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Australian Football League from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia This Article Is About the Sporting League

Australian Football League from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia This Article Is About the Sporting League

Australian League From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the sporting league. For the sport itself, see Australian rules football. Australian Football League Current season, competition or edition: 2014 AFL season Australian Football League.svg Formerly Victorian Football League (18971989) Sport Australian rules football Founded 1897 Commissioner Gillon McLachlan Inaugural season 1897 No. of teams 18 Country Most recent champion(s) Hawthorn (11th premiership) Most titles Carlton Essendon (16 premierships each) TV partner(s) Foxtel Sponsor(s) Toyota Related competitions VFL, VFA Official website .com.au The Australian Football League (AFL) is the highest-level professional competiti on in the sport of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AF L also serves as the sport's governing body, and is responsible for controlling the Laws of the Game. The league was founded as the Victorian Football League (V FL) as a breakaway from previous Victorian Football Association (VFA), with its inaugural season commencing in 1897. Originally comprising only teams based in t he Australian state of , the competition's name was changed to the Austr alian Football League for the 1990 season, after expanding to other states throu ghout the 1980s. The league currently consists of 18 teams spread over five states of Australia, although the majority (ten teams) are still based in Victoria. The AFL season cu rrently consists of a pre-season competition (currently branded as the "NAB Chal lenge"), followed by a 23-round regular (or "home-and-away") season, which runs during the Australian winter (March to September). The top eight teams then play off in a finals series culminating in the AFL , which is held at the Ground each year. The winning team in the Grand Final is term ed the "premiers", and is awarded the premiership cup. The current premiers are Hawthorn. Contents 1 History 1.1 18961914: VFL begins 1.2 19141945: Between the world wars 1.3 1950s 1.4 1960s 1.5 1970s 1.6 1980s: National expansion 1.7 1990s: A new era 1.8 2000s 1.9 2010s: Further expansion 2 Clubs 2.1 Current clubs 2.2 Former clubs 3 Venues 4 Players 4.1 4.2 Demographics 4.2.1 Indigenous Australian players 4.2.2 International players 5 Season structure 5.1 Pre-season 5.2 Premiership season 5.2.1 Themed rounds and special matches 5.3 Finals Series 5.3.1 List of VFL/AFL Grand Finalists 6 Awards 6.1 Major annual awards 6.2 Team of the 7 Records 8 Representative football 8.1 State football 8.1.1 History of the VFL/AFL's involvement 8.2 International Rules Series 9 Administration 10 Audience 10.1 Attendance 10.2 Television 10.2.1 Australian television 10.2.2 Telecast History 10.2.3 International broadcast partners 10.3 Global 10.4 Radio 10.5 Internet 11 Corporate relations 11.1 Sponsorship 11.1.1 Publishing and print 11.2 Membership 11.3 Merchandising 11.3.1 AFL World 11.3.2 Video games 11.3.3 Gambling 12 See also 13 Notes 14 References 15 External links History 18961914: VFL begins Former VFL/AFL Logo (pre-1990) now the logo of the Victorian Football League. The Victorian Football League was established in 1896 when six of the strongest clubs in Victoria Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne and South M elbourne broke away from the established Victorian Football Association to estab lish the new league. The six clubs invited two more VFA clubs Carlton and St Kil da to join the league for its inaugural season in 1897. Among the notable initia tives established in the new league was an annual finals tournament, rather than awarding the premiership directly to the team with the best record through the season; and, the formal establishment of the modern system, in which six points are scored for a goal, and one point is scored for a behind. Although the Victorian Football League and the Victorian Football Association co ntinued to compete for spectator interest for many years, the VFL quickly establ ished itself as the premier competition in Victoria. In the early years Fitzroy and Collingwood were the dominant teams. Following the arrival of a s coach in 1903, Carlton began a dominating period, during which they won three successive flags from 1906 to 1908; although Worrall was secretary, he took on a player management and direction role which is today recognised as the first official coaching job in the league. Essendon won flags in 1911 and 1912, also under Jack Worrall's coaching. In 1908, the league expanded to ten teams, with Richmond crossing from the VFA a nd University from the Metropolitan Football Association. University, after thre e promising seasons, finished last each year from 1911 until 1914, including los ing 51 matches in a row; this was in part caused by its' players focus on their studies rather than football, particularly during examinations, and it was partl y because the club operated on an amateur basis at a time when player payments w ere becoming common and as a result, the club withdrew from the VFL at the end o f 1914. University teams now compete in the Victorian Amateur Football Associati on.[1][2] From 1907 until 1914, the VFL premier and the premier of the -based Sout h Australian Football League met in a playoff match for the Championship of Aust ralia. 19141945: Between the world wars The VFL Grand Final in 1946 from the stands of the Main article: The VFL during the World Wars In 1919, the VFL established a seconds/reserves competition to run alongside the senior competition. In 1924 the VFL inaugurated the for the play er who received the most votes from the umpires for the player. Richmond won its first Premierships in 1920 and 1921 but Essendon battlers sinc e their 1912 flag took over as the dominant team between 1922 and 1926. In 1925, the VFL expanded from nine teams to twelve, with Footscray, Hawthorn an d North Melbourne each crossing from the VFA. North Melbourne and Hawthorn remai ned very weak in the VFL for a very long period. North Melbourne did not win mor e than eight games in a season until 1944 and Hawthorn only once won more than s even until 1954. Between them, Hawthorn and North Melbourne finished in last pla ce fifteen of the twenty-nine years from their admittance until 1953. Footscray 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 so far, the only, team to win four successive Premierships. The club also finished the 1929 home-and-away season without losing a game, a feat yet to be repeated. This tea m became known as "the Machine" because of the organised and consistent way it p layed. With Premiership victories in 1935 and 1936, the Collingwood Football Clu b had already won 11 Premierships, four more than the next most successful club, Fitzroy (7). In the 1930s, Richmond and South Melbourne rivaled Collingwood as the best team. Melbourne, which had won the Premiership in 1926 but fallen off sharply, develo ped a powerful attacking side that swept all before it between 1939 and 1941 to win three successive flags. Essendon, after a lean decade in the 1930s, enjoyed a dominant period with nine grand final appearances between 1941 and 1951. 