Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the Australian national competition in the sport of Australian rules football. The organisation that runs the league has become the de facto world governing body for the sport. The AFL is one of the most popular professional sporting leagues in the country. In 2005 the AFL Premiership Season had a total regular season attendance of 6,283,788, and the average attendance of 35,703 was the third highest of any professional sports league in the world.
The AFL evolved from the Victorian domestic competition, and over the past 25 years it has grown into a national competition with teams based in five of the six Australian states although nine of the sixteen clubs are still based in Melbourne. Since the move toward a national competition, the AFL has become a very powerful, wealthy and influential organisation in Australian sport.
The 16 teams play against each other in 22 rounds between late March and early September. These matches are followed by a series of finals matches which culminate in the two best teams playing off for the premiership in the AFL Grand Final, one of the largest domestic club championship events in the world.
The 2006 AFL Season is currently in progress.
Clubs
National Competition
- See also AFL team rivalries for details of the main rivalries between the clubs
As of 2006, there are nine clubs based in Melbourne, one in Victoria's second largest city, Geelong, two South Australian teams, two Western Australian teams and one each in Sydney, New South Wales and Brisbane, Queensland.
AFL is the dominant league in television, print and radio news in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territory and Tasmania. In addition, Australian rules football is the most participated football code in these states and territories.
The popularity of AFL is increasing in the states of New South Wales and Queensland. This has been greatly assisted by recent premierships being won by the Brisbane Lions (2001, 2002 and 2003) and Sydney Swans (2005). Combined, the non-Victorian teams have won 9 of the last 14 premierships.
Historic Clubs
The modern day Australian Football League (AFL) has many teams dating back to the beginnings of the sport of Australian rules football, including the very first club, Melbourne Football Club, whose founders codified the game in 1859.
Other early clubs still in existence include: Geelong (1859), Carlton (1864), North Melbourne (aka Hotham, now Kangaroos) (1869), Port Adelaide (1870), Essendon and St Kilda (1873), South Melbourne (now Sydney Swans) (1874), Footscray (now the Western Bulldogs) (1877) and Collingwood Football Club (1892).
Present teams
To raise the profile of AFL as a national competition and to raise funds for the clubs involved, some Victorian clubs have been transferring home games to interstate locations in return for a guaranteed income of up to $250,000 per game. [1]
Recently, this has included St Kilda and Hawthorn which have played home games at Aurora Stadium in Launceston, Tasmania, the Kangaroos which has played games at Manuka Oval in Canberra, ACT, the Western Bulldogs which has played games at Marrara Oval in Darwin, Northern Territory and at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and Melbourne which has played games at Carrara Oval and The Gabba in Queensland.
Former teams
| Club | Home City | Last Home Ground | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fitzroy Lions | Fitzroy, Victoria | Whitten Oval | merged with the Brisbane Bears to become the Brisbane Lions in 1997 |
| Brisbane Bears | Brisbane, Queensland | The Gabba | merged with the Fitzroy Lions to become the Brisbane Lions in 1997 |
| University FC | Melbourne, Victoria | Melbourne Cricket Ground | disbanded 1915 and permanently exited the league (due primarily to heavy player casualty in World War I) |
Playing lists
The AFL has tight controls over the player lists of each club. Each club can have a senior list of 38 players plus up to six rookie or veteran players. Clubs can only trade players during a "trade week" at the end of each season and can only recruit new players through the AFL Draft. The rules for the draft have changed every few years since it was introduced in 1986, but the basic philosophy remains in that players are selected by clubs in the reverse of the order of their positions on the ladder at the end of the preceding season ie the club that finished last has first draft selection, then the club that finished second last. However, this philosophy has been compromised by giving priority picks to clubs which win fewer than five matches during the season and by allowing clubs to select sons of former players under a "father - son rule" which itself has been varied over the years.
A salary cap (known as the Total Player Payments or TPP) is also in place as part of the league's equalisation policy. In 2006, this is $6,472,812 per club. Salaries of draft selections are fixed for two years, but salaries for senior players are not normally released to the public, although they are estimated to be up to $1,000,000 per year for the top few players.[2]
Infringements by clubs in relation to exceeding the TPP, not informing the AFL of payments or draft tampering are severe and can include large fines and exclusion from the AFL draft. Unlike the National Rugby League, the AFL does not penalise clubs premiership points for breach of the salary cap.
