games per week live delayed highlights See also Australian rules football in New ZealandMovistar Spain Free highlights delayed matches 2009 See also Australian rules football in SpainSky United Kingdom Subscription See also Australian rules football in the United KingdomBT SportBT Sport ESPN United KingdomRepublic of Ireland Subscription Three games per week highlights live replay 2013 See also Australian rules football in the United Kingdom See also Australian rules football in IrelandFox Sports 2 United States Subscription Up to three games per week some finals Yes 2013 See also Australian rules football in the United States AFANAFox Soccer Plus United States Subscription varying number of games per week some finals grand final Yes See also Australian rules football in the United States AFANAMHz Worldview United States Subscription Game of the Week one week delay highlights Live See also Australian rules football in the United States AFANAViasat Sport 104 RussiaOther CIS countries Live See also Australian rules football in RussiaRadio Edit The first broadcast of a VFL game was by 3AR in 1923 the year that licenced broadcasting commenced in Australia The first commentator was Wallace Jumbo Shallard a former Geelong player who went on to have a long and respected career in print and broadcast media The VFL AFL has been broadcast every year since then by the ABC and since 1927 by various commercial stations The saturation period was the early 1960s when seven of the eight extant radio stations 3AR 3UZ 3DB 3KZ 3AW 3XY and 3AK broadcast VFL games each week as well as broadcasts of Geelong games by local station 3GL At this time the only alternative that radio listeners had to listen to the football on a Saturday afternoon were the classical music and fine arts programs that were broadcast by 3LO The AFL s contracted radio broadcast partners are Triple M Melbourne Triple M Adelaide Triple M Perth Triple M Sydney broadcasts only Sydney and Greater Western Sydney matches Triple M Brisbane broadcasts only Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast matches 1116 SEN Melbourne SEN SA Adelaide 3AW Melbourne FIVEaa Adelaide 6PR Perth K Rock Geelong 98 9FM Brisbane ABC Sport broadcasts matches across Australia to selected major cities in NSW QLD ACT SA WA Internet Edit The AFL s contracted internet mobile broadcast partner is Telstra The AFL also provides exclusive broadband content including streaming video for international fans via its website Telstra also hosts the websites of all the 18 AFL clubs However the website is frequently derided by users for its convoluted information architecture and bloated presentation 105 106 Since 2012 Telstra has broadcast live matches over its Next G mobile network for a pay per view or season fee 107 Since 2019 Kayo has broadcast every game except the Grand Final live In Feb 2021 Telstra terminated the AFL Live Pass service replacing it with access to Kayo at a discount for Telstra customers Streaming rights outside of Australia for full games are currently held by the Watch AFL subscription service operated by Fox Sports Australia Corporate relations EditSponsorship Edit The VFL AFL s competition naming sponsors have been Carlton amp United Breweries 1980 81 86 89 94 2001 03 Holden 1982 83 Nissan 1984 85 Sportsplay 1987 Elder s IXL 1988 Coca Cola 1995 2000 Toyota 2004 present The AFL s contracted print media partner is News Corp Australia The AFL Record is a match day magazine published by the AFL and is read by around 225 000 people each week Membership Edit The AFL sells memberships that entitle subscribers to reserve seats for matches at Docklands Stadium and the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne AFL members also receive priority access to finals Three levels of memberships are offered bronze silver and full gold Only full members have guaranteed access to preliminary and grand final matches Bronze members are restricted to fewer matches at the MCG only 108 Merchandising Edit The AFL runs a chain of stores that sell merchandise from all clubs Merchandise is also available from other retailers AFL World Edit A modern museum called the Hall of Fame and Sensation opened in Melbourne in 2003 to celebrate the culture of the AFL and to provide a venue for the Australian Football Hall of Fame The museum a licensed offshoot of the AFL was originally touted for the MCG but the Hall of Fame failed to receive support from the Melbourne Cricket Club The new QV shopping centre on Swanston Street was then chosen as the location However controversy followed the appointment of an administrator as the museum began running at a loss Many blamed high entry prices which were subsequently reduced and the museum remained open to the public In early 2006 the name was changed to AFL World It