Omeo & District Football League

The Omeo and District Football League (ODFL) is an Australian Rules Football League based on the Omeo Region of East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. The ODFL has existed in some form since 1893, and operates under the auspices of the Victorian Country Football League (VCFL). The league is situated in an area with a small population, resulting in the league playing 16-a-side rather than the standard 18-a-side, and not fielding a reserve grade.

Clubs involved in the ODFL are invited to field a men's Senior football team and boys' Junior (Under 16) football team. Clubs can also enter a women's Senior netball team, and girls' Junior (Under 16) and Midget (primary school age) netball teams competing in a concurrent netball league.

The first recorded football competition in the Omeo District, dates back to 1893. Other than short recesses resulting from the two World Wars, some type of official competition has continued uninterrupted from this time. In 1923 the competition was renamed the Omeo District Football League (ODFL), and it has continued with this name until the present day.

Throughout most of its history the ODFL and its precedents has contained teams from the four main towns of the Omeo District, namely Benambra, Ensay, Omeo, and Swifts Creek. Up until around World War I, when the population of the region was significantly higher due to the lingering effects of the gold rushes, a team from the now minor locality of Cassilis (originally known as Long Gully) was also involved in most seasons and experienced considerable success. Records indicate other historical localities from the district also occasionally fielded teams, including Bindi, Glen Wills, Little River, Reedy Creek, and Tambo Crossing. Since 1893 Omeo, or its later incarnation as the merged Omeo-Benambra team, has competed in all but possibly two seasons, while Swifts Creek has never missed a season, making it one of the oldest continuously operating Australian Rules Football or general sporting clubs in the country.

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