Season tournaments
AFL Premiership season
The Toyota AFL Premiership Season, contested between the 16 teams from around Australia, lasts for 22 rounds and begins in late March.
At the end of the 22 rounds, the top eight teams compete in the four-week Toyota AFL Finals Series. In the first week, depending on the their ladder position, teams play in two Qualifying Finals and two Elimination Finals. The two lowest placed losing teams are eliminated, the two highest placed winning teams progress into a Preliminary Final (in the third week), and the other four teams play in two Semi Finals (in the second week). The losers of the Semi Finals are eliminated and the remaining four teams play in two Preliminary Finals, with the winning teams play in the Grand Final.
The McClelland Trophy is awarded to the team that finishes the league in first position (sometimes called the minor premiership) but this is not afforded anywhere near the prestige as the major objective which is the Premiership.
The winners of the Grand Final become the premiers of that year.
The Grand Final is tradionally played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, even if two non-Victorian teams are playing, on the last Saturday in September. Recent exceptions to this practice were in 1991 when the MCG was being redeveloped and the Grand Final was played at Waverley Park, and in 2000 when the Grand Final was played in early September as the Sydney Olympics started on 15 September.
See 2006 Australian Football League season.
Pre-season Cup
Before the premiership season commences, a pre-season knock-out competition is played. It has had several incarnations as the Panasonic Cup, the Fosters Cup, the Ansett Australia Cup, the Wizard Cup, and, as of the 2006 season, the NAB Cup. Teams knocked out of the cup play a series of Regional Challenge practice matches.
History
Before the VFL
- For the full history of Australian rules football, see Origins of the game.
In 1857, Tom Wills advocated playing football during winter as a way of keeping cricketers fit during off-season. The new sport was devised by Wills, his cousin H.C.A. Harrison, W.J. Hammersley and J.B. Thompson. The Melbourne Football Club was formed on August 7, 1858 - the year of the code’s first recorded match between Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar School.
VFL Begins
The Victorian Football League was established in 1896 when several clubs broke away from the Victorian Football Association which was the first Australian rules competition. The first games were played in 1897 between the foundation clubs – Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda and South Melbourne. Essendon won the first VFL premiership.
Although the Victorian Football League and the Victorian Football Association continued to compete for spectator interest for many years, the VFL quickly established itself as the premier competition in Victoria.
In 1908, Richmond and University joined the VFL. University's term was short lived and it left the VFL after the 1914 season. In 1925, Footscray (now the Western Bulldogs), Hawthorn and North Melbourne (now the Kangaroos) joined the VFL.
In 1924 the VFL inaugurated the Brownlow Medal for the player who received the most votes from the umpires for the Fairest and Best Fairest player.
Between the years of 1927 and 1930, Collingwood became the first and so far, the only, team to win four successive premerships. This team became known as "the machine" because of the organised and consistent way that they played. In 1932, the VFL became an incorporated company.
1950s
In 1959, the VFL planned the first purpose built mega-stadium, Waverley Park, to give it some independence from the Melbourne Cricket Club which managed the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australian rules' spiritual home. Waverley Park was planned to hold 120,000 spectators (thus making it one of the largest stadiums in the world) but its capacity was cut to around 80,000 to save money. The new stadium hosted its first match, between Geelong and Fitzroy, in 1970.
The VFL played some interstate and overseas exhibition matches in the 1950s to lift the profile of the league.
Geelong was the stand out team at the beginning of the 1950s, winning the premiership in 1951 then setting a record of 23 consecutive wins starting in Round 12, 1952 and ending in Round 13, 1953. This streak included the 1952 premiership.
After Footscray won its first (and so far, only) premiership in 1954 by defeating Melbourne, Melbourne became a powerhouse, winning five premierships between 1955 and 1960, including three in a row between 1955 and 1957. In 1958 Collingwood famously defeated Melbourne in the Grand Final, thereby preventing Melbourne from equalling Collingwood's record of four successive premierships.
1960s
In the 1960s, television began to have a huge impact, which continues unabated to this day. Spectators hurried home from games to watch replays and many former players took up positions as commentators on pre-game preview programs and 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!
