History

We want to see this game flourish throughout the whole of Australia and New Zealand, and I hope that within 50 years' time those who live will see it progressing through all other countries in the world.

Tom Wills
Founder of Australian Football

A crude brand of football, a mixture of Rugby and Gaelic Football, was first introduced in Victoria, but it was not until 1858 that the distinctive code of Australian Football emerged.

In 1857 Tom Wills returned to Australia after schooling in England where he was football captain of Rugby School and a brilliant cricketer. Initially he advocated the winter game of football as a way of keeping cricketers fit during their off-season.

The new game was devised by Wills, his cousin H.C.A. Harrison, W.J. Hammersley and J.B. Thompson. The Melbourne Football Club was formed on August 7, 1858, the year of the code's first recorded game between Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar School.

Australian Football quickly blossomed. The Geelong Football Club was formed in 1859 and in 1866 an updated set of rules were put in place.

The Victorian Football League was established in 1896 and the following year the League's first games were played among the foundation clubs - Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda and South Melbourne.

In 1908, Richmond and University clubs joined, but after the 1914 season, University left the competition.

In 1996, the League celebrated its centenary under the name, the Australian Football League. The name change was made in 1990 in recognition of the fact that the game has a firmly national outlook.

The game is a way of life. Australia's biggest and most vocal spectator sport has its power base in Victoria, but is played in every state and territory. It commands tremendous media attention. Players are household names and are treated like film stars.

For many years the AFL had its administrative headquarters at the MCG in Melbourne (having recently relocated to Colonial Stadium). The MCG is the nation's biggest stadium, seating almost 100,000 spectators. It is at the MCG that the biggest games are played, including the grand final.

Interstate football between Victoria and South Australia started in 1899 and by 1914 Victoria was involved in matches against Western Australia, New South Wales, Tasmania and Queensland. New Zealand also fielded a team at the 1908 Jubilee Carnival in Melbourne.

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