1950s In 1946, the VFL established an Under 19s grade of competition, to run alongside the seniors and reserves. In 1951, the McClelland Trophy was established as a p rize for the best performing team across all three grades. In 1952, the VFL host ed 'National Day', when all six matches were played outside of Melbourne. Matche s were played at the Cricket Ground, Exhibition Ground, North Ho bart Oval, and Victorian country towns Yallourn and Euroa. In 1959, the VFL planned the first purpose built mega-stadium, VFL Park (later k nown as ), to give it some independence from the , which managed the Melbourne Cricket Ground. VFL Park was planned to hold 1 55,000 spectators, which would have made it one of the largest stadiums in the w orld although it would ultimately be built with a capacity of 78,000. Land for t he stadium was purchased at Mulgrave, in those days just farmland, but one day p redicted to be near the demographic centre of Melbourne's population. Geelong was the stand out team at the beginning of the 1950s, winning the Premie rship in 1951 then setting an enduring record of 23 consecutive wins starting in Round 12, 1952 and ending in Round 13, 1953. This streak included the 1952 Prem iership. Footscray became the first of the 1925 expansion teams to win the premi ership in 1954. Melbourne became a powerhouse during the 1950s and early 1960s under coach and star player . The club contested seven consecutive Grand Fi nals from 1954 to 1960, winning five Premierships, including three in a row betw een 1955 and 1957. Television coverage began in 1957, with direct telecasts of pe rmitted. At first, several channels competed through broadcasting different game s. However, when the VFL found that television was reducing crowds, it decided t hat no coverage was to be allowed for 1960. In 1961, replays (in Melbourne) were introduced although direct telecasts were rarely permitted in Melbourne (other States and Territories, however, enjoyed live telecasts every Saturday afternoon ). The VFL Premiership Trophy was first awarded in addition to a pennant flag in 19 59; essentially the same trophy design has been in use since. 1960s In the 1960s, television began to have a huge impact, which continues unabated t o 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 post- game review programs. There were also several attempts at variety programs featu ring VFL players, who generally succeeded in demonstrating that their skills wer e 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. Hawthorn won its first premiership in 1961, beating Footscray. Melbourne extende d its success from the 1950s by winning the premiership in 1964, but its success ended abruptly when Barassi was recruited by Carlton as captain-coach after the season, followed by Norm Smith being sacked during the 1965 season. Melbourne w ould not return to the finals for twenty-three years, and (as of 2014) has not y et won another premiership. St Kilda, which had never won a VFL or VFA premiership in more than 93 years of competition, won its first and, to date, only premiership, in a famous Grand Fin al victory against Collingwood by one point. 1970s With the number of players recruited from country leagues increasing, the wealth ier clubs were gaining an advantage that metropolitan zoning and the Coulter law (salary cap) restricting player payments had prevented in the past. Country zon ing was introduced in the late 1960s, and whilst it pushed Essendon and Geelong from the top of the ladder, it created severe inequality during the 1970s and 19 80s. Between 1972 and 1987, only six of the league's twelve clubs Carlton, Colli ngwood, Essendon, Hawthorn, North Melbourne and Richmond played in Grand Finals; by comparison, nine different clubs had contested Grand Finals between 1961 and 1967. The 1970 season saw the opening of VFL Park, with the inaugural match being play ed 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 n ow heritage listed Sir Kenneth Luke stand. The Queen of Australia, Elizabeth II was a guest at the game and officially opened the stadium to the public. The 197 0 Grand Final between traditional rivals Carlton and Collingwood, arguably the l eague's most famous game, saw Carlton recover from a 44-point deficit at half-ti me to win the game by ten points, featured a famous by Alex Jes aulenko, and was witnessed by a record crowd of 121,696. Carlton and Richmond won three premierships each between 19681974, facing each ot her in three Grand Finals. North Melbourne, after struggling for most of its tim e in the VFL, finally won its first premiership in 1975, and contesting the Gran d Final each year from 19741978, winning two; three of those deciders were agains t fellow 1925 Hawthorn, who also won two premierships. Carlton wo n three premierships in four years from 19791982. Among the notable rule changes made during the decade were: The finals series was expanded from four teams to five in 1972. The introduction of the centre diamond, later changed to a square, to limit the number of players allowed around the centre bounce to four per team. The introduction of a second field umpire in 1976. The introduction of unlimited interchange in 1978, replacing substitution, w hich had been in place previously. 1980s: National expansion The 1980s was a period of significant structural change in Australian football a round the country. The VFL was the most popular and dominant of the state league s around the country in terms of overall attendance, interest, and money, and be gan to look towards expanding its influence directly into other states. The VFL and its top clubs already had the buying power to recruit top players from inter state. As a result of this, rising cost pressures were driving some of Victoria' s weaker clubs into dire financial situations. But in spite of the increasing dominance of Victoria, the country's three top le agues the VFL, 's SANFL and 's WAFL were never c loser to an integrated competition than they were in the early 1980s, with teams from all three leagues competing in the Night Series, a competition run separat e to the league competitions on weekday evenings. South Melbourne became the first VFL club to relocate interstate, and the club m oved to Sydney to become the in 1982; under the private ownership o f wealthy Dr Geoffrey Edelsten during the mid-1980s, Sydney became a successful team on-field. In 1986, the West Australian Football League and Austr alian Football League were awarded licences to join the VFL as expansion teams, leading to the establishment of the and , who bo th joined the league in 1987. These expansion team licences were awarded on paym ent of multi-million dollar fees which were not required of the existing VFL clu bs. Interstate clubs dropped out of the Night Series, and by 1987 it consisted s olely of VFL clubs; it was shifted to become the modern day pre-season competiti on in 1988. In 1989, financial troubles nearly forced Footscray and Fitzroy to m erge, but a fundraising event from Footscray supporters stopped the proposed mer ger at the eleventh hour. The 1980s first saw new regular timeslots for VFL matches. VFL matches had previ ously been played on Saturday afternoons, but Sydney began playing its home matc hes on Sunday afternoons, and North Melbourne pioneered playing matches on Frida y night. These have since become regular timeslots for all teams. In the late 1980s, the former zoning arrangements which had led to such inequali ty between the stronger and weaker clubs began to be phased out. The first Natio nal was introduced in 1986, and a salary cap was introduced in 1987. Over the following decade, these changes helped to equalise the clubs, minimising the ability for the richer clubs to dominate the league. In 1984, there was a revival of the International Rules representative series, w hich had first been played in the 1960s. The matches were played with a hybrid s et of rules based on Australian rules football and Gaelic football. It also bega n to pave the way for Gaelic footballers to convert to Australian football; pion eered by Melbourne and known as the Irish experiment, Irish players Sean Wight a nd began their successful VFL/AFL careers in the mid-1980s. Many Iris h players have since played professional AFL football. On-field, the 1980s were dominated by Hawthorn, Essendon and Carlton: Hawthorn c ontested seven consecutive Grand Finals for four premierships; Carlton contested four Grand Finals for three flags; and Essendon contested three consecutive Gra nd Finals, all against Hawthorn, winning two, and establishing a bitter rivalry. In the process, Carlton and Essendon both passed Collingwood in terms of number of premierships won; since 1982, Carlton has continuously been the team with mo st premierships won, holding the position jointly with Essendon for much of that time. The 1989 Grand Final between Hawthorn and Geelong is considered one of th e finest Grand Finals, with many strong physical encounters, a joint Grand Final record nine goals by Geelong's Gary Ablett, Sr., and Geelong coming back from a 36-point deficit at three quarter time to fall six points short of victory. 