Hawthorn won its first ever Grand Final in 1961, beating Footscray. Melbourne's period of success ended with its premiership win in 1964, after which Carlton famously recruited Melbourne's champion player Ron Barassi as its captain-coach. St Kilda won its first, and so far only, Grand Final by one point over Collingwood in 1966 and after many years in the doldrums, Richmond won the Grand Final in 1967, starting a revival which lasted to 1980. Under Barassi's leadership, Carlton won the premiership in 1968, its first since 1947.
1970s
The 1970 Grand Final between Carlton and Collingwood attracted a record crowd for a football game in Australia of 121,696. This game also saw the greatest comeback in Grand Final history when after trailing by 44 points at half time, Carlton managed to win by 10 points. Alex Jesaulenko took one of the most memorable marks in the sport's history during this game.
Hawthorn defeated St. Kilda in the Grand Final in 1971, beginning a long period of success that lasted into the early 1990s.
North Melbourne won its first ever premiership in 1975, then won again in 1977 in the Grand Final replay, following the second ever drawn Grand Final, against Collingwood. 1977 also saw the commencement of State of Origin representative matches, where players were only able to represent the state of their birth, as opposed to representing the state in which they were currently playing.
The 1979 Grand final is remembered for a controversial goal that sparked another memorable Grand Final comeback by Carlton. Collingwood was leading by 28 points late in the second quarter when Carlton's Wayne Harmes miskicked, chased the ball towards the boundary line and knocked it to his team mate Ken Sheldon who kicked a goal. Although Harmes won the inaugural Norm Smith Medal for the best player in the Grand Final, he is best-remembered for this incident as Collingwood supporters still claim that the ball had crossed the boundary line before Harmes knocked it to Sheldon.
Many rule changes were made during the decade in efforts to increase the attractiveness of the game:
- A "final five" system was introduced in 1972. The Grand Final was the the highest scoring Grand Final in history, accumulating a total of 327 points with Carlton defeating Richmond by 27 points.
- The centre diamond and a limit of four players per team at the centre bounce were introduced in 1973. The diamond was changed to the square in 1975.
- The two-umpire system was introduced in 1976.
- In 1978 the interchange law was introduced, to allow players to be able to be interchanged at any time (like basketball), rather than a one-off replacement (as in soccer).
1980s - National Expansion
As there was no national league for Australian rules, the VFL became the most popular and dominant league around the country in terms of overall attendance and interest. In 1980, the match of the day was broadcasted on television. Interest around the country followed, and new sides from other capitals (many with their own local leagues) soon expressed interest in new licences.
In 1982, South Melbourne club relocated to Sydney to become the Sydney Swans. The West Australian Football League and Queensland Australian Football League were awarded licences to join the VFL and the West Coast Eagles and Brisbane Bears were formed. The first National Draft was introduced in 1986. The West Coast Eagles and Brisbane Bears joined the league in 1987. The night premiership, the Panasonic Cup moved to the pre-season intstead of mid-year.
In 1984, a revival of the International Rules representative series against Ireland occurred. In 1988, a salary cap was introduced, and the law changed to make players awarded free kicks be obliged to kick the ball, rather than handpass. This rule change was reversed in 1990.
In 1989, the league began encouraging other Victorian clubs to merge or relocate interstate. Footscray and Fitzroy nearly merged, but a fundrasing event from Footscray supporters stops the proposed merger.
Collingwood played in its third successive Grand Final in 1981, yet didn't win any of them. This added to Collingwood's already infamous record in grand finals, signified by the term "the Colliwobbles" - coined to describe Collingwood's inability to win the big one and introduced after the 1970 grand final loss to Carlton.
A bitter rivalry between Essendon and Hawthorn emerged after competing in three consecutive Grand Finals between 1983 and 1985. Essendon's win in the 1984 marked the first time since 1966 that a team other than Richmond, Carlton, Hawthorn or North Melbourne had won the premiership. The dominance of these few clubs and mounting financial problems for several clubs resulted in the VFL adopting an equalisation policy, centred around the player draft and salary cap measures.
In 1988, Melbourne made its first appearance in a Grand Final since 1964, but it wasn't a memorable return to the big stage. Hawthorn crushed an underdog Melbourne side by 96 points, the biggest Grand Final win in history.
