International Footy Timeline
1858
First match of Australian football in Melbourne, Victoria.
1867-69
Matches played in Melbourne against English soldiers from the 14th (Buckinghamshire) Regiment, nicknamed the 'Rugged and Tough'. The soldiers became legendary for their violent style of play.
1876
Hybrid match in Dunedin, New Zealand. First half played according to rugby rules, second half according to Victorian Rules.
1877
First season of the Victorian Football Association (VFA).
1880
At a meeting of Victorian senior clubs Tom Wills and Henry Harrison outlined a proposal which would help the Australian game to develop in other countries. It was proposed that an attempt be made to take both Melbourne and Geelong teams to England to play several exhibition matches, organise junior clubs there and arrange for a supply of rule books and coaching. An alternate proposal was that Melbourne go to England and Geelong visit America. Tom Wills pointed out that they all wanted to see their game played throughout Australia and in lands beyond Australia. Already it had caught on in New Zealand and inquiries had come from America.
1888
Reigning VFL premiers Carlton defeat England at the MCG, 14.17 (101) to 2.7 (19).
1889
Maori team visits Victoria to play a program of Australasian Rules games. The team plays 13 games, winning six and losing seven. It defeats South Melbourne, which at that stage is Victoria's premier club. Other sides played include Geelong, Carlton, Essendon and Melbourne.
1890
The first Australasian Football Council is formed in Melbourne under Australasian Rules to take control of all International Football matches.
1892-96
Chinese miners and gardeners play in the Chinese premiership in Ballarat, in front of mainly Anglo-Australian crowds of up to 4000 people.
1893
44 clubs play the game in New Zealand (in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Wanganui, Otago, Invercargill, Napier, Lyttelton, Timaru, Hamilton and Gisborne).
1897
First season of the Victorian Football League (VFL).
1898
Soldiers on Boer War service in South Africa play Australian Rules behind the lines.
1899
Australian football first played in England and Scotland.
1901
115 clubs play the game in New Zealand.
1904
- Former Fuchsia and Saint Vic Cumberland left Port Phillip for New Zealand where he intended to set up the Australian game.
- The Argus reported that at a meeting held in Auckland the New Zealand Football Conference decided to join in with the Australian States and urge the formation of an all Australasian Football Council.
- A former Richmond player, George Bambrook, said that it was hoped to play a North and South Island match during the season.
1905
Two New Zealand representatives attend the Australasian Football Conference. The Australasian Football Council is formed, North and South Islands of New Zealand to have one delegate each.
1906
A number of visiting Japanese naval officers watch Fitzroy defeat Melbourne.
1907
Merriment at the VFL meeting when the Hawkes Bay Football Club in New Zealand request a set of uniforms, dark blue with gold bands.
1908
- New Zealand team competes in the Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival with games played at the MCG. They defeat New South Wales and Queensland, and lose to Victoria and Tasmania to finish fourth out of the seven competing teams.
- On September 1 a special exhibition game was played between West and South Australia for the benefit of the visiting American sailors who were in Melbourne during Fleet Week. The visitors showed a keen interest in the game, which was won by West Australia 6.9 to 5.13. Australian Rules football had already been played in the USA by cadet and school teams, and the Americans remembered that their President Roosevelt had sent for inquiries about the Australian game following the brutality of many matches under the American code, which had caused a number of deaths of players.
- A member of Victorian's Chinese community, Wally Koochew, plays four matches for Carlton.
1909
A team of schoolboys from the USA visits Victoria on an educational trip and plays several games against Melbourne school teams under Australian rules on the Melbourne, Richmond and East Melbourne grounds. One of these games was a curtain raiser to Essendon and Collingwood.
1910
Mr. A. W. McLean from Melbourne introduces the game to four schools in Japan.
1911
America has its introduction to Australian football when Harry Bromley bounced a Sherrin on the east coast. Mr Bromley, who was representing Australian football in America, was busy discussing the game with sporting folk in that country. He also witnessed games of American football and interviewed several of their leading players. Mr Bromley found the quality of the Sherrin superior to that of the American variety.
