Australian rules football in the Australian Capital Territory
| Australian rules football in the Australian Capital Territory | |
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| Governing body | AFL NSW/ACT |
| Representative team | Australian Capital Territory |
| First played | 1911, Canberra |
| Registered players | Unknown |
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Club competitions
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Audience records
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| Single match | 14,922 (4 June 2006), AFL Kangaroos v Sydney Swans (Manuka Oval, Canberra) |
Australian rules football in the Australian Capital Territory has a history dating back to the formation of the territory in the 1910s.
Traditionally, Canberra was considered to be one of the points which define the Barassi Line; however, the popularity of Australian rules football suffered substantially when teams from the national competitions were introduced in both rugby union and rugby league.
Despite Canberra not having a locally based team in the Australian Football League (AFL), the AFL does schedule regular matches in the city. It remains a popular sport and as well as a strong local competition, national competition games are played there by neutral AFL sides. From 2012, Greater Western Sydney acts as a local side, playing four home games a year at Manuka Oval.
1911 saw the first recorded match of Australian rules in Canberra between the Royal Military College and employees of the Home Affairs Department.
Three teams (Canberra, Duntroon and Federals) contested matches at the Acton Racecourse (now covered by Lake Burley Griffin) and at Blanfordia (now Manuka Oval).
In 1924, the first regular league was formed in the ACT, named the Federal Territory Australian Rules Football League.
New clubs gradually entered the league, when in 1927 it became known as the Canberra Australian National Football League (CANFL).
In 1931, the Canberra Australian National Junior League was formed.
Gate takings increased by 40% in 1975, and the CANFL changed to ACTAFL.
Australian rules football was a very popular sport in the territory until the expansion of the then-Australian Rugby League club competition, to incorporate a local team, the Canberra Raiders, in 1982. The team was highly successful and effectively made rugby league the most popular sport in the territory.
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