featured various honour boards and memorabilia as well as a range of innovative interactive displays designed to immerse visitors in the experience of elite Australian rules football It was closed in 2008 Video games Edit Main article AFL video game series The following is a list of all the video games from the AFL video game series Aussie Rules Footy 1991 NES AFL Finals Fever 1996 Microsoft Windows AFL 98 1997 Microsoft Windows AFL 99 1998 PlayStation Microsoft Windows Kevin Sheedy s AFL Coach 2002 2001 Microsoft Windows AFL Live 2003 2002 Microsoft Windows PlayStation 2 Xbox AFL Live 2004 2003 Microsoft Windows PlayStation 2 Xbox AFL Live Premiership Edition 2004 Microsoft Windows PlayStation 2 Xbox AFL Premiership 2005 2005 Microsoft Windows PlayStation 2 Xbox AFL Premiership 2006 2006 PlayStation 2 AFL Premiership 2007 2007 PlayStation 2 AFL Mascot Manor 2009 Nintendo DS AFL Challenge 2009 PlayStation Portable AFL Live 2011 2012 PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 AFL 2011 2012 Wii AFL Live 2 2013 2014 2015 PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 iOS Android AFL Evolution 2017 Microsoft Windows PlayStation 4 Xbox One AFL Evolution 2 2020 Microsoft Windows PlayStation 4 Xbox One Gambling Edit The AFL is the subject of footy tipping and betting competitions around Australia run by individuals syndicates workplaces and professional bookmakers In recent years national website based tipping competitions have started to replace the traditional but more labour intensive office or pub run competitions citation needed Fantasy football competitions based on actual player statistics number of kicks marks goals etc are also very popular on websites and in newspapers citation needed Activism EditLGBTI policy Edit The AFL is a supporter of the LGBTI community 109 In September 2017 in conjunction with the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey the AFL modified its logo in support of same sex marriage 110 However they reverted to the original logo 24 hours later 111 However in September 2017 the AFL ruled that Hannah Mouncey a transgender woman was ineligible for selection in the 2018 AFLW draft 112 There has been some opposition to the AFL s decision 113 114 See also Edit Sports portal Australia portalAustralian rules football attendance records History of Australian rules football in Victoria 1859 1900 Rivalries in the Australian Football League Sports attendancesListsList of VFL AFL premiers List of VFL AFL minor premiers List of VFL AFL pre season and night series premiers List of VFL AFL and AFL Women s players of Indigenous Australian descent List of VFL AFL players born outside Australia List of VFL AFL players by ethnicity List of current Australian Football League coaches List of Australian Football League grounds List of sports venues in Australia List of VFL AFL presidents List of VFL AFL records List of individual match awards in the Australian Football LeagueNotes Edit The stadium is currently undergoing construction which has reduced the stadium s capacity to around 26 000 44 45 The stadium will have a capacity of 40 000 once construction is complete 46 References Edit Australian Securities amp Investments Commission registers www asic gov au The Victorian Football Association North Melbourne Courier and West Melbourne Advertiser No 72 North Melbourne 19 March 1897 p 3 McConville Andrew 5 May 2020 Player payments and the great bribery scandal State Library Victoria Retrieved 12 May 2020 The University Team The Argus Melbourne 18 September 1914 p 4 Exit University Football League Retirement The Argus Melbourne 17 October 1914 p 20 Barry Rollings 15 April 1976 First NFL Cup match next month The Canberra Times Canberra ACT p 18 Rules pools plan The Canberra Times Canberra ACT 16 November 1976 p 18 VFL criticised The Canberra Times Canberra ACT 12 November 1976 p 22 2m night football plan The Canberra Times Canberra ACT 28 June 1978 p 36 Eastman David 1979 NFL Escort Cup Archived from the original on 31 July 2018 Retrieved 15 November 2014 Devaney John 2014 Clubs of the South Australian National Football League Great Britain Full Points Publication p 252 National Panasonic Cup AustralianFootball com Archived from the original on 20 December 2016 Retrieved 28 December 2015 a b Stewart Bob 31 July 2017 Sport Funding and Finance 2nd ed Routledge ISBN 9781134470846 Archived from the original on 30 October 2018 Retrieved 30 October 2018 a b Timeline of VFL AFL Broadcast Rights Footy Industry 28 July 2014 Archived from the original on 30 October 2018 Retrieved 30 October 2018 a b Quayle Emma 17 November 2006 When the draft blew in The Age Archived from the original on 18 November 2006 Powerplay Limited and Sydney Swans Limited financial reports Sydney Swans Limited constitution AUSTRALIAN FOOTBAll