1914
Ex-St Kilda captain J. Smith presents his plan to take a team to America to the Australasian Football Council. The Council gave him permission to take two teams to America to play a demonstration match at the Panama Exposition. Mr. A. Marre, an American who was in Melbourne with Stadiums Ltd. at that time, assured Smith that he need have no fear of the financial success of the venture, as he felt sure that our game was just what America was looking for to displace the sacks-on-the-mill American game, which was resulting in so many serious accidents that parents would not allow their sons to take part in it. Unfortunately the plan did not eventuate.
1914
The 'Australian Competition' in Glasgow, which in 1912 had 17 teams of ship workers playing, ends owing to the outbreak of war.
1916
Match between Military Training Units and Third Division played at the Queen's Club Ground in London. Many league players took part.
1917
Lieutenant L.G. Short, formerly of the Argus, writes to his old paper about a football match held during the past winter in France, on a snow-covered, shell-pitted patch of ground won from the enemy and still within artillery range. The Officers of '-' Battalion, wearing sheepskin jerkins, lost 2.2 (14) to 6.0 (36) to the NCOs, in a uniform of cardigans. The centre of the ground featured large shell holes with two unexploded 5.9 shells in the bottom, and behind the goalposts at one end was a small heap of earth - the grave of dead soldiers. Still, great fun was had before a return to the front line.
1925
Many Americans from the visiting fleet sample Australia's style of football at the Collingwood ground, where the home team meets Essendon.
1927
The Australasian Football Council changed its name to that of the Australian National Football Council owing to New Zealand not being represented. It was a great pity that for years the VFL and VFA were at loggerheads with one another and were not interested in helping the game to make headway in New Zealand, South Africa, England, America, Canada and the West Indies, where it had been tried but had not been able to get a footing owing to Victoria repeatedly turning down requests to send teams over to those countries to play exhibition games. (C.C. Mullen, History of Australian Rules Football, pg. 130)
1930s
Australian football introduced to the Pacific island of Nauru.
1932
The Victorian Football League turns down a proposal to send a team to play in the United States at the end of next season to promote the Australian game. The idea was rejected on the grounds that the time was inopportune, and that the move would not help the game. Opposing the motion, delegate Mr G. Cathie said it was extremely doubtful whether grounds could be obtained that were large enough. Another delegate, Mr T. Rush, said it was too early and that when the time was right it should be introduced by boys of the Young Australia League. The idea of taking a team to America was first raised two years ago. It was revived this year by Mr Eric Cullenwood, a former Australian now resident in California who introduced the game to schools in San Francisco, calling it Field Ball. It was so popular that a half-day holiday was declared for the first game. When the Young Australia League boys visited San Francisco they played against a competent American team.
1939
Canadian journalist Paul Malone says in the Argus that 'Australian football makes American football look like a ladies game. Furthermore, the Australian game makes even English Rugby, which looks like murder to Americans, appear softer than somewhat as Damon Runyon would say'.
1943
- Two RAAF Teams, including several League players, play at the Alexandria Sporting Club in Egypt.
- American serviceman, and former football player for the Huntington Golden Bears, Bill Jost regains his unofficial title as longest propellor of a football in the free world. Fred Hughson of Fitzroy drop-kicked an Australian football an amazing 83 yards 11 inches in May, to Jost's throw of an American football of close to 70 yards. At the Independence Day carnival no one's form was quite as good. North Melbourne's Alf Hacker defeated other rivals in kicking our ball, but managed 'just' 62 yards to Jost's 63 yards one foot for the title.
1944
The international potential of Australian football is in the news as Australians spread across the globe on war duties. A newspaper in Canada quoted in the Sporting Globe said: 'If you want to get a first hand look at a bunch of guys rehearsing for something resembling mass suicide, come out and watch the Aussies engaged in what they delicately term "light football practice".' Hec De Lacy, in the same paper, lamented the confusion of hard to understand rules that prevents Australian football taking off around the world, especially in the places where it has been demonstrated by our troops. They have taken footies with them wherever they have gone. Perhaps the answer lies in the sport of 'Austus', invented by Ern Cowley who played for Carlton in 1911. This combination of the Australian and US games has been awarded the Helms Athletic Foundation Medal in New York as a noteworthy contribution to sport.
1947
VFL discusses sending League teams to the USA to play exhibition matches, after hearing that the game is being played at a school in Pennsylvania.
1950
In the Commonwealth Parliament the suggestion of the Member for Fawkner, WM Bourke to play Australian football matches in South East Asia to improve Australia's image is lost as Members from New South Wales and Queensland argue loudly for other sports.
