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{{Merge|Australian Rules Football|date=November 2007}}
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{{Sport overview
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| country = Australia
| sport = Australian rules football
| image = Aboriginal_football.jpg
| imagesize = 260px
| caption = Contesting for possession in an indigenous community Aussie Rules game in the Northern Territory
| union = Australian Football League
| nickname =
| first = 1858, [[Melbourne]], [[Victoria, Australia|Victoria]]
| registered = 615,549 (total)<ref>[http://realfooty.com.au/news/news/we-love-aussie-rules/2007/06/19/1182019117471.html More chase Sherrin than before]</ref><br/>120,000 (adult)
| clubs = 2,548{{Fact|date=September 2007}}
| match = '''121,696''' - [[1970 VFL Grand Final]]
| league = 6,283,788 - [[2005 AFL season]]
| national1 = [[Australian Football League|AFL]]
| club1 = [[South Australian National Football League|SANFL]]
| club2 = [[Victorian Football League|VFL]]
| club3 = [[West Australian Football League|WAFL]]
| club4 = [[Queensland State League (Australian rules football)|Queensland State League]]
| club5 = [[Northern Territory Football League|NTAFL]]
| club6 = [[Northern Tasmanian Football League|Northern Tasmanian]]
| club7 = [[Southern Football League (Tasmania)|Southern Tasmanian]]
| club8 = [[Ovens & Murray Football League|O&M]]
| club9 = [[Sydney AFL]]
| club10 = [[AFL Canberra]]
| countryflag = Australia
}}
'''[[Australian rules football]] in Australia''' is a popular spectator and team sport which originated in [[Melbourne]] and has become an important part of [[Australian culture]].

The sport has been played continuously in every state and territory<ref>excluding Jervis Bay and external territories</ref> of Australia since 1915 and is particularly popular in [[Victoria, Australia|Victoria]], [[South Australia]], [[Northern Territory]], [[Western Australia]] and [[Tasmania]].

In the states where it is not as popular as other winter sports, [[New South Wales]] and [[Queensland]], it has an equally long history and has grown rapidly since the 1990s.

The only national competition is the [[Australian Football League]], which grew out of an expanded Victorian domestic club competition from 1982 beginning with the relocation of the [[South Melbourne Swans]] in 1982 and changing its name in 1990. The AFL now governs the code nationally.

Australia is currently the only nation in the world where Australian rules football is played professionally and while its participation is diverse, the sport is only played professionally by men.

==Popularity==
The sport has attracted more overall interest among Australians than any other winter sport for at least several years <ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/05/22/1053196670542.html |publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=2003-05-22|title=If you can kick it, Australia will watch it}}</ref>.
It is the most popular football code in Australia and it was created in Australia for Australians then is Australian national sport. It has over 150 years of immense support and it is linked into Australian culture permanetly. It is particularly popular amongst [[indigenous Australian]] communities. Approximately 10% of all AFL players are of indigenous origin.

===Footy in Australian popular culture===
{{mainarticle|Australian rules football in popular Australian culture}}
For many years, the game of Australian rules football captured the imagination of Australian film, music and literature.

Many songs inspired by the game have become anthems of the game, none more so than the 1979 hit ''[[Up There Cazaly]]'', by [[Mike Brady (musician)|Mike Brady]].

===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.<ref>[http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/e298cee24565c911ca256def007248ff?OpenDocument Sports Attendance], Australian Bureau of Statistics, April 1999.</ref> In 2005, a cumulative 6,283,788 people attended [[Australian Football League]] (AFL) premiership matches, a record for the competition.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/Sport/Aussie-Rules-sets-attendance-record/2005/08/28/1125167544791.html |publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=2005-08-28|title=Aussie Rules sets attendance record}}</ref> A further 307,181 attended [[NAB Cup]] pre-season matches and 117,552 attended Regional Challenge pre-season practice matches around the country<ref>[http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:QSxF-7E66dcJ:afl.com.au/default.asp%3Fpg%3Dwizardcup%26spg%3Ddisplay%26articleid%3D190187 403 Forbidden<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>.

As well as the AFL attendances, strong state competitions also drew crowds. Although crowds for local leagues have suffered in recent years, they continue to draw support, particularly for finals matches. The South Australian [[South Australian National Football League|SANFL]] drew an attendance of 303,354 in 2005, the Western Australian [[West Australian Football League|WAFL]] drew an official attendance of 202,797 in 2004 and the Victorian [[Victorian Football League|VFL]] (including a Tasmanian side, the [[Tasmanian Devils Football Club|Devils]]) also drew strong crowds (but with no available attendance figures).

