In Australia, Australian rules football is the most popular spectator sport and the second most participated code of football. Since originating in Victoria in 1858 and spreading elsewhere from 1866, it has been played continuously in every Australian state since 1903 plus the two major territories since 1916. In most states it is referred to simply as just football or footy however in New South Wales and Queensland it is promoted under the acronym AFL by the local development bodies.

The sport is played by more than half a million Australians. Players participate at an organised level in various forms from Auskick (age 5) through to school-based, underage (up to age 19), open age, to Masters (35+) competition. The season runs in most states and territories during the cooler seasons in Australia (from March to September), avoiding clashes with cricket, with the exception being the northern part of the Northern Territory where the season runs during the wet season (October to March). The highest participation rates (players per capita) can be found in the Northern Territory (5%), South Australia (4.8%), Victoria (4.3%), Western Australia (4.2%), Tasmania (3.3%) and the Australian Capital Territory (2.4%). Unlike other football codes which are strongest in urban areas, Australian rules football has the highest participation in regional and remote areas. Nationally this rate is 5.7%, almost double that of any other code. It is also fast growing in New South Wales and in Queensland, though with participation rates there of 1.2% it is considered a minor sport, lagging behind soccer and rugby league in overall interest. These two states represent more than half of the Australian population and this dichotomy of football culture is referred to as the Barassi Line.

Australian rules football holds the match attendance record of any football code in Victoria (121,696), South Australia (66,987), Tasmania (24,968) and the Northern Territory (17,500).

The national professional competitions are the men's Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Women's (AFLW). Nationally these are the most popular football competitions of any code, with millions of TV viewers across the country. The AFL governs the code nationally through the AFL Commission based in Melbourne. The AFL originated in Victoria and changed its name from Victorian Football League in 1990 after a successful program of national expansion and for these reasons the governing body is often seen by those from other states as having a strong Victorian bias.

The AFL discontinued representative matches as it expanded nationally (with the exception of occasional matches featuring Victoria). This was part of restructuring competitions across the country into a national junior pathway that would provide the league with access to the best junior talent via the Australian Football League draft. South Australia and Western Australia are the only states represented at the AFL Under 19 Championships, state representation is limited to players under 19, and open age players can only represent their state through interleague matches involving lower tier competitions.

The Australian Football Hall of Fame names the greatest players of all time. Of the greatest 32 who are categorised as Legends: 20 are Victorian, 4 each are from South Australia and Tasmania, 3 from Western Australia, 2 from New South Wales and 1 each from Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory.

Australia competed internationally at junior level. Australia's national teams remain undefeated. From 2007 to 2019 the underage men's team competed annually against international opponents as the AFL Academy most recently against New Zealand. Australia has also fielded amateur teams against South Africa, Papua New Guinea and the United States. Sides representing Indigenous Australia have competed against Papua New Guinea and South Africa.

History

It began in the Colony of Victoria in 1858, followed by the Colony of New South Wales and Colony of Queensland (1866);Brisbane Courier 25 May 1866 Colony of South Australia (1877); Colony of Tasmania (1879); and, Colony of Western Australia (1881).

The first intercolonial representative match was Victoria vs South Australia (1879).

Delegates representing the football associations of South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Queensland met in 1883 in order to standardise the rules across the colonies. The earliest governing body, the Australasian Football Council (later Australian National Football Council) dates back to this time.

Following a hiatus in Queensland (1892-1903) and New South Wales (1893-1903) it was revived after the Federation of Australia and expanded to the territories of the Australian Capital Territory (1911) and the Northern Territory (1916).

In Australian popular culture

The sport has had a significant impact on popular culture in its native Australia, capturing the imagination of Australian film, art, music, television and literature.

Audience

Attendance Football is the most highly attended spectator sport in Australia. Government figures show that more than 2.5 million people (16.8% of the population) attended games in 1999.Sports Attendance, Australian Bureau of Statistics, April 1999. In 2005, a cumulative 6,283,788 people attended Australian Football League (AFL) premiership matches, a record for the competition. A further 307,181 attended NAB Cup pre-season matches and 117,552 attended Regional Challenge pre-season practice matches around the country.403 Forbidden As of 2010, the AFL is one of only five professional sports leagues with an average attendance of over 30,000 per game.

