Australian rules football in Australia
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| Australian rules football in Australia | |||
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| Contesting for possession in an indigenous community Aussie Rules game in the Northern Territory | |||
| Governing body | Australian Football League | ||
| National team | Australia | ||
| First played | 1858, Melbourne, Victoria | ||
| Registered players | 615,549 (total)[1] 120,000 (adult) |
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| Clubs | 2,548[citation needed] | ||
| Competitions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| National | |||
| - AFL | |||
| Club | |||
| - SANFL | |||
| - VFL | |||
| - WAFL | |||
| - Queensland State League | |||
| - NTAFL | |||
| - Northern Tasmanian | |||
| - Southern Tasmanian | |||
| - O&M | |||
| - Sydney AFL | |||
| - AFL Canberra | |||
| Audience records | |||
| Single match | 121,696 - 1970 VFL Grand Final | ||
| Season | 6,283,788 - 2005 AFL season | ||
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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[2] of Australia since 1915 and is particularly popular in 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.
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[edit] Popularity
The sport has attracted more overall interest among Australians than any other winter sport for at least several years [3]. It is the most popular football code in Australia and it was created in Australia for Australians then is Australian national sport of Australians by Australians. It has over 150 years of immense support and it is linked into Australian culture permanently until it falls out of style. It is particularly popular amongst indigenous Australian communities. Approximately 10% of all AFL players are of indigenous origin.
[edit] Footy in Australian popular 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.
[edit] 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.[4] In 2005, a cumulative 6,283,788 people attended Australian Football League (AFL) premiership matches, a record for the competition.[5] A further 307,181 attended NAB Cup pre-season matches and 117,552 attended Regional Challenge pre-season practice matches around the country[6].
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 SANFL drew an attendance of 303,354 in 2005, the Western Australian WAFL drew an official attendance of 202,797 in 2004 and the Victorian VFL (including a Tasmanian side, the 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 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 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 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Australian rules football has achieved a #1 rating in the sports category in both 2004 and 2005.
Some of the more popular regional leagues have the "match of the week" televised locally and free-to-air on ABC Television's state networks. In Victoria (ABV) and Tasmania (ABT) both show the VFL, in Western Australia (ABW) it is the WAFL, in South Australia (ABS) it is the SANFL and in the Northern Territory (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.[7]
[edit] 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. [8]
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.[9]
Around 87,000 participants are Indigenous Australians. In 2008, there were 72 indigenous players in the AFL.[10]
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%).[11]
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). [12]
[edit] Australian and Cultural Issues
[edit] 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[13] and the much publicized case involving VFL player Leigh Matthews which ended the public perception that on-field football assaults are somehow legal.[14] League penalties for such actions have also generally increased in recent years[15] and overall violence has decreased over time.[16]
[edit] Drug Abuse
Performance enhancing drug abuse is also rare according to official studies[17] despite some high profile recent cases and criticisms from the media and government[18] of the AFL's own anti-doping code[19] which although strict, does not comply with the World Anti-Doping Agency protocols.
[edit] Racism
- Further information: 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.[20]
[edit] 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 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.
[edit] 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 caps.
| League | Region | Salary Cap (AUD) | Service payments excluded | Average player annual salary | Average salary per game | Highest paid (per year approx) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Football League | Australia (national) | $8,500,000[21] | Yes | $217,900[22] | $9,900 | $1,000,000 |
| South Australian National Football League | South Australia | $400,000[23] | Yes | $2,000 | ||
| Victorian Football League | Victoria | $300,000 | Yes | |||
| West Australian Football League | Western Australia | $200,000[24] | Yes | |||
| AFL Queensland State League | Queensland | $120,000[25] | Yes | |||
| Southern Football League | Tasmania | $55,000[26] | Yes | |||
| Northern Tasmanian Football League | Tasmania | $52,500[27] | Yes | |||
| Sydney AFL | New South Wales | |||||
| AFL Canberra | Australian Capital Territory | |||||
| Northern Territory Football League | Northern Territory | |||||
| Ovens & Murray Football League | Victoria |
- excludes service payments
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.