1990s: A new era Former AFL Logo (199099) The league was officially renamed the Australian Football League in 1990 to refl ect the new national perspective;[3] the VFA later took over the Victorian Footb all League name in 1996. Functionally, the AFL gave up control over its Victoria n-based minor grades at the end of 1991 clubs continued to field reserves teams in the independent Victorian State Football League, while an entirely new under- 18s competition (the TAC Cup) was established with new, zone-based clubs. Withou t minor grades, the McClelland Trophy was now awarded to the senior minor premie rs. Collingwood won the AFL Premiership in 1990, ending a 32-year premiership drough t, which featured a string of near misses known as the Colliwobbles that had see n the club lose eight Grand Finals. In 1990, the SANFL's most successful club, Port Adelaide, made a bid for an AFL licence. In response, the SANFL established a composite South Australian team ca lled the Adelaide Crows, which was awarded the licence and joined the league in 1991 as the fourth interstate club. The same year saw the West Coast Eagles beco me the first interstate club reach the Grand Final, losing to Hawthorn; the Eagl es would then win the premiership in 1992 and 1994. In 1994, the Footb all Club was formed in Western Australia, and joined in the AFL in 1995, becomin g the fifth interstate club. In 1996, the VFL/AFL celebrated its centenary; the Australian Football Hall of F ame was established and the VFL/AFL Team of the Century was named. However, seve ral Victorian clubs were in severe financial difficulties, most notably Fitzroy and Hawthorn. Hawthorn had proposed to merge with Melbourne to form the Melbourn e Hawks, but the merger ultimately fell through and both teams continued as sepa rate entities. For Fitzroy, however, the club was too weak to continue by itself ; the club nearly merged with North Melbourne to form the Fitzroy-North Melbourn e Kangaroos, but after the other clubs voted against it, the club merged with Br isbane to become the .[4] Fitzroy played its last match at the end of 1996.With the Brisbane-Fitzroy merger, Port Adelaide was awarded an AFL lice nce, and joined the league in 1997. The AFL rejected bids from Queensland club S outhport Sharks and the Tasmanian government to enter teams. Some of the rule changes of the decade included the introduction of a third fiel d umpire in 1994, a blood rule in 1994, and the introduction of a third (1994) a nd fourth (1998) interchange player. The International Rules series against the Gaelic Athletic Association was revived again in 1998, and has become a semi-per manent fixture since. The finals series was expanded from five teams to six in 1 991, and then to eight teams in 1994. Through the 1990s, there was a significant trend of Melbourne-based teams abando ning the use of their small (20,00030,000 capacity) suburban venues for home matc hes, in favour of the larger MCG and Waverley Park. The 1990s saw the last match es played at Windy Hill (Essendon), (St Kilda), Western Oval (Foo tscray) and Victoria Park (Collingwood), and saw abandoned by its l ong-term co-tenant Hawthorn. The transition to the use of only two venues in Mel bourne was ultimately completed in 2005, when Carlton abandoned the use of Princ es Park. There was no dominant club in the latter part of the 1990s, although North Melbo urne was the most successful, winning two premierships from three Grand Finals. Adelaide won two Grand Finals, and Carlton won one Grand Final from two appearan ces. In 1999, the league sold Waverley Park stadium and used the funds in a joint ven ture to begin construction of a brand-new stadium situated at Melbourne's Dockla nds. Representative state football came to an end, with the last State of Origin match held in 1999. 2000s [5] An AFL match at The AFL logo was again changed in 2000, with a new look intended to coincide wit h the new millennium. Rivals Collingwood and Carlton, played a pre-season match known as the 'Millennium Match' on New Year's Eve 1999. The new Docklands Stadiu m hosted its first match in Round 1, 2000, and it was the first AFL match played under a retractable roof. After Victorian State Football League ceased operatio n at the end of 1999, the Victorian-based AFL clubs established connections with the Victorian Football League (a rebranding of the former VFA), with clubs eith er fielding reserves teams in the VFL, or entering into affiliations with existi ng senior VFL clubs to serve as feeder teams. The early 2000s were dominated by Essendon, Brisbane and Port Adelaide, who shar ed the five flags from 20002004. Essendon won minor premierships in 19992001, but converted only the 2000 season into a premiership; Essendon's 2000 season set an enduring record, with a win-loss record of 241 across the home and away season a nd finals, the best ever recorded. Brisbane contested four consecutive Grand Fin als, winning three from 20012003. Port Adelaide won minor premierships in 20022004 , and broke through for its first premiership in the 2004 season. The dominance of interstate clubs continued to six consecutive flags, with Sydney and West Coa st facing each other in 2005 and 2006 Grand Finals for one flag each, with both matches decided by less than a goal. The 2002 season saw the finish last, becoming the last of the twelve VFL clubs to win its first wooden spoon, before being heavily penalis ed for cheating the salary cap a few years earlier; the penalties saw Carlton st ay near the bottom of the ladder for the next six years. An AFL match at in Adelaide A series of new rule changes were introduced for the 2006 season intended to spe ed up the game, allowing full-backs to kick in more quickly after a behind, and limiting the length of time that a player was allowed to hold the ball after a m ark to 8 seconds for a mark in general play, and 30 seconds for a set shot. Several teams established a regular presence in other parts of Australasia durin g the 21st century, generally by playing between one and four home matches in th e alternative location. Among the notable contracts were including Hawthorn (Lau nceston), St Kilda (Launceston and Wellington[6]), North Melbourne (Gold Coast, and ), Richmond (Cairns), Port Adelaide (Darwin) and the (Darwin). In the late 2000s, the AFL looked to establish a permanent presence on the Gold Coast, which was fast-developing as a major population centre. North Melbourne, who was in financial difficulty and had played a few home games on the Gold Coas t in previous years, was offered significant subsidies to relocate to the Gold C oast, but the club declined. The AFL then began work to establish a club on the Gold Coast as a new expansion team; the were established, and jo ined the AFL in 2011 as the 17th team. The Giants, based on both Western Sydney and Canberra, were then established, and entered the leag ue as the 18th team in 2012. Early in 2008, a meeting held by the AFL discussed having two new teams enter th e AFL competition.[7] In March 2008, the AFL won the support of the league's 16 club presidents to establish a side on the Gold Coast and further also a side in Western Sydney they both would enter the competition in 2011 and 2012 respectiv ely. The AFL has also considered a bid from the Tasmanian government for a licence fo r a Tasmanian team.