The Canberra Times Vol 55 no 16 459 18 October 1980 p 48 Retrieved 4 May 2016 via National Library of Australia Oakley Ross 2014 The Phoenix Rises Melbourne Victoria Slattery Media Group p 244 ISBN 9780987420596 Oakley Ross 2014 The Phoenix Rises Melbourne Victoria Slattery Media Group p 131 ISBN 9780987420596 Peter Simunovich 24 July 1987 Top WAFL clubs eye VFL spot The Sun News Pictorial Melbourne p 78 a b Linnell Garry 1995 Football Ltd Sydney Pan Macmillan Australia p 297 ISBN 0 330 35665 8 About Us AFLPA Archived from the original on 26 October 2018 Retrieved 26 October 2018 Browne Ashley Brown Mal 14 December 2018 Flashback 1993 Fremantle announced as the 16th AFL team The Age Retrieved 13 July 2020 ABN lookup Australian Government 8 April 2007 Archived from the original on 16 October 2007 Retrieved 14 March 2008 Wilson Caroline Raid on home turf of league Archived 7 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine Realfooty com au 16 February 2008 AFL Archived from the 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STADIUM INCREASES CAPACITY LIMITS Western United FC 5 November 2021 Retrieved 29 June 2022 CATS KEEP NINE AT GMHBA K Rock Football 9 December 2021 Retrieved 29 June 2022 GMHBA Stadium Austadiums New Tigers unveiled today Official AFL Website of the Richmond Football Club Richmond Football Club 11 December 2012 Archived from the original on 12 December 2012 Retrieved 11 December 2012 Anderson Adrian 14 August 2012 Rookie Rule Amendments PDF AFL p 3 Archived from the original PDF on 22 September 2013 Retrieved 11 December 2012 Lane Samantha 6 August 2011 Players trade surprise The Age Melbourne Archived from the original on 12 August 2014 Retrieved 3 April 2013 Denham Greg 24 February 2010 Free agency becomes a reality The Australian O Donoghue Craig 25 October 2003 AFL rejects free agency The Age Melbourne Archived from the original on 7 December 2003 Retrieved 3 April 2013 The AFL s equalisation changes explained Archived 5 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine a b Bowen Nick Ryan Peter 25 January 2013 Millionaires club explodes www afl com au Archived from the original on 20 December 2013 Retrieved 20 December 2013 Denham Greg 22 March 2007 Massive pay hike for AFL top dog Fox Sports Archived from the original on 28 March 2007 Denham Greg 8 October 2013 AFL clears Buddy Franklin s 10m move The Australian Archived from the original on 15 May 2014 Retrieved 20 December 2013 Schmook Nathan Gaskin Lee 20 June 2017 Players get 20 per cent pay rise in new CBA AFL com au Archived from the original on 20 June 2017 Retrieved 20 June 2017 2011 club lists Archived 6 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine afl com au Published 7 December 2010 Retrieved 11 September 2011 2014 Indigenous Players List Archived 6 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine aflcommunityclub com au Retrieved 5 June 2014 Current AFL players with strong international connections Archived 12 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine WorldFootyNews Last updated 7 January 2010 Retrieved 11 September 2011 International recruitment 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Richmond FC 26 May 2016 Archived from the original on 12 March 2017 Retrieved 16 February 2020 AFL to honour Sir Doug Nicholls in 2016 Indigenous round The Guardian 28 October 2016 Archived from the original on 29 May 2019 Retrieved 30 May 2019 Sir Doug Nicholls Round afl com au 23 December 2019 Archived from the original on 16 February 2020 Retrieved 16 February 2020 Grieve Charlotte 22 May 2019 AFL Indigenous guernseys revealed and the stories behind them The Age Archived from the original on 30 May 2019 Retrieved 30 May 2019 Henderson Anna 21 August 2020 Ken Wyatt encourages AFL fans to drape the Aboriginal flag around them to protest copyright stoush ABC News Australian Broadcasting Corporation Retrieved 21 August 2020 Gilbert Gardiner 1 September 2016 Old tradition returns Herald Sun Melbourne p 69 Mitchell Peter 10 September 2018 Mitch Matters Brownlow medals are made in Frankston Mornington Peninsula Leader Retrieved 12 November 2021 Cash s created the first Premiership Cup in 1959 from a design drawn by then VFL President Sir Kenneth Luke Incredibly that s not the end of Cash s work with the AFL You name any AFL or AFLW award and it is made in Frankston including the Premiership Cups Robertson Doug 25 February 2007 Cornes calls for Origin return Adelaide Now Archived from the original on 10 March 2007 Retrieved 13 January 2009 Anderson Jon 10 May 2012 Rodney Eade supports return of State of Origin Herald Sun Archived from the original on 5 September 2012 AFL hopes to net China Herald Sun Archived from the original on 15 June 2011 Retrieved 30 November 2010 Crowd packs stadium for first official