Some features about Australian Football League (Part 1)
If you are surprised and confused when watching the AFL Grand Final, then you are not alone. Although Australian football may be Australia’s most popular sport, many people do not understand the game. We will explain everything from point to season, club and rules. With this guide, you will be well prepared for the 2019 football season.
Brief history
In 1858 Tom Wills conceptualized the game in a way to help cricketers keep fit in the winter, the Australian Football League (AFL), originally called the Victorian Football Association (VFA), is a unique game that combine from all kinds of football. VFA was founded in 1877, and in 1990 the tournament was renamed the Football Federation Australia to reflect the nation’s presence. AFL attracts the highest audience of any sport in Australia and the fourth highest participation of any professional sport in the world with an average of 33,461 players per game. The game is very popular in Victoria on Friday before the final is held with a holiday.
The Game
The games are played on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Of which, each AFL game is divided into four 20-minute matches and include with a 20 minute break, together with the addition time, also known as under-time, when goals scored, injuries happened or the ball goes out of bounds. In 2015, the average AFL game lasted 122 minutes.
Oval
AFL is played on a grass oval field without having to be a specific size as long as it measures 135-185 meters long and 110-155 meters wide. The field is marked by a boundary indicating the playing area, a 50-meter-long curve, the central square, the target square and the center circle.
There are currently 16 locations across all states in Australia capable of hosting AFL games, with the largest being Melbourne Cricket Ground, which capable of 100,024 and holding the Final Congress every year.