[8] A third team based in Sydney has been suggested.[9] A thi rd team based in has been suggested.[10] On 25 April 2013 the Westpac Stad ium in Wellington, hosted the first ever Australian Football League game played for premiership points outside of Australia. The night game between St Kilda and Sydney was played in front of a crowd of 22,183 on to hon our the Anzac bond between the two countries.[11][12] At the official pre-match function the Prime Minister of New Zealand John Key used the occasion to raise t he prospect of a New Zealand based AFL team, saying "Let's get real. We've got t o get a New Zealand side in the AFL."[12] 2010s: Further expansion In 2010, a licence was granted to the Greater Western Sydney Giants, a second Sy dney-based team based at Homebush in Western Sydney. The team also plays some of its home games in Canberra, A.C.T.. Also in the 2010 season, the AFL experience d the third Grand Final draw in its history when St Kilda drew with Collingwood. The was staged 1 week later with Collingwood running out premiers. In 2011 new club, the Gold Coast Suns entered the league[13] having been granted a licence in 2009. In the 2011 season Geelong returned to the Grand Final and d efeated Collingwood. In 2012 the Greater Western Sydney Giants joined the league and played their first season finishing in last place. Sydney won their 5th pre miership defeating Hawthorn, but Hawthorn would redeem themselves one year later by defeating Fremantle to win the 2013 title. This also marked Fremantle's firs t Grand Final since joining the competition in 1995. The 2014 season marked 's last as CEO of the AFL. He announced h is retirement from the position and stepped down in June 2014 being replaced by Gillon McLachlan. The 2014 season also saw Peta Searle become the first woman ap pointed as a development coach in the AFL when she joined St Kilda.[14] Clubs Australia Melbourne Inner Locator.PNG West Coast Fremantle Adelaide Port Adelaide Brisbane 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, conferences nor pr omotion and relegation from other leagues. The league was founded as the Victorian Football League (VFL) in 1897, consistin g of eight teams only based in the Australian state of Victoria. Over the next c entury, a series of expansions, a relocation, a merger and a club withdrawal saw the leagues teams expand to the 18 teams there are today. The current 18 teams are based across 5 state of Australia. The majority (10) st ill remain in Victoria, while the states of , Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia have two each. In 1990 the national nature of the competition resulted in the name change to the Australian Football League. Current clubs Club Moniker Headquarters State/Territory Stadium Founded First season Head coach Crows AAMI Stadium, Adelaide South Australia 1990 1991 Brisbane Lions Lions , Brisbane Queensland The Gabba 1996 1997 Carlton Football Club Blues Princes Park, Carlton North Victoria Docklands Stadium 1864 1897 Collingwood Football Club Magpies Olympic Park, Melbourne Victoria Melbourne Cricket Ground 1892 1897 Bombers True Value Solar Centre, Melbourne Airpo rt Victoria Docklands Stadium 1871 1897 Mark Thompson Dockers , Fremantle Western Australia 1994 1995 Cats , Geelong Victoria Kardinia Park 1859 1897 Chris Scott Gold Coast Football Club Suns , Gold Coast Queensl and Carrara Stadium 2009 2011 Guy McKenna Greater Western Sydney Football Club Giants Tom Wills Oval, Sydney Olympic P ark New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory Sydney Showgroun d Stadium 2009 2012 Hawks Waverley Park, Mulgrave Victoria Melbourne Cricket Ground Aurora Stadium 1902 1925 Demons AAMI Park, Melbourne Victoria Melbourne Cricket Ground 1859 1897 Paul Roos North Melbourne Football Club Kangaroos , North Melbour ne Victoria Docklands Stadium 1869 1925 Brad Scott Port Adelaide Football Club Power , Alberton South A ustralia Adelaide Oval 1870 1997 Tigers , Richmond Victoria Melbourne Cricket Ground 1885 1908 Saints Linen House Centre, Seaford Victoria Docklands Stadium 1873 1897 Alan Richardson Sydney Swans Swans , Sydney New South Wales Sydney Cricket Ground 1874 1897 West Coast Eagles Eagles Subiaco Oval, Subiaco Western Australia Subiaco Oval 1986 1987 Western Bulldogs Bulldogs , Footscray Victori a Docklands Stadium 1877 1925 Brendan McCartney Former clubs Since the Australian Football League commenced in 1897 as the Victorian Football League, only one club has left the competition, the Melbourne University Footba ll Club; it last competed in 1914, and withdrew because, as a strictly amateur c lub, it became unable to remain competitive in a time when player payments were becoming common;[1][2] the club still competes to this day in the Victorian Amat eur Football Association. Two other clubs, the (Fitzroy Li ons) and the Brisbane Bears, merged in 1996 to form the Brisbane Lions. Venues Main article: List of Australian Football League grounds Melbourne, Victoria Sydney, New South Wales Melbourne, Victoria Adelaide, South Australia Melbourne Cricket Ground Stadium Australia Docklands Stadium Adelaide Oval Capacity: 100,024 Capacity: 82,500 Capacity: 56,347 Capacity : 53,583 AFL Grand Final 2010 on the Melbourne Cricket Ground.jpg ANZ Stadium, Ess endon.jpg Aerial view of Etihad Stadium.jpg Completed Adelaide Oval 2014 - cropped and rotated.jpg Sydney, New South Wales Australian Football League is located in Australia Subiaco Oval Subiaco Oval TIO Stadium TIO Stadium Cazaly's Stadium Cazaly's Stadium Carrara Stadium Carrara Stadium Gabba Gabba Manuka Manuka York Park Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval Kardinia Kardinia MCG MCG Docklands Docklands SCG SCG Stadium Australia Stadium Australia Showgrounds Showgrounds Bellerive Oval Traeger Park Brisbane, Queensland Sydney Cricket Ground The Gabba Capacity: 48,000 Capacity: 42,000 SCG members.jpg The Gabba Panorama.jpg Perth, Western Australia Geelong, Victoria Subiaco Oval Kardinia Park Capacity: 43,500 Capacity: 33,500 SubiOval.JPG Skilled-stadium-geelong.jpg Gold Coast, Queensland Sydney, New South Wales Launceston, Tasmania Hobart, Tasmania Carrara Stadium Sydney Showground Stadium York Park Belleriv e Oval Capacity: 25,000 Capacity: 25,000 Capacity: 21,000 Capacity : 16,200 Adelaide v Gold Coast - Carrara crowd.jpg Skoda Stadium.png Hawthorn v Western Bulldogs - 31st May 2008 181.jpg Bellerive oval hobart.jpg Canberra, ACT Darwin, Northern Territory Cairns, Queensland Traeger Park, Northern Territory Manuka Oval Marrara Stadium Cazaly's Stadium Traeger Park Capacity: 15,000 Capacity: 15,000 Capacity: 12,000 Capacity : 10,000 Manuka Oval.JPG TIO Stadium.jpg Cazaly's Stadium.jpg Traeger Park 4916.jpg Throughout the history of the VFL/AFL, there have been a total of 42 different g rounds used, with 14 used during the 2014 season.[15] The largest capacity groun d in use is the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), which has a capacity of over 100 ,000 people, and hosts the Grand Final each year.[16] The MCG is shared by five teams as a home ground, whilst the other grounds used as home venues by multiple teams are Docklands Stadium in Melbourne (five teams), Stadium Australia in Syd ney (two teams), Adelaide Oval in Adelaide (two teams), and Subiaco Oval in Pert h (two teams). Prior to the expansion of the competition, most grounds were located in suburban Melbourne, with Princes Park, Victoria Park, the , Waverley Park, and the Lake Oval each having hosted over 700 games.[15] However, since the intr oduction of a national competition, each state and territory of Australia has ho sted AFL games.[17] On 25 April 2013 (Anzac Day), a match took place between St Kilda and Sydney at Westpac Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand, being the first AFL match played out side Australia for official premiership points.[18] At the end of 2013 a new fiv e-year deal was announced that will see St Kilda play a match on Anzac Day at th e stadium every year until 2018.