Aussie rules match in India Herald Sun 27 July 2017 Archived from the original on 31 July 2017 Retrieved 27 July 2017 Melbourne Demons down Brisbane Lions in Shanghai The Roar 18 October 2010 Archived from the original on 17 September 2016 Retrieved 16 August 2016 About 6 punts a minute US sports fans fall in love with Aussie footy codes amid COVID sports hiatus Wide 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September 2019 Fox Sports Retrieved 27 September 2019 2022 AFL TV Ratings Sports Industry AU Retrieved 9 November 2022 a b AFL announces record breaking 2 5 billion television deal pledges to establish code as Australia s foremost ABC News 19 August 2015 Archived from the original on 26 June 2018 Retrieved 13 April 2018 a b Day Mark 1 February 2007 Pay TV strikes a deal on AFL Archived 18 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine The Australian Reynolds Fiona 25 January 2001 Seven gives up AFL rights Archived 19 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine PM ABC radio Live and sweaty Archived 13 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine 22 August 2002 Barrett Damian 20 January 2007 Foxtel in footy twilight zone Herald Sun Fans the real winners as Seven bounces footy rivals Archived from the original on 23 October 2017 Retrieved 14 November 2017 AFL Television Broadcast Rights 2012 2016 PDF AFL Archived from the original PDF on 16 May 2011 Retrieved 23 October 2017 2017 2022 AFL Broadcast Rights Summary AFL com au Archived from the original on 13 April 2018 Retrieved 13 April 2018 Duckett Chris Telstra bins AFL and NRL Live Pass streaming for Kayo ZDNet Retrieved 17 September 2022 Statement from AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan on historic new broadcast rights agreement AFL com au VFL on American TV The Canberra Times Vol 54 no 16 267 Australian Capital Territory Australia 9 April 1980 p 36 Retrieved 14 November 2021 via National Library of Australia Timeline of VFL AFL Broadcast Rights Sports Industry AU AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL The Canberra Times Vol 57 no 17 485 Australian Capital Territory Australia 13 August 1983 p 43 Retrieved 17 December 2021 via National Library of Australia Blues set for very tough game with Magpies The Canberra Times Vol 55 no 16 423 Australian Capital Territory Australia 12 September 1980 p 17 Retrieved 17 December 2021 via National Library of Australia The day I bought the AFL TV rights Archived 11 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine ESPN picks up AFL in UK and Ireland Archived from the original on 20 May 2013 Retrieved 3 April 2013 International Broadcast Partners New AFL Website Whirlpool forums New AFL website how bad is it Archived 11 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine BigFooty Watch every AFL game this season on your Telstra mobile for 50 www eftm com au 13 February 2012 Archived from the original on 21 March 2013 Retrieved 15 February 2012 Home Australian Football League Archived from the original on 15 October 2012 Retrieved 6 August 2015 AFL pride game helping shift attitudes towards LGBTI community research shows 19 June 2017 Archived from the original on 25 September 2017 Retrieved 14 November 2017 Same sex marriage AFL redesigns logo to support Yes campaign 20 September 2017 Archived from the original on 28 November 2017 Retrieved 14 November 2017 The AFL has taken down the Yes logo outside its Docklands headquarters 21 September 2017 Archived from the original on 21 September 2017 Retrieved 14 November 2017 Transgender footballer Hannah Mouncey ruled ineligible for 2018 AFLW draft 17 October 2017 Archived from the original on 9 November 2017 Retrieved 14 November 2017 By excluding Hannah Mouncey the AFL s inclusion policy has failed a key test 19 October 2017 Archived from the original on 23 November 2017 Retrieved 14 November 2017 Hannah Mouncey deserved more than the AFL s policy on the run writes Richard Hinds 20 October 2017 Archived from the original on 6 November 2017 Retrieved 14 November 2017 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Australian Football League Official website Statistics and resultsAustralianFootball AFL Tables Final Siren with comprehensive AFL Statistics 1980 2008 AFL Statistics by FootyWire Comprehensive amp unique AFL Statistics by ProWess Sports Archived 22 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Footystats Diary AFL records results analysis plus news digest AFL on AustadiumsMajor AFL news websitesThe Age Footy News Herald Sun Footy News Fox Sports Australia AFL news Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Australian Football League amp oldid 1134396823 VFL era 1897 1989, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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