The Australian Rules Football Championship
If you are surprised and confused watching Saturday’s AFL Grand Final, then you are not alone. Although Australian football may be Australia’s most popular sport, many people do not understand the match.
Conceptualized by Tom Wills in 1858 as a way to keep cricketers fit during the winter, Australian Football League. It was originally called the Victorian Football Association, which is a unique game that combines aspects from different types of football.
The VFA was founded in 1877, and in 1990 the tournament was renamed the Australian Football Federation to reflect national presence. AFL attracts the highest number of spectators of any sport in Australia and the fourth.
That is the highest participation of any professional sport in the world with an average of 33,461 players per game. The game was very popular in Victoria on Friday before the final is held with a holiday.
The AFL season begins with the pre-season NAB Challenge, followed by 23 home turf and spin, running all winter from March to September. The top eight teams then go on to compete in a four-week final in September.
That’s leading to the top two teams then battling MCG to decide the champions. The winning team receives a first class silver trophy and a navy green prime flag. And their victory is recorded on EL Wilson Shield forever. Each player is also awarded a prime minister medal.
Each club has both an elite roster and a rookie player, with a total of approximately 45 players per team. Every week players 22 are selected for the game, with 18 allowed on the field while the remaining four sitting on the bench.
To move the soccer ball up the field players are allowed to kick, hand the ball or run with it, allowing them to toss it 15 meters every. Settlement in AFL, similar to American rugby and football.
Any player on the field can score goals by kicking the ball over the milestones. There are four papers placed at either end of the school; the higher posts are the target posts.