[19] Players See also: List of current AFL team squads and Category:VFL/AFL players 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. Pri or to the nationalisation of the competition, a zoning system was in place. At t he end of the season, the best 22 players and coach from across the competition are selected in the All-Australian team. Close up of ruckwork from a Melbourne vs. Western Bulldogs game at Docklands Sta dium in Melbourne with the roof open 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 t eam can have a senior list of 38 to 40 players plus 4 to 6 rookie players, to a total of 44 players[20] (following a reduction by two of the number of rookies i n 2012) and up to three development rookies (international, alternate talent or New South Wales scholarship players).[21] Changes to playing lists are permitted only in the off-season: clubs can trade players during a "trade period" which f ollows each season and recruit new players through the three AFL drafts, the nat ional draft, the pre-season draft and the rookie draft, which take place after t he trade period. A mid-year draft was conducted between 1990 and 1993.[22] The n ational 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 prev ious year, but selections can be traded. Free agency player movements have only been permitted since the 2012/13 offseason,[23] having been rejected by the AFL commission previously.[24] Salary cap Main article: AFL salary cap A salary cap (known as the Total Player Payments or TPP) is also in place as par t of the league's equalisation policy; this is A$9,130,000 for the 2013 season w ith a salary floor of $8,673,500 except for the Gold Coast, whose salary cap wil l be A$9,630,000 with a salary floor of $9,171,500, and Greater Western Sydney, whose salary cap is $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 increases 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.[25] The salary cap was set at A$1.25 million for 19871989 as per VFL agreement, with the salary floor set at 90% of the cap or $1.125 million; the salary floor was i ncreased to 92.5% of the cap in 2001, and 95% of the cap for 2013 due to increas ed revenues. Both the salary cap and salary floor has increased substantially si nce the competition was rebranded as the AFL in 1990. Salaries of draft selections are fixed for two years. Salaries for senior player s are not normally released to the public, though the average AFL player salary at the conclusion of the 2012 season was $251,559[26] and the top few players ca n expect to earn up to and above $1,000,000 a year.[27] Upon successfully tradin g to the Sydney Swans in 2013, marquee player signed a 9 year con tract with the club, reportedly worth over $10 million and resulting in subseque nt payments of $1.8 million annually in consecutive seasons.[28] The Total Playe r 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 c ent from $153.7 million in 2011.[26] 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 draf t tampering. Penalties include fines of up to triple the amount involved ($10,00 0 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 sala ry cap was that of the Carlton Football Club in the early 2000s. Demographics , a South Australian playing for Western Australia-based club Fre mantle jumps to mark the ball at the MCG against Melbourne. There were 801 players on AFL club senior, veteran, rookie and international lis ts in 2011, including players from every state and mainland territory of Austral ia.[29] Indigenous Australian players Main article: List of Australian rules footballers of Aboriginal descent As of 2014, there are 68 players of Indigenous Australian descent on AFL club li sts, comprising approximately 9% of the overall playing population.[30] International players Main articles: List of VFL/AFL players born outside of Australia and VFL/AFL pla yers with international backgrounds There were 12 players recruited from outside of Australia on AFL lists in 2011, including 10 from Ireland, all converts from Gaelic football drafted as part of the Irish Experiment. The other two players are Seamus McNamara (Collingwood) an d (Sydney), recruited from the United States and Canada respectively. There were also another five overseas-born players who emigrated to Australia at an early age on AFL lists.[31] An international and international scholarship list were introduced in 2006. The international rookie list includes up to two players between the ag es of 15 and 23 who are not Australian citizens. These players may remain on thi s list for up to three years before they must be transferred to the senior or ro okie list. For the first year, payments made to international-rookie-listed play ers fall outside the salary cap. The international scholarship list gives AFL cl ubs the option of recruiting up to eight players from outside Australia (other t han Ireland). Irish players are required to either be placed on clubs' senior or rookie lists.[32] At the beginning of 2011 there were 14 international scholars hip players.[33] 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 t o the commencement of the premiership season, which served as both warm-up match es 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 t he league beyond sixteen clubs in 2011. The competition has frequently been used to trial rule changes. In 2014, the competition format was abandoned, and pract ice matches are now played under the sponsored name NAB Challenge. Premiership season See also: 2014 AFL season The AFL home-and-away season at present lasts for 23 rounds, starting in late Ma rch and ending in early September. As of the 2013 AFL season, each team plays 22 matches, with one . Teams receive four premiership points for a win and two premiership points for a draw. Ladder finishing positions are based on the numbe r of premiership points won, and "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. At the end of the home-and-away seas on, the McClelland Trophy is awarded to the minor premiers. Themed rounds and special matches Some rounds of the season are named as themed rounds, such as Rivalry Round (in which traditional rivals are matched up against each other), Women's Round and H eritage Round (where teams play in old style guernseys). Some matches are also t hemed for special events. For example, each year Collingwood play Essendon in th e annual at the MCG and the game will typically sell out regardl ess of the positions of the two teams on the ladder due to their strong rivalry and huge followings. Another annual match is the Queen's Birthday game between M elbourne and Collingwood. As of 2006, Richmond and Essendon play in the Dreamtim e at the 'G match. There are separate trophies for the matches between several c lubs and former rivalries such as the Lake Trophy between St Kilda and the Sydne y Swans. Finals Series The top eight teams at the end of the AFL Premiership season compete in a four-w eek finals series throughout September, culminating in a Grand Final to determin e the premiers. 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 and a navy blue premiership f lag a new one of each is manufactured each year. The flag has been presented sin ce the league began, and is traditionally unfurled at the team's first home game of the following season. The trophy was first introduced in 1959, and is manufa ctured annually by Cash's International at their metalworks in Frankston, Victor ia.