In what many believe to be the finest Grand Final of the modern era, Hawthorn overcame a strong challenge from Geelong in 1989. It was a physical game right from the start when Geelong's Mark Yeates ran through Dermott Brereton at the opening bounce, bruising Brereton's kidney and causing internal bleeding. In a courageous display, Brereton refused to leave the ground and marked and goaled several minutes later to stem Geelong's attempt to establish superiority. Later heavy clashes would see John Platten knocked out and Robert DiPierdomenico suffer broken ribs and a punctured lung. Despite a Grand Final record nine goals from Geelong's Gary Ablett, Hawthorn still went on to win by six points.
1990s - Australian Football League
The VFL was renamed as the Australian Football League in 1990. The VFL name disappeared until it was adopted by the AFL's state feeder competition which was the most recent incarnation of the former VFA.
In 1990, the Port Adelaide Magpies made a bid for an AFL licence. In response, the Adelaide Crows were formed by the SANFL and joined the league in 1991, when the Grand Final was played at Waverley Park for first and only time as the MCG was being redeveloped. This game was also the first time that a non-Victorian team - West Coast Eagles - made the Grand Final.
The final six was introduced in 1991. In 1992, Waverley Park was renamed "AFL Park" and the West Coast Eagles became the first non-Victorian team to win a premiership, beating Geelong.
In 1994, the Fremantle Football Club was formed to represent the strong history of Fremantle clubs from the WAFL, and played its first game in the AFL in 1995. That year, the first Western Derby was played between the two Perth-based teams. Carlton made the record books by winning its 16th premiership after 16 consectuve wins and only two losses for the entire season.
Some of the rule changes of the decade included:
- In 1993, a third field umpire was introduced.
- In 1994, the McIntyre Final Eight System system was introduced.
- A fourth interchange player was added for the 1998 season, increasing match day squads to 22 players.
In 1996, the AFL celebrated its centenary. One round of games featured a repeat of the games in Round 1, 1897, with players wearing replicas of the guernseys worn 100 years earlier. Late in the season, after it looked like the Fitzroy Lions would succumb to financial problems and merge with North Melbourne, the AFL dramatically announced that Fitzroy would merge with the Brisbane Bears and play as the Brisbane Lions in 1997. North Melbourne recoverd from being jilted, and became the only team to win a gold premiership cup by defeating Sydney, which had not played in a Grand Final since 1945.
Later in 1996, an attempt to merge Melbourne and Hawthorn to form the Melbourne Hawks made headlines, but failed to eventuate. Ross Oakley stepped down as the AFL's Chief Executive and was replaced by Wayne Jackson. And the AFL rejected bids from Queensland club Southport Sharks and the Tasmanian government to enter teams.
In 1997, Port Adelaide Magpies was finally awarded a licence to join the AFL as the Port Adelaide Power. The inaugural Showdown occurred in that year, with Port Adelaide causing an upset victory over Adelaide. The Footscray Bulldogs was renamed the Western Bulldogs. Adelaide won the first of two consectuive premierships and became the first side in history to win four finals in one series and win the premiership. St. Kilda, their opponent, were playing in their first Grand Final since 1971.
The International Rules series against the GAA was made a regular annual event from 1998. Adelaide repeated its feats of a year before by winning four finals in one series to win the premiership, beating favourites North Melbourne. North had major goalscoring problems in the match and had a dimsal second half. Andrew McLeod won his second Norm Smith Medal in two years.
In 1999, the league sold its Waverley Park stadium and used the funds in a joint venture to begin construction of the Docklands Stadium. The league announced the last AFL State of Origin match, and its intentions to instead to focus on the new national league. Carlton socred a huge one-point upset victory in the preliminary final to face North Melbourne. A competitive game up to half time, North ran away with the game and the premiership by 35 points.
2000s
The logo was again changed in 2000. The first indoor Australian rules football match was held at Docklands Stadium in the same year. In the first game at the venue, Essendon crushed Port Adelaide by 94 points. It was a sign of things to come as Essendon only lost one game for the entire season and had a percentage of 159.1%, one of the highest in history and drawed equal with the fewest losses in an entire season, tieing with the Collingwood machine team of 1929. They faced Melbourne in the Grand Final and won by 60 points with some poor goalscoring blunders.
