Australian Football League (original) (raw)

The Australian Football League is the main national competition of Australian rules football. It was formed through the expansion of the Victorian Football League throughout the 1980s and 1990s into a nationally-based competition.

A 16-team, single division competition, the season is based around a 22-week "home-and-away" (regular) reason starting in March through to August. The top eight teams play off in a series of finals culminating in the Grand Final, always held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and usually held on the last Saturday in September.

Particularly in Victoria, where a majority of teams are still based and in the traditional Australian Rules football states of South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania, much of the citizenry takes an obsessive interest in the competition. Massive crowds attend many of the games.

All players are now full-time professionals (although since only elite players can earn enough to support themselves for the rest of their lives, many study at university or other vocational training), and the clubs, whilst still owned by their large membership base, are large businesses.

Teams currently playing in the AFL include:

Famous players of the past and present, some of whom have gone on to notable subsequent careers include

See also:

Outside Links:
AFL Official Site: http://www.afl.com.au
Complete VFL/AFL results: http://stats.rleague.com/afl/afl_index.html