As of 2008 the AFL is one of only six professional sports leagues in the world with an average [[Sports attendance|attendance]] above thirty thousand (the others are the [[National Football League]] and [[Major League Baseball]] in the United States, the top division [[soccer]] leagues, [[Bundesliga (football)|Bundesliga]] in Germany, and the [[FA Premier League]] in England and the newest addition to this is the [[Indian Premier League]] [[Twenty20]] [[cricket]] series). (See also: [[Sports attendances]].)

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

Some of the more popular regional leagues have the "match of the week" televised locally and free-to-air on [[ABC Television (Australia)|ABC Television]]'s state networks. In Victoria ([[ABV (TV station)|ABV]]) and Tasmania ([[ABT (TV station)|ABT]]) both show the VFL, in Western Australia ([[ABW (TV station)|ABW]]) it is the WAFL, in South Australia ([[ABS (TV station)|ABS]]) it is the SANFL and in the Northern Territory ([[ABD (TV station)|ABD]]) it is both the NTFL and the SANFL (in the NTFL off-season).

Some regional leagues also attract a national audience through free-to-air broadcasting on television networks such as [[ABC2]], which includes the VFL, SANFL, WAFL, NTFL and [[Tiwi Islands Football League]] (Grand Final only). OzTAM began measuring these audiences in 2006. The SANFL measured a total of 1,415,000 television viewers in 2007.<ref>[http://www.sanfl.com.au/news/sanfl_news/147/ SANFL Website<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

===Participation===
With more than 450,000 participants aged 15 years and over, Australian Rules Football is the 4th most-played team sport in Australia, behind netball, soccer and cricket. <ref>[http://www.ausport.gov.au/scorsresearch/ERASS2004/ERASS2004.pdf Participation in exercise, recreation and sport], Australian Sports Commission Annual Report 2004.</ref>

A total of 615,549 registered participants are playing Australian football in 2007. Participation rose 5.97% between 2006-07 and 7.84% between 2005-06. 6.7 per cent of all participants are from non-English speaking origin. The [[Australian Sports Commission]] statistics show a 42% increase in the total number of participants over the 4 year period between 2001-2005.<ref>http://www.ausport.gov.au/scorsresearch/ERASS2005/ERASS2005_findings.pdf Participation in Exercise, Recreation and Sport Survey 2005 Annual Report</ref>

Around 87,000 participants are [[Indigenous Australian]]s. In 2008, there were 72 indigenous players in the AFL.<ref>Australian Government. Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. From the AFL Record, Round 9 (Indigenous Round). 2008</ref>

Victoria has the largest number of participants over 15 years of age (205,000 participants or 5.2% of the Victorian population). The [[Tiwi Islands]] is said to have the highest participation rate in Australia (35%).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/northern-territory/even-a-cyclone-cant-stop-the-footy/2005/03/19/1111086063413.html |publisher=The Age|date=2005-03-20|title=Even a cyclone can't stop the footy}}</ref>

Amongst children aged 5 to 14 years, football is the third most popular organised sport for children to participate in (beyond soccer and swimming). An estimated 284,200 children aged 5 to 14 participated in football in the 12 months prior to interview in 2003 (13.6% of all children). <ref>[http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/99AEABDFDCF70A0DCA256E2A00767431/$File/49010_apr%202003.pdf 4901.0 Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities, Australia (Apr 2003)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

==Australian and Cultural Issues==
{{main|Australian rules football culture}}

===Violence===
On-field [[assault]] has historically been socially tolerated in Australia, however in recent years this has been the subject of and players have been charged by the law for their on-field actions, including a recent jailing in Victoria<ref>[http://news.smh.com.au/national/footballer-jailed-for-onfield-assault-20080703-312s.html Footballer jailed for on-field assault]</ref> and the much publicized case involving VFL player [[Leigh Matthews]] which ended the public perception that on-field football assaults are somehow legal.<ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/09/15/1031608345061.html
Memories are made of this]</ref> League penalties for such actions have also generally increased in recent years<ref>[http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/even-in-battle-players-must-aim-higher/2008/07/05/1214951115549.html Even in battle, players must aim higher]</ref> and overall violence has decreased over time.<ref>[http://www.aic.gov.au/conferences/ncv2/warren.pdf Violence in Sport: Some Theoretical and Practical Issues in the Australian Context] from the Australian Institute of Criminology</ref>

===Drug Abuse===
[[Performance enhancing drug]] abuse is also rare according to official studies<ref>[http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1332610 Drug doping in senior Australian rules football: a survey for frequency]</ref> despite some high profile recent cases and criticisms from the media and government<ref>[http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,15986296-27660,00.html AFL bows to federal anti-dope pressure]</ref> of the AFL's own anti-doping code<ref>[http://www.aflpa.com.au/index.cfm?menuid=2C305B25-EA4C-9FEC-C6F442B297FDF5FC
AFL Anti-Doping Code]</ref> which although strict, does not comply with the [[World Anti-Doping Agency]] protocols.