In 2001, the Brisbane Lions won the first of a historic three successive premierships, becoming the first Queensland based and non-Victorian team to do so. In 2002, a thrilling game from start to finish saw Brisbane beat Collingwood by nine points on a wet and sloppy day. The final margin was the largest all day, making it one of the closest Grand Finals in history.
In 2003, Andrew Demetriou was appointed as CEO. Brisbane won their third consecutive premiership by destroying Collingwood by 50 points highlighted by 39 disposals to Simon Black and five incredible goals from Jason Akermanis. Brisbane became the first team since Melbourne in the 1950s to win three consecutive premierships.
In 2004, Port Adelaide won its first premiership and thwarting Brisbane's attempt at equalling the AFL record set by Collingwood from 1927-30. It was the first Grand final to be held between two non-Victorian sides.
2005 saw history made by the Sydney Swans, becoming the first New South Wales-based AFL team to win a premiership and breaking a 72 year premiership drought for the club. A close game from start to finish, Sydney defeated the West Coast Eagles by four points in one of the lowest scoring Grand Finals in history and the closest final scores in over a decade, made possible by a memorable mark from the Swan's Leo Barry.
A series of new rule changes were introduced for the 2006 season intended to speed up the game, including allowing the ball to be brought back into play immediately after a point is scored and limiting the time allowed for players to kick for goal to 30 seconds.
Future
Several areas have been discussed as expansion possibilities, most often Tasmania, western Sydney, North Queensland, the Gold Coast, Canberra, Darwin and even New Zealand or South Africa, but the AFL have an aim to keep the competition to 16 teams. It is generally thought that if the AFL expands into a new area, one of the less financially well-off Victorian clubs will re-locate, rather than an entirely new club being formed. The Western Bulldogs and Kangaroos are most often considered candidates for re-location, and some theorise that their respective name changes in the 1990s were in anticipation of such a move.
Having experimented with home games in Western Sydney, the Kangaroos play regular premiership season games at Manuka Oval in Canberra, and the Bulldogs have played in Cairns and Darwin. Melbourne have played home games in South East Queensland (both Brisbane and the Gold Coast) while Hawthorn and St Kilda have played in Launceston, leading to more speculation that they are attempting to build a supporter base in those areas for future re-location.
Mergers have also been an option for the AFL, as was seen with the Brisbane Bears and the defunct Fitzroy Lions in 1996. If two Victorian teams merge, then it makes room for a 16th team to come from an interstate city - the likely candidates for this are the Southport Sharks (on the Gold Coast) or a Tasmanian team (based in Hobart or Launceston). However, since several failed club merger attempts, the AFL has been less willing to actively pursue the amalgamation of two Victorian-based clubs as an option.
Individual awards
See Category:Australian Football League awards.
Major annual awards
- Brownlow Medal
- Coleman Medal
- AFL Rising Star
- Leigh Matthews Trophy
- Norm Smith Medal
- Jock McHale Medal
- Michael Tuck Medal
- AFL Mark of the Year
- AFL Goal of the Year
- All Australian Team
- Club Best and Fairest Awards
Hall of Fame
For the centenary of the VFL/AFL in 1996, the Australian Football Hall of Fame was formed. Its members not only consist of those who have contributed to the VFL/AFL, but from Australian football in general (in such leagues as the SANFL and WAFL). That year 136 Australian Rules identities were inducted, including 100 players, 10 coaches, 10 umpires, 10 administrators and 6 media representatives.
Legends of the Game
In 1996, twelve Hall of Fame members were declared Legends of the Game. Now, each year another member of the Hall of Fame is declared a legend. The following is a list of Legends of the Game.
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|
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Team of the Century
To celebrate the 100th season of the AFL, the "AFL Team of the Century" was named in 1996.
| B: | Bernie Smith (Geelong) | Stephen Silvagni (Carlton) | John Nicholls (Carlton) |
| HB: | Bruce Doull (Carlton) | Ted Whitten Snr. (Footscray) captain | Kevin Murray (Fitzroy) |
| C: | Francis Bourke (Richmond) | Ian Stewart (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 Snr. (Fitzroy) |
| Foll: | Graham Farmer (Geelong) | Ron Barassi (Melbourne, Carlton) | Bob Skilton (South Melbourne) |
| Int: | Gary Ablett (Hawthorn, Geelong) | Jack Dyer (Richmond) | Greg Williams (Geelong, Sydney, Carlton) |
| Coach: | Norm Smith | ||
Jack Elder was declared the Umpire of the Century was to coincide with the Team of the Century. Since the naming of this side, all 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.