[34] Additionally, each player in the Grand Final-winning team receives a pre miership medallion. See also: List of Australian Football League premiers List of VFL/AFL Grand Finalists Teams Premiers Runner Up Total Year(s) won Year(s) lost Essendon Bombers 16 14 30 1897, 1901, 1911, 1912, 1923, 19 24, 1942, 1946, 1949, 1950, 1962, 1965, 1984, 1985, 1993, 2000 1898, 1902, 1908 , 1941, 1943, 1947, 1948, 1951, 1957, 1959, 1968, 1983, 1990, 2001 Carlton Blues 16 13 29 1906, 1907, 1908, 1914, 1915, 1938, 1945 , 1947, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1995 1904, 1909, 1910, 1916, 1921, 1932, 1949, 1962, 1969, 1973, 1986, 1993, 1999 Collingwood Magpies 15 26 41 1902, 1903, 1910, 1917, 1919, 19 27, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1935, 1936, 1953, 1958, 1990, 2010 1901, 1905, 1911 , 1915, 1918, 1920, 1922, 1925, 1926, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1952, 1955, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 2002, 2003, 2011 Melbourne Demons 12 5 17 1900, 1926, 1939, 1940, 1941, 19 48, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1964 1946, 1954, 1958, 1988, 2000 Hawthorn Hawks 11 6 17 1961, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1988 , 1989, 1991, 2008, 2013 1963, 1975, 1984, 1985, 1987, 2012 Richmond Tigers 10 12 22 1920, 1921, 1932, 1934, 1943, 19 67, 1969, 1973, 1974, 1980 1919, 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1933, 1940, 1942, 1944, 1972, 1982 Geelong Cats 9 9 18 1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963, 2007 , 2009, 2011 1897, 1930, 1953, 1967, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1995, 2008 Fitzroy Lions 8 5 13 1898, 1899, 1904, 1905, 1913, 1916, 1922 , 1944 1900, 1903, 1906, 1917, 1923 Sydney Swans (Formerly South Melbourne) 5 10 15 1909, 1918, 1933, 2005, 2012 1899, 1907, 1912, 1914, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1945, 1996, 2006 North Melbourne Kangaroos 4 5 9 1975, 1977, 1996, 1999 1950, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1998 West Coast Eagles 3 2 5 1992, 1994, 2006 1991, 20 05 Brisbane Lions 3 1 4 2001, 2002, 2003 2004 Adelaide Crows 2 0 2 1997, 1998 St. Kilda Saints 1 6 7 1966 1913, 1965, 1971, 1997, 2009, 2010 Footscray/Western Bulldogs 1 1 2 1954 1961 Port Adelaide 1 1 2 2004 2007 Fremantle Dockers 0 1 1 2013 Of the current 18 teams in the AFL, only the Greater Western Sydney Giants a nd the Gold Coast Suns are yet to compete in a Grand Final. Years in bold represent premierships won once the AFL name was adopted. The Adelaide Crows are the only team to have never lost an AFL Grand Final. Defunct club Awards Awards that can be won by players during the season include the Brownlow Medal, awarded to the player judged the "fairest and best" throughout the regular seaso n; the , awarded to the player kicking the most goals throughout th e regular season; the , awarded to the player judged best on gro und in the Grand Final; and the Rising Star Award, given to the most outstanding young player in the competition. Major annual awards Brownlow Medal Coleman Medal AFL Rising Star Trophy AFLPA Awards AFLCA Awards Norm Smith Medal Jock McHale Medal Medal Goal of the Year (Australia) AFL Army Award All Australian Team Club Best and Fairest Awards Player of the Year Medal (Sunday Footy Show player of the Year) Team of the Century To celebrate the 100th season of the AFL, the "AFL Team of the Century" was name d in 1996. AFL Team of the Century B: (Geelong, West Adelaide) (Carlton) John Nicholls (Carlton) HB: Bruce Doull (Carlton) (Footscray) Captain Kevin Mu rray (Fitzroy, East Perth) C: (Richmond) Ian Stewart (Hobart, St Kilda, Richmond) (North Melbourne) HF: (Carlton, St Kilda) (Richmond) Dick Rey nolds (Essendon) F: Leigh Matthews (Hawthorn) John Coleman (Essendon) Haydn Bu nton, Sr. (Fitzroy, Subiaco, Port Adelaide) Foll: Graham Farmer (Geelong, East Perth, West Perth) Ron Barassi (Mel bourne, Carlton) (South Melbourne) Int: Gary Ablett, Sr. (Hawthorn, Geelong) (Richmond) Greg Wil liams (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 t he Century. Since the naming of this side, most AFL clubs have nominated their o wn 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. Records Main article: List of VFL/AFL records See also: Australian rules football attendance records Most AFL/VFL premierships Carlton 16 (most recent 1995) and Essendon 16 (most recent 2000) Most consecutive AFL/VFL premierships Collingwood 4 19271930 Highest score Geelong 37.17 (239) defeated Brisbane Bears 11.9 (75) Carrara Stadium, 3 May 1992 Highest winning margin 190 points Fitzroy 36.22 (238) defeated Melbourne 6.12 (48) Waverley Park, 28 July 1979 Highest aggregate score 52.33 (345) Melbourne 21.15 (141) lost to St Kilda 31.18 (204) MCG, 6 May 1978 Highest score in one quarter South Melbourne 17.4 (106) vs. St Kilda 0.0 (0) in 4th quarter Lake Oval, 26 July 1919 Final score: South Melbourne 29.15 (189) vs. St Kilda 2.6 (18) Largest crowd Carlton v Collingwood 121,696 MCG, 26 September 1970 (Grand Final) Largest home and away season crowd Melbourne v Collingwood 99,346 MCG, 1958 Largest international crowd Melbourne v Sydney 32,789 B.C. Place, Vancouver, Canada, 1987 Most last placed finishes at the end of the home and away season St Kilda 26 Most games won Collingwood 1921 (to the end of the 2010 season) Most games won in a season Essendon 2000 24 (incl. finals) Undefeated in a home and away season Collingwood 1929 Most grand final appearances Collingwood 43 Most consecutive grand final appearances Melbourne 7 (between 1954 and 1960) and Hawthorn 7 (between 1983 and 1989) Most finals series appearances Collingwood 78 Most consecutive finals series appearances Hawthorn 13 (between 1982 and 1994) Most consecutive wins Geelong 23 19521953 Most consecutive games unbeaten Geelong 26 19521953 Most consecutive losses University 51 (19111914) Most games played in a career Michael Tuck (Hawthorn) 426 games Most finals played in a career Michael Tuck (Hawthorn) 39 games Most grand finals played in a career Michael Tuck (Hawthorn) 11 Most premierships won in a career Michael Tuck (Hawthorn) 7 Most games as club captain (Carlton) 226 games Most goals in a career (St Kilda/Sydney) 1,360 goals Most goals in finals (Collingwood) 112 goals Most goals in a game (Melbourne) 18 goals, 30 August 1947 Most goals in a season (including finals) (South Melbourne, 1934) and (Hawthorn, 1971) 150 goal s Most consecutive matches Jim Stynes (Melbourne) 244 Most consecutive matches from debut (Sydney) 194 Tallest player (Fremantle) 211 cm Peter Street (Geelong/Western Bulldogs) 211 cm Shortest player James "Nipper" Bradford (North Melbourne/Collingwood) 154 cm Heaviest player Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle) 124 kg Longest kick Fred Fanning (Melbourne) 76.15m (116 yards, 3¼ inches) Heaviest suspension Doug Fraser and Alex Lang (Carlton) 99 matches (bribery) from 1910 to 1915 Heaviest suspension for an on-field incident Fred Rutley (North Melbourne) 89 matches (2 x kicking, 3 x striking and mele e involvement) from 1925 to 1930 Heaviest fine imposed on club A$2,000,000 imposed on Essendon 2013 (bringing the AFL into disrepute) Heaviest fine imposed on player A$50,000 imposed on of Adelaide in 2012 (involvement in violati ons of salary cap regulations and draft tampering, Tippett was also suspended fo r 11 matches) Heaviest fine imposed on coach A$30,000 imposed on Mark 'Bomber' Thompson (senior assistant coach) of Essen don in 2013 for his part (charged for bringing the game into disrepute alongside and Danny Corcoran) in the Essendon Football Club supplements contro versy Representative football State football Further information: Interstate matches in Australian rules football There is currently no official state representation for AFL players despite the concept being well supported among fans and calls to re-introduce a State of Ori gin series.