Australian rules football in the Northern Territory
| Australian rules football in the Northern Territory | |
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Tiwi Islands Football League Grand Final 05/06 at Nguiu stadium. Mulluwurri vs Pumurali
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| Governing body | AFL Northern Territory |
| First played | February 1916, Darwin |
| Registered players | 30,000 |
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Club competitions
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Audience records
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| Single match | 17,500 (2002). (AFL pre-season practice) Aboriginal All-Stars vs Carlton. (Marrara Oval, Darwin) |
Australian Football in the Northern Territory has a history dating back to the 1910s and is the most popular sport in the territory, particularly with indigenous Australian communities in Darwin, Alice Springs and the Tiwi Islands.
7% of all Northern Territorians in 2007 participated in Australian Football, the highest participation in Australia (and second worldwide only to Australian Football in Nauru). The sport also produces more professional Australian Footballers per capita in the Australian Football League than any other state or territory.
The Northern Territory is home to several representative teams, most notably the Aboriginal All-Stars, but also the Northern Territory Thunder, the Northern Territory Football Club (that plays in the QAFL) and now in the NEAFL, an elite competition on the Eastern seaboard of Australia. Also the Flying Boomerangs represent Australia internationally and the Northern territory has a strong local competition, the Northern Territory Football League.
The first recorded match of Australian Football in Darwin was played in February 1916 on Darwin Town Oval.
The Northern Territory Football League chose to play in the Northern Territory's 'wet season', primarily due to hard playing surfaces during the 'dry season'. Games were played on the Esplanade or Town Oval. Most other leagues in Australia operate during the winter, but since the Territory does not have a winter, it is played at different times. The Wanderers Football Club were the founding members of the league in 1916.
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