VFL/AFL Records
- Highest score
Geelong - 37.17 (239) vs. Brisbane Bears
Carrara Oval, May 3, 1992. - Highest winning margin
Fitzroy - 190 points
Waverley Park, July 28, 1979. - Highest aggregate score
52.33 (345) - Melbourne 21.15 (141) vs St Kilda 31.18 (204)
MCG, May 6, 1978 - Highest score in one quarter
South Melbourne - 17.4 (106) vs. St Kilda
Lake Oval, July 26, 1919 - Largest crowd
Carlton v Collingwood - 121,696
MCG, September 26, 1970 (Grand Final) - Largest Home & Away Season crowd
Melbourne v Collingwood - 99,346
MCG, 1958 - Largest crowd for a game between non-Victorian clubs
Sydney v West Coast Eagles - 91,898
MCG, September 24, 2005 (Grand Final) - Largest International crowd
Melbourne v Sydney - 32,789
B.C. Place, Vancouver, Canada, 1987 - Most premierships
Carlton 16, most recent 1995, Essendon 16, most recent 2000 - Most wooden spoons (last position at the end of the Home and Away Season)
St Kilda - 26, most recent 2000 - Most consecutive premierships
Collingwood - 4
1927-1930 - Most games won in a season
Essendon - 24 (incl. finals)
2000 - Most consecutive wins
Geelong - 23
1952-1953 - Most consecutive games unbeaten
Geelong - 26
1952-1953 - Most consecutive losses
University - 51 (1911-1914) - Most games played in a career
Michael Tuck (Hawthorn) - 426 games - Most games as club captain
Stephen Kernahan (Carlton) - 226 games - Most goals in a career
Tony Lockett (St Kilda/Sydney) - 1,360 goals - Most goals in a game
Fred Fanning (Melbourne) - 18 goals - Most goals in a season
Bob Pratt (South Melbourne, 1934) and Peter Hudson (Hawthorn, 1971) - 150 goals - Most consecutive matches
Jim Stynes (Melbourne) - 244 - Most consecutive matches from debut
Jared Crouch (Sydney) - 194 (Ended Rd 13, 2006 due to unknown injury) - Tallest player
Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle), Peter Street (Western Bulldogs) - 211cm - Shortest player
Danny Craven (St Kilda/Brisbane) - 162cm - Heaviest player
Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle) - 124kg - Longest kick
Albert Thurgood (Essendon) - 98.48m (109 yards, 1 foot, 3.2 inches)
Representative football
International
Each year, the AFL's representative team plays the Gaelic Athletic Association in an International Rules series in a game featuring a set of compromise rules.
State
There is currently no official state representation for AFL players, but Interstate Matches and State of Origin took place between 1879 and 1999. Despite many calls for the return of the concept [3], the popularity of the E. J. Whitten Legends charity event and the popularity of Rugby League State of Origin, a return of the representation series is an unpopular idea with the AFL clubs and ultimately unlikely as the competition becomes more national and the International Rules series continues. In recent years, the WAFC has named a symbolic State of Origin Team of the Year, to publicly acknowledge the best AFL players from WA.
Administration
The AFL Commission is responsible for the administration of the AFL. It was established in December 1985 after club parochialism and self interest threatened to undermine the competition.
The Commission's chairman is Ron Evans, a former Essendon player and president, and the Chief Executive is Andrew Demetriou. After playing for North Melbourne and Hawthorn, Demetriou had a successful business career before returning to the football world as chief executive of the AFL Players Association. He then crossed to the AFL as Manager of Football Operations before succeeding Wayne Jackson.
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 eg 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.