1950s
Australian Rules introduced to Papua New Guinea by Australian soldiers.
1954
Indian Chief of the General Staff, Cariappa, recommends Australian football as a recreation for the Indian Army.
1955
"Yanks impressed with our game: The Americans came, saw and were conquered last week. Various parties of the visiting US fliers saw the six League games as guests of the VFL and all expressed amazement at the sustained speed, the physical clashes and the fast movement of the ball from end to end of the ground. Particular comment was made about the lack of interruption to the game, which kept the ball in play much more than any other comparable ball game. Perhaps in the not far distant future, we will be able to show Americans in the United States what a great national football sport we have developed in this country." (Football Record, May 28, 1955)
1956
Australian football is played as a demonstration sport at the Melbourne Olympics. On 7 December a combined Victorian Football Association (VFA) and Victorian Football League (VFL) team plays an 80 minute match against a Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) representative team. In front of 12,000 spectators the VAFA run out winners 12.9 (81) to 8.7 (55). The match was watched with interest by some of the international press. Most reported their enjoyment and interest in the game with a Lebanese journalist quoted in the Sun News-Pictorial as saying "It is fierce. Now that the players blood is up it is much better", while an American journalist expressed amazement at the players ability to kick long and accurately.
1963
Geelong and Melbourne play two exhibition matches against each other in Honolulu and San Francisco, USA. Melbourne wins both matches.
1967
First visit of an Australian Rules team to Ireland. A team called "The Galahs", organised by Harry Beitzel, defeats Meath 3.16 (25) to 1.10 (13) and Mayo 2.12 (18) to 2.5 (11).
1972
- Carlton plays 3 exhibition matches against the Orlando All-Stars, in London, Athens and Singapore.
- VFL proposes distributing a film on Australian football from Australian Embassies and Trade Missions located in overseas countries.
1973
An All-Aboriginals team, led by Sturt's Roger Rigney, tours Papua New Guinea.
1974
- Dr. Jim Cairns, the Minister for Overseas Trade, endorses proposals involving Carlton, the VFL (and his friend Carlton President George Harris) for overseas exhibition matches in Britain, Ireland, Europe, North America and Japan and offers government financial and promotional support.
- Papua New Guinea players Vili Maha and Gimana Guma, known for his torpedo kick, trial with South Melbourne.
1977
Victorian Under 17 team tours Papua New Guinea.
1979
- VFL appoints Peter Evans as full time manager for the PNG Rules Council (formerly with the Hawthorn Football Club).
- Papua New Guinea fields a team in the Teal Cup in Hobart.
1980
US Cable TV network ESPN pays VFL $100,000 for rights to broadcast the match of the day.
1981
- Backed by News Limited and Hertz Rent-A-Car, Ron Barassi and officials from the Melbourne Football Club visit the USA (Los Angeles, Phoenix & West Virginia) and Ireland to observe and recruit potential talent.
- Victorian Under 17 team tours Ireland.
1982
- The Grand Final between Richmond and Carlton is replayed at the Gabba as an official demonstration sport of the XII Commonwealth Games. The ground is a sell out and patrons see Richmond reverse the tables, defeating the Blues by 18 points. Richmond 28.16 (184) d. Carlton 26.10 (166).
- Barry Richardson, Melbourne's Chairman of Selectors, visits Dublin to conduct coaching clinics, taking further clinics in 1983 and 1984. Talent unearthed at these clinics include Sean Wight and Jim Stynes.
1984
- Australia plays 3 tests against Ireland under "Compromise Rules", combining Gaelic & Australian Football. Matches are played in Ireland, with Australia winning 2-1.
- Irishman Paul Earley becomes the first Irish player to play in the VFL when he debuts for Melbourne.
1986
- Australia plays 3 tests against Ireland, in Australia. Ireland wins the series 2-1.
- North Melbourne 20.13 (133) d. Carlton 12.14 (86) in London, UK.
- Hawthorn 22.17 (149) d. Carlton 13.18 (96) in Tokyo, Japan.
- First international Superules match - Tasmania v. Singapore.
1987
- Australia plays 3 tests against Ireland, in Ireland. Australia wins the series 2-1.
- Melbourne 20.19 (139) d. Sydney 12