===Racism===
{{see|Racism in Sport}}
Despite the sport's high multicultural participation, racism has been and continues to be an issue in Australian Football at all levels. The governing body, the AFL introduced [[racial vilification]] in 1995 at all levels and is now considered a world leader in the field.<ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/news/cricket/icc-may-adopt-afl-racial-vilification-laws/2008/07/09/1215282926817.html http://www.theage.com.au/news/cricket/icc-may-adopt-afl-racial-vilification-laws/2008/07/09/1215282926817.html]</ref>

==Structure and competitions ==
[[Image:aussie rules game.jpg|thumb|right|300px|An Australian Football League match at [[Carrara Stadium]] on the [[Gold Coast, Queensland|Gold Coast]]. [[Adelaide Crows|Adelaide]]'s [[Matthew Clarke (Australian rules footballer)|Matthew Clarke]] and [[Melbourne Football Club|Melbourne]]'s [[Mark Jamar]] contest a centre bounce. The man in the green shirt is a central field umpire.]]
The most powerful organisation and competition within the game is the elite [[professional sport|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 either owned by or 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 organizations and competitions are affiliated to their state leagues.

{| class="wikitable"
!Region||Overview||Main Governing Body||Major Pro/Semi-Pro Comp || Major Amateur/College Comp
|-
|{{flagicon|Australian Capital Territory}} [[Australian Capital Territory]]||[[Australian rules football in the Australian Capital Territory|Overview]] ||[[AFL NSW/ACT]]||[[AFL Canberra]] || [[AFL Canberra]] [[District]] [[League]]
|-
|{{flagicon|New South Wales}} [[New South Wales]]||[[Australian rules football in New South Wales|Overview]]||[[AFL NSW/ACT]]|| - || [[Sydney AFL]]
|-
|{{flagicon|Northern Territory}} [[Northern Territory]]||[[Australian rules football in the Northern Territory|Overview]]||[[AFL Northern Territory]]||[[Northern Territory Football League]] || [[TEAFA]]
|-
|{{flagicon|Queensland}} [[Queensland]]||[[Australian rules football in Queensland|Overview]]||[[AFL Queensland]]||[[Queensland State League (Australian rules football)|Queensland State League]]||[[AFLQ State Association]]
|-
|{{flagicon|South Australia}} [[South Australia]]||[[Australian rules football in South Australia|Overview]]||[[South Australian National Football League|SANFL]]||[[South Australian National Football League]]||[[South Australian Amateur Football League]]
|-
|{{flagicon|Tasmania}} [[Tasmania]]||[[Australian rules football in Tasmania|Overview]]||[[AFL Tasmania]]||[[Northern Tasmanian Football League]]||-
|-
|{{flagicon|Victoria}} [[Victoria, Australia|Victoria]]||[[Australian rules football in Victoria, Australia|Overview]]||[[AFL Victoria]]||[[Victorian Football League]]||[[Victorian Amateur Football Association|VAFA]]
|-
|{{flagicon|Western Australia}} [[Western Australia]]||[[Australian rules football in Western Australia|Overview]]||[[West Australian Football Commission]]||[[West Australian Football League]]||[[Western Australian Amateur Football League]]
|}

===Relative Standards of Senior Club Competitions===
There are distinct tiers of playing standards and levels of professionalism in Australian Rules Football.
There are several factors which effect each league's ability to raise revenue through attendance and broadcasting including the ability to recruit or attract players, admission prices and competition with other leagues and sports.

At the higher end at least, these are evidenced by professionalism and the respective competition [[salary cap]]s.

{{Australian Rules Football Salary Caps}}

The primary pathway to the AFL competition is for junior players via the [[AFL National Draft]]. The AFL Rookie Draft system offers a smaller number of players the chance to play for AFL clubs for $25,750 [[AUD]] a year with the opportunity for promotion to a senior list.

Most AFL players are recruited at junior level and sourced from the [[TAC Cup]] competition or national and state Under 18 representative championships.

===National Championships===
====Senior====
{{see|Interstate matches in Australian rules football}}

====Country Championships====
====Women's====
The AFL Women's National Championships is the premier National and International competition in [[Women's Australian rules football]]. The tournament is organised by the sport's governing body [[Women's Football Australia]] (WFA).