[edit] National Championships
[edit] Senior
- Further information: Interstate matches in Australian rules football
[edit] Country Championships
[edit] 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).
| Flag | Team | Joined | First Competed | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
.svg){kind=small} |
Victoria-Senior | 14 | ||
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Victoria-U19 | 1 | ||
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Western Australia | |||
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South Australia | |||
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Australian Capital Territory | |||
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Queensland | |||
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New South Wales | |||
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Northern Territory | |||
| Australian Defence Force | ||||
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Papua New Guinea | 2006 |
[edit] Under 18
Formerly the Teal Cup, the national championships are an annual national championship with two divisions.[28]
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.
| Year | Division 1 Premiers | Larke Medal | Division 2 Premiers | Hunter-Harrison Medal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | VIC Country |
Ray Windsor (QLD) | ||
| 1990 | VIC Metro |
Paul Williams (Tas) | ||
| 1991 | SA |
Robert Neill (ACT) | ||
| 1992 | VIC Metro |
Daniel Southern (WA) | ||
| 1993 | VIC Metro |
Shaun McManus (WA) | ||
| 1994 | VIC Metro |
Daniel Harford (Vic Metro) | ||
| 1995 | SA |
Luke Godden (Vic Metro) & Ben Setchell (Vic Country) | ||
| 1996 | VIC Metro |
Pat Steinfort (Vic Metro) | ||
| 1997 | VIC Metro |
Tim Finocchiaro (Vic Metro) | ||
| 1998 | VIC Metro |
Garth Taylor (WA) | NSW/ACT | |
| 1999 | WA |
Paul Hasleby (WA) | QLD | |
| 2000 | VIC Country |
Kayne Pettifer (Vic Country) | NSW/ACT | |
| 2001 | VIC Metro |
Sam Power (Vic Metro) & Steven Armstrong (WA) | ||
| 2002 | VIC Metro |
Byron Schammer (SA) | ||
| 2003 | VIC Country |
Kepler Bradley (WA) | NSW/ACT | |
| 2004 | VIC Metro |
Jesse Smith (Vic Metro) | Richard Tambling (NT) | |
| 2005 | VIC Metro |
Marc Murphy (Vic Metro) | Grant Birchall (TAS) | |
| 2006 | VIC Metro |
Tom Hawkins (Vic Metro) | QLD | Ricky Petterd (QLD) |
| 2007 | WA |
Cale Morton (WA) | NSW/ACT | Craig Bird (NSW/ACT) |
| 2008 | Vic Metro |
Jack Watts (Vic Metro) | Tasmania | Mitch Robinson (TAS) |
[edit] Under 18 All-Australian Team
[edit] Under 16
The competition is currently sponsored by National Australia Bank.
| Year | Division 1 Premiers | Medal | Division 2 Premiers | McLean Medal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 |
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ More chase Sherrin than before
- ^ excluding Jervis Bay and external territories
- ^ "If you can kick it, Australia will watch it", The Sydney Morning Herald (2003-05-22).
- ^ Sports Attendance, Australian Bureau of Statistics, April 1999.
- ^ "Aussie Rules sets attendance record", The Sydney Morning Herald (2005-08-28).
- ^ 403 Forbidden
- ^ SANFL Website
- ^ Participation in exercise, recreation and sport, Australian Sports Commission Annual Report 2004.
- ^ http://www.ausport.gov.au/scorsresearch/ERASS2005/ERASS2005_findings.pdf Participation in Exercise, Recreation and Sport Survey 2005 Annual Report
- ^ Australian Government. Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. From the AFL Record, Round 9 (Indigenous Round). 2008
- ^ "Even a cyclone can't stop the footy", The Age (2005-03-20).
- ^ 4901.0 Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities, Australia (Apr 2003)
- ^ Footballer jailed for on-field assault
- ^ [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/09/15/1031608345061.html Memories are made of this]
- ^ Even in battle, players must aim higher
- ^ Violence in Sport: Some Theoretical and Practical Issues in the Australian Context from the Australian Institute of Criminology
- ^ Drug doping in senior Australian rules football: a survey for frequency
- ^ AFL bows to federal anti-dope pressure
- ^ [http://www.aflpa.com.au/index.cfm?menuid=2C305B25-EA4C-9FEC-C6F442B297FDF5FC AFL Anti-Doping Code]
- ^ http://www.theage.com.au/news/cricket/icc-may-adopt-afl-racial-vilification-laws/2008/07/09/1215282926817.html
- ^ http://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/NewsFeatures/News/NewsArticle/tabid/5586/Default.aspx?newsId=64528
- ^ http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23299903-5012432,00.html
- ^ 2007 Salary Cap Changes - FootySA
- ^ Clamp on stars as salary cap lifted from thewest.com.au
- ^ AFL Queensland Competitions Rules and Regulations 2008, p. 71.
- ^ State league tough master from themercury.com.au
- ^ The Examiner Newspaper - Northern Tasmania news, classifieds and community
- ^ 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
[edit] See also
- Australian Football League
- Australian Institute of Sport
- List of Australian rules football clubs in Australia
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