Corporate relations
Sponsorship
The following are the official naming sponsors of the VFL/AFL competition:
- Carlton & United Breweries (1980-81, 86, 89-94, 2001-03)
- Holden (1982-83)
- Nissan (1984-85)
- Sportsplay (1987)
- Elder's IXL (1988)
- Coca-Cola (1995-2001)
- Toyota (2004-present)
¹Note: In 2001 CUB and Coca-Cola were joint sponsors
Membership
The AFL sells memberships that entitle subscribers to reserve seats for matches at the Telstra Dome and Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne. AFL members also receive priority access to finals. AFL Members can nominate a club to get priority Grand Final tickets.
Broadcasting
Television
The official television partners of the AFL are the Nine Network, Network Ten, and Foxtel (Fox Footy Channel).
As of 2007 the official free-to-air television partners will be: the Seven Network and Network Ten. The pay TV partner, if any, is yet to be determined.
Before 2001, the Seven Network had telecast the AFL for 45 years. The only year the Seven Network didn't hold the rights was 1987, when the rights were bought by Sportsplay, which onsold the rights to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Prior to this there were no exclusive television rights, and the Seven Network shared the broadcast areas at venues with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and also the Nine Network for a short period in the early 1970's. The exclusive rights were won back by the Seven Network in 1988 after Sportsplay went out of business.
In 1997, the Seven Network's main rivals set up a consortium which won the rights. Seven, however, purchased a guaranteed last rights bid which proved to be handy when the AFL invited bids for the rights to telecast the AFL after 2006. In January 2006, shortly after the death of media magnate Kerry Packer, a Seven/Ten alliance used Seven's last rights bid to match Nine's offer of $AUD 780 million for broadcast rights in what was the biggest sport telecasting deal in Australian history.
International telecasts
- Australia Network currently telecasts AFL games to more than 39 countries.
- AFL games are telecast in the United States and Canada, but not on free-to-air channels. In the 1980s, ESPN telecast a highlights package called Fosters Australian Rules. The AFANA is an organisation aimed at increasing coverage in North America.
In 2006, Fox Soccer Channel announced it was dropping the coverage of AFL games so that it could focus on soccer. However, fellow niche-sports network Setanta Sports picked up the rights, and now shows live coverage of the AFL in the United States.
- Although Australian rules games are not shown in Ireland, Setanta telecasts International Rules matches.
Radio
The official radio broadcast partners of the AFL are Triple M, 3AW, ABC Local Radio, FiveAA, 6PR, K-Rock, and the National Indigenous Radio Service.
Publishing and Print
The official print broadcast partner of the AFL is News Limited. The AFL Record is a match-day magazine published by the AFL and is read by around 225,000 people each week [4].
Internet
The official internet/3G broadcast partner of the AFL is Bigpond. The AFL also provides exclusive broadband content including streaming video for international fans via its website.
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 off-shoot of the AFL, was originally touted for the MCG, but the Hall of Fame failed to get 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 remains open to the public. In early 2006 the name was changed to AFL World. It features various honour boards and memorabilia as well as a range of innovative interactive displays designed to immerse visitors in the experience of elite Aussie Rules.
Video games
- Main Article: List of Australian rules football computer games.
These are computer/video games that were licensed to use the AFL / Australian Football sports brand:
- Australian Rules (1987) C64
- Aussie Rules Footy (1991) NES
- AFL Finals Fever (1996) PC
- AFL '98 (1997) PC/PS1 (PAL)
- AFL '99 (1998) PC/PS1 (PAL)
- Aussie Rules Coach (2001) PC
- Kevin Sheedy Coach (2002) PC
- AFL Live 2003 (2002) PC/PS2/Xbox (PAL)
- AFL Live 2004 (2003) PC/PS2/Xbox (PAL)
- AFL Live Premiership Edition (2004) PC/PS2/Xbox (PAL)
- AFL Premiership 2005 (2005) PC/PS2/Xbox (PAL)
- AFL Premiership 2006 (2006) PC/PS2/Xbox (PAL)
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.
Fantasy football competitions based on actual player statistics (number of kicks, marks, goals etc) are also very popular on websites and in newspapers. The most popular is the AFL Dream Team.
See also
- AFL footballers
- List of Australian Football League premiers
- AFL Draft
- List of celebrity supporters of AFL clubs
- List of overseas-born AFL players
- List of VFL/AFL players by ethnicity
- Sports attendances
- Australian rules football in Australia