The championships have been held every year since 1992.

In addition there is an U16 team from [[Papua New Guinea]] (that joined in 2006).

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="2" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
!| Flag || Team || Joined || First Competed || Titles
|-
| {{flagicon|Victoria}} || [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria-Senior]] || || || 14
|-
| {{flagicon|Victoria}} || [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria-U19]] || || || 1
|-
| {{flagicon|Western Australia}} || [[Western Australia]] || || ||
|-
| {{flagicon|South Australia}} || [[South Australia]] || || ||
|-
| {{flagicon|Australian Capital Territory}} || [[Australian Capital Territory]] || || ||
|-
| {{flagicon|Queensland}} || [[Queensland]] || || ||
|-
| {{flagicon|New South Wales}} || [[New South Wales]] || || ||
|-
| {{flagicon|Northern Territory}} || [[Northern Territory]] || || ||
|-
| || [[Australian Defence Force]] || || ||
|-
| {{flagicon|Papua New Guinea}} || [[Papua New Guinea]] || 2006 || ||
|}

====Under 18====
Formerly the [[Teal Cup]], the national championships are an annual national championship with two divisions.<ref>http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/the_history_of_the_teal_cup_and__afl_under_18_championships.htm The Story of the Teal Cup and AFL National Under 18 Championships</ref>

In 1989, Victoria was split into two teams - Metro and Country to ensure that other states could remain competitive.

The competition is currently sponsored by [[National Australia Bank]].

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="2" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
!| Year || Division 1 Premiers || Larke Medal || Division 2 Premiers || Hunter-Harrison Medal
|-
| 1989 ||{{flagicon|Victoria}} VIC Country || || ||
|-
| 1990 || {{flagicon|Victoria}} VIC Metro || || ||
|-
| 1991 ||{{flagicon|South Australia}} SA || || ||
|-
| 1992 || {{flagicon|Victoria}} VIC Metro || || ||
|-
| 1993 || {{flagicon|Victoria}} VIC Metro || || ||
|-
| 1994 || {{flagicon|Victoria}} VIC Metro || || ||
|-
| 1995 ||{{flagicon|South Australia}} SA || || ||
|-
| 1996 || {{flagicon|Victoria}} VIC Metro || || ||
|-
| 1997 || {{flagicon|Victoria}} VIC Metro || || ||
|-
| 1998 || {{flagicon|Victoria}} VIC Metro || || NSW/ACT ||
|-
| 1999 ||{{flagicon|Western Australia}} WA || || QLD||
|-
| 2000 ||{{flagicon|Victoria}} VIC Country || || NSW/ACT ||
|-
| 2001 || {{flagicon|Victoria}} VIC Metro || || ||
|-
| 2002 || {{flagicon|Victoria}} VIC Metro || || ||
|-
| 2003 || {{flagicon|Victoria}} VIC Country || [[Kepler Bradley]] (WA) || NSW/ACT ||
|-
| 2004 || {{flagicon|Victoria}} VIC Metro || [[Jesse W. Smith|Jesse Smith]] (Vic Metro) || || [[Richard Tambling]] (NT)
|-
| 2005 || {{flagicon|Victoria}} VIC Metro || [[Marc Murphy]] (Vic Metro) || || [[Grant Birchall]] (TAS)
|-
| 2006 || {{flagicon|Victoria}} VIC Metro || [[Tom Hawkins (footballer)|Tom Hawkins]] (Vic Metro) || QLD || [[Ricky Petterd]] (QLD)
|-
| 2007 || {{flagicon|Western Australia}} WA || [[Cale Morton]] (WA) || NSW/ACT || Craig Bird (NSW/ACT)
|-
| [[2008 AFL National Under 18 Championships|2008]] || {{flagicon|Victoria}} Vic Metro || Jack Watts (Vic Metro) || Tasmania || Mitch Robinson (TAS)
|-
|}

=====Under 18 All-Australian Team=====

====Under 16====
The competition is currently sponsored by [[National Australia Bank]].
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="2" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
!| Year || Division 1 Premiers || Medal || Division 2 Premiers || McLean Medal
|-
| [[2008 NAB AFL National Under 16 Championships|2008]] || || || ||
|}

==Notes and references==
{{reflist}}

==See also==
*[[Australian Football League]]
*[[Australian Institute of Sport]]
*[[List of Australian rules football clubs in Australia]]

{{Australian rules football in Australia}}

{{Aussie Rules Playing Nations links}}

{{Australian sport}}

[[Category:Australian rules football|Australia]]

Revision as of 02:25, 11 October 2008

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