[35][36] History of the VFL/AFL's involvement VFL players first represented the Victoria representative team in 1897 regardles s of their state of origin. Being the dominant league drawing many of the country's best players, the Victor ia Australian rules football team (nicknamed the "Big V" and composed mostly of VFL players) dominated interstate matches until the introduction of State of Ori gin selection criteria by the Australian Football Council (of which the VFL was a member) in 1977. The AFL Commission assumed control of interstate football in 1993 and co-ordinat ed an annual typically held during a mid-season bye round . However after the 1999 series, the AFL declared the concept of interstate foot ball "on hold" citing club's unwillingness to release star players and a lack of public interest and shifted its focus of representative football to the Interna tional Rules Series where it draws a greater television revenue. The last time AFL players played formal interstate football was in the 1999 Stat e of Origin Series when Victoria inflicted a massive defeat on South Australia i n wet conditions in front of a crowd of 26,063. Just 10 years earlier, the same match with a plethora of star players attracted a crowd of 91,960. 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. The match was p layed between a team of players of Victorian origin and a team of players of int erstate origin (the "Dream Team") Some past AFL players participate and help promote the E. J. Whitten Legends Gam e, however this event is not affiliated with or promoted by the AFL. International Rules Series See also: International rules football The International Rules Series is an annual competition played twice every three years between AFL listed players from Australia and Gaelic footballers from Ire land. The series is organised under the auspices of the AFL and the Gaelic Athle tic Association. The game itself is a hybrid sport, consisting of rules from bot h Australian football and Gaelic football. The series provides the only outlet f or AFL players to represent their nation. Administration Main article: AFL Commission See also: List of VFL/AFL presidents The AFL Commission is responsible for the administration of the AFL. It was esta blished in December 1985 after club parochialism and self-interest threatened to undermine the competition. The Commission's chairman is Mike Fitzpatrick, a former Subiaco and Carlton play er, and the Chief Executive is Gillon McLachlan, who officially took over from A ndrew Demetriou on the 4th June, 2014. The Commission's composition remains almost exclusively Victorian based with one exception, from South Australia. In addition to administering the national competition, the AFL is heavily involv ed in promoting and developing the . It provides funds for loc al leagues and in conjunction with local clubs, administers the 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 Afr ica) 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. Audience The AFL is the best-attended sporting league in Australia,[37] and averaged 33,4 61 people per game over the 2013 season, giving AFL the 4th highest average atte ndance figures of any professional sport in the world.[38] According to market r esearch, the AFL is the second-most-watched sporting event in Australia, behind cricket.[39] Currently, broadcast rights for the AFL are shared between the Seve n Network (free-to-air), Foxtel and Austar (pay TV), and (internet). At the end of the 2013 season, a record 756,717 people were members of an AFL club. [40] Attendance The following are the most recent season attendances: Year Home and Away Average Finals1 Average1 Grand Fi nal 2014 6,403,941 32,343 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 , played one week after the drawn Grand Final. 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 Networ k, subscription television provider Foxtel, and digital content provider Telstra . The 5 year deal, announced in April 2011, covers the 2012-2016 (inclusive) sea sons. Telstra won the rights to broadcast one live match per week via IP Televis ion and on its Telstra Mobile service. The deal was confirmed when the Seven Net work, Foxtel and Telstra agreed to pay A$1.253 billion to the Australian Footbal l League to broadcast every match of every round and all of the Finals Series ac ross their platforms.[41] As part of the agreement, Austar broadcasts Foxtel`s A FL coverage in the regional areas of Australia that are not part of Foxtel`s ser vice area. Regional free-to-air broadcasters associated with the Seven Network P rime7, GWN7, Seven Queensland, Southern Cross Television and WIN Television all show Seven's coverage in their respective areas. The Seven Network broadcasts four games from every round of the regular premiers hip season, as well as the AFL Finals Series and the AFL Grand Final. Foxtel bro adcasts every match from every round, including simulcasts of all Seven Network games except for the Grand Final (which Seven shows exclusively live). Coverage is also available via Foxtel`s IP television service (Foxtel on T-Box). Telecast History 1957 was the first VFL season after the commencement of (introduced in 1956 to coincide with the Melbourne Olympic Games). During the la te 1950s and 60s, all Melbourne stations (ABV2, HSV7, GTV9 and, after it commenc ed in 1965, ATV0/ATV10) broadcast some games. However, in the late 1950s / early 60s, the VFL was afraid that direct telecasts may affect attendances and statio ns were only permitted to telecast a delayed replay of the last quarter of games . In the 1980s, the Seven Network was given exclusive rights to VFL/AFL games. T he only year Seven didn't telecast games was 1987, when the rights were bought b y Broadcom, which on-sold the rights to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). The exclusive rights were won back by Seven in 1988. With the launch of subscription television in Australia, AFL match coverage comm enced on cable television. Vision bid for and won exclusive pay TV rights from 19962001, screening coverage on its own 24 hour AFL channel, branded Sports AFL in Brisbane Sydney and Melbourne (where available). The Sports AFL channel w as 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 channe l. 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 avai lable through Foxtel at this time as the Seven Network and Foxtel disagreed on t he cost of carrying the C7 channel. These issues regarding C7 and AFL broadcstin g rights evolved into a court case between not just the Seven Network and News L imited, but Seven against the owners of the Nine Network and Network Ten in the years that followed. In late 2000, 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 20022006 seasons inclusive. Seven had purchased a gua ranteed right to make the last bid in 1995,[42] but decided not to outbid their rivals.[43] The games were split between the networks, with Nine screening Frida y Night Football and two matches on Sunday, Ten screened a Saturday afternoon an d a Saturday night match, with the remaining four matches shown on Foxtel. Foxte l set up its own version of a dedicated AFL-only channel, the , which showed every game on replay during the week as well as many news, talkbac k and general interest shows related to Australian rules football.[44] 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 ma tch Nine's offer of $780 million to win back the broadcast rights in what was th e biggest sport telecasting deal in Australian history at the time. After length y negotiations, Foxtel agreed to be a broadcast partner and now showed four live matches each week, although no longer on a dedicated AFL channel.[42] Seven too k back the Friday night match and only one game on Sunday, while Ten retained sh owing two matches on Saturdays. Foxtel showed two games on Saturday and two on S unday, including a late afternoon or twilight game.[45] International broadcast partners Historically AFL broadcasts in other countries have varied. In the 1980s, VFL matches were shown in the United States on ESPN for some time. In the early 1990s, Prime Network, an American regional sports network unrelate d to the Australian regional television network, aired Seven's weekly highlight show as well as the Grand Final. Some other English speaking countries have show n the game, however it has been since 2008 that channels in other countries bega n televising matches. Between 1998 and 2006 the games were broadcast in the Unit ed States by the World network.