Australian rules football in Australia
| Australian rules football in Australia | |
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Contesting for possession in an indigenous community football game in the Northern Territory
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| Country | Australia |
| Governing body | Australian Football League |
| National team | Australia |
| First played | 1858, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Registered players | 1,404,176 (total) (2016) |
| Clubs | 13,873 |
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National competitions
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Club competitions
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Audience records
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| Single match | 121,696 - Collingwood vs Carlton, at the MCG (1970 VFL Grand Final) |
| Season | 7,238,858 - 2011 AFL season |
Australian rules football originated in Melbourne in 1858. It has been played continuously in every state and territory of Australia since 1915, and is particularly popular in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and Northern Territory where it is the most watched and most played sport.
The national professional competition is the Australian Football League, which grew out of the former Victorian Football League (not to be confused with the present-day Victorian Football League), changing its name in 1990 after expanding into other states. The AFL now governs the code nationally.
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. In 2005, a cumulative 6,283,788 people attended Australian Football League (AFL) premiership matches, a record for the competition. A further 307,181 attended NAB Cup pre-season matches and 117,552 attended Regional Challenge pre-season practice matches around the country. As of 2010, the AFL is one of only five professional sports leagues with an average attendance of over 30,000 per game.
As well as the AFL attendances, strong semi-professional state and local competitions also draw crowds. The South Australian SANFL drew an attendance in 2008 of 362,209 with an average of 3,773 per game, while the Western Australian WAFL drew an attendance of 219,205 with an average of 2,332 per game.
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.
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