As well as the AFL attendances, strong semi-professional state and local competitions also draw crowds. The South Australian SANFL drew an attendance in 2008 of 362,209 with an average of 3,773 per game, while the Western Australian WAFL drew an attendance of 219,205 with an average of 2,332 per game.

Region/State/Territory Average AFL premiership season attendance (since 1990 as at 2023)Average H&A Attendances By State New South Wales 24,207 Victoria 38,116 Queensland 19,658 Western Australia 34,462 South Australia 35,919 Tasmania 14,206 Australian Capital Territory 10,989 Northern Territory 9,320

2025

In the 2025 league season, 16 Australian football clubs recorded an average home league attendance of at least 20,000:

# Club Average 1 Collingwood 67,104 2 Carlton 48,521 3 Fremantle 45,758 4 Adelaide 45,533 5 West Coast 42,576 6 Richmond 41,534 7 Hawthorn 41,479 8 Essendon 40,034 9 Melbourne 37,499 10 Port Adelaide 36,565 11 Geelong 35,439 12 Western Bulldogs 34,470 13 Sydney 34,277 14 Brisbane Lions 30,598 15 St. Kilda 29,776 16 North Melbourne 23,961

Television According to OzTAM, in recent years, the AFL Grand Final has reached the top five programs across the five biggest cities in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Australian rules football has achieved a #1 rating in the sports category in both 2004 and 2005.

Participation

Adult players Region/State/Territory 2016Ausplay Participation by Activity/State 2022/23 2023/24 National 496,829 555,629 562,063 New South Wales 51,177 71,481 80,572 Victoria 209,117 235,970 227,213 Queensland 47,274 56,935 51,941 Western Australia 82,701 95,407 108,154 South Australia 74,806 69,868 63,969 Tasmania 15,732 14,528 13,927 Australian Capital Territory 7,504 8,326 9,129 Northern Territory 8,519 9,743 7,158

Structure and competitions

The most powerful organisation and competition within the game is the elite professional Australian Football League (AFL). The AFL is recognised by the Australian Sports Commission as being the National Sporting Organisation for Australian rules football. There are also seven state/territory-based organisations in Australia, most of which are affiliated to the AFL. Most of these hold annual semi-professional club competitions while the others oversee more than one league. Local semi-professional or amateur organisations and competitions are affiliated to their state leagues.

Region Overview Governing/Development body Major competition(s) Australian Capital Territory Overview AFL NSW/ACT AFL Canberra New South Wales Overview Sydney AFL Northern Territory Overview AFL Northern Territory Northern Territory Football League Queensland Overview AFL Queensland Queensland Australian Football League South Australia Overview South Australian Football Commission South Australian National Football League Tasmania Overview AFL Tasmania Tasmanian Football League Victoria Overview AFL Victoria Victorian Football League Western Australia Overview WA Football West Australian Football League

National championships

Senior

The last senior national carnival was held in 1993 and the last match between interstate senior sides was held under State of Origin rules in 1999. Senior state representation for Australian Football League players is no longer available except for Victoria whose players sometimes compete in one-off events against composite sides. However, state leagues continue to compete in inter-league matches.

Under 18

The AFL Under 18 Championships are the annual national Australian rules football championships for players aged 18 years or younger and includes teams from each Australian state or Territory. The competition is monitored by AFL recruiters and frequently seen as the second biggest pathway for junior players to the fully professional Australian Football League. The competition is currently sponsored by the National Australia Bank (NAB). The competition receives an increasing amount of coverage in the media, however still lags behind the TAC Cup in terms of interest in Victoria.

AFL players' Australian State of Origin

AFL player states of origin based on junior participation.

Region/State/Territory AFL Players (2019) New South Wales 47 Victoria 483 Queensland 33 Western Australia 101 South Australia 101 Tasmania 23 Australian Capital Territory 4 Northern Territory 10AFL Player state of origin map

See also Australian Football League Australian Institute of Sport List of Australian rules football clubs in Australia

Books

References