[46] In 2007, after the record domestic television rights deal, the AFL secured an ad ditional bonus: greater international television rights and increase exposure to overseas markets, including a 5 year deal with Setanta Sports, and new deals wi th other overseas pay-TV networks. The deal ended early in 2009 when Setanta sto pped broadcasting into Great Britain. ESPN again took up the contract.[47] The following countries are ranked by the approximate extent of their current te levision coverage (and whether it is free to air): Station/Channel Countries Free/Subscription Home & Away Finals Grand Final Broadcasting since Notes ESPN Africa Africa Subscription 1 game per week (live/delay) Live See also Australian rules football in Africa TSN2 Canada Subscription Live See also Austral ian rules football in Canada, AFANA DirecTV Sports South America Subscription 4 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 Free 13 per week (highlights) Live Live See also Australian rules football in Papua New Guinea TV Fiji Free 1 (live/replay) Live Live See also Australian rules football in Fiji International Channel Shanghai Peoples Republic of Free 1 (live) Live Live See also Australian rules football in China Australia Network -Pacific region, , Free (Subscription in some) 5 per week Yes Live Eurosport 2 Free One game per week (highlights/live/replay) Live See also Australian rules football in Europe Fox Sports Israel Subscription See also Australian rules football in the Middle East SKY Sports México Central America Subscription Four games per week (highlights/live/rep lay) Live Live ShowSports 2 Middle East, Asia Subscription Sommet Sports New Zealand Free All matches live or delayed + Highlights Live Live 2013 See also Australian rules football in New Zealan d New Zealand Subscription 12 (live/delayed) + highlights See also Australian rules football in New Zealand Canal+ (Spain) Spain Free highlights, delayed matches 2009 See also Australian rules football in Spain Sky Digital Subscription See also Australian rules football in the United Kingdom BT Sport United Kingdom Subscription 2014 See also Australian rules football in the United Kingdom ESPN UK United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland Subscription 3 games per week (highlights/live/replay) 2009 See also Austral ian rules football in the United Kingdom, See also Australian rules football in Ireland Fox Sports 2 United States Subscription 4 games during the season Yes See also Australian rules football in the United States, AFANA United States Subscription 4 games during the seaso n Yes Yes See also Australian rules football in the United States, AFANA MHz Worldview United States Subscription "Game of the Week" (one-week del ay) (highlights) Live See also Australian rules footba ll in the United States, AFANA Global The AFL has stated that it wishes to showcase the footballing code to other coun tries such as , China and South Africa so as to create a global following t hus creating more exposure for its sponsors in the increasing Asian and African markets.[48] On 17 October 2010, AFL clubs Melbourne Demons and Brisbane Lions p layed an exhibition game in front of almost 10,000 people at the Riverside Sport s Center in Shanghai.[citation needed] This was the first professional AFL game to be played in China. The AFL has garnered increased interest in Ireland due to the introduction of th e International Rules series played between an AFL picked All Australian Team an d Ireland.[citation needed] This paved the way for young Irish footballers to be rostered to AFL teams mainly due to the fact that salaries in the AFL are much larger than that of Gaelic Football although most Irish players fail to make the grade into 1st team football.[49] This also paved the way for extended news cov erage and increased broadcasting in the UK and Ireland.[citation needed] Radio The first broadcast of a VFL game was by 3AR in 1923, the year that broadcasting officially commenced in Australia. The first commentator was Wallace (Jumbo) Sh allard, 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 th en by the ABC and (since 1927) by various commercial stations. The saturation pe riod 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 broadcas ts of Geelong games by local station 3GL. (At this time, the only alternative th at radio listeners had to listening to the football on a Saturday afternoon were the classical music and fine arts programs that were broadcast by 3LO). Currently, the official radio broadcast partners of the AFL are: Melbourne K-Rock Geelong 3AW Melbourne FIVEaa Adelaide 6PR Perth SEN 1116 Melbourne 98.9FM Brisbane Triple M Sydney (Broadcasts only Swans and Giants matches) Triple M Brisbane (Broadcasts only Lions matches) Triple M Adelaide Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC Grandstand) broadcasts matches acro ss Australia on the ABC Local Radio network and via the ABC News Radio network t o selected major cities in NSW\QLD\ACT. Internet The AFL's app icon The official internet/mobile broadcast partner of the AFL is Bigpond, part of Te lstra. The AFL also provides exclusive broadband content including streaming vid eo for international fans via its website. Bigpond also hosts the official websi tes of all the 17 AFL clubs excluding Essendon. The service is also provided to international subscribers. Delayed video is avai lable 12 hours or more after the game. However, the website is frequently derided by users for its convoluted informati on architecture and bloated presentation.[50][51] From 2012 Telstra will broadcast live matches over its NextG mobile network for a pay-per-view or season fee.[52] Corporate relations Sponsorship The following are the official naming sponsors of the VFL/AFL competition: Carlton & United Breweries (198081, 86, 8994, 200103) Holden (198283) Nissan (198485) Sportsplay (1987) Elder's IXL (1988) Coca-Cola (19952001) Toyota (2004present) ¹Note: In 2001 CUB and Coca-Cola were joint sponsors 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 peopl e each week. Membership The AFL sells memberships that entitle subscribers to reserve seats for matches at Docklands Stadium and Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne. AFL members also receive priority access to finals. Two levels of memberships are now offered, s ilver and full, with the main difference being that only full members have guara nteed access to Preliminary and Grand Final matches.[53] 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 200 3 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 original ly touted for the MCG, but the Hall of Fame failed to get support from the Melbo urne Cricket Club. The new QV shopping centre on Swanston Street was then chosen as the location. However, controversy followed the appointment of an administra tor 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 2 006 the name was changed to AFL World. It features various honour boards and mem orabilia as well as a range of innovative interactive displays designed to immer se visitors in the experience of elite Aussie Rules. It was closed down 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: (1991) NES AFL Finals Fever (1996) AFL 98 (1998) PlayStation, Microsoft Windows AFL 99 (1999) PlayStation, Microsoft Windows Kevin Sheedy's: AFL Coach 2002 (2001) Microsoft Windows AFL Live 2003 (2002) Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, 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, AFL () (2011, 2012) Wii AFL Live 2 (2013) PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Gambling The AFL is the subject of footy tipping and betting competitions around Australi a run by individuals, syndicates, workplaces and professional bookmakers. In rec ent years national website based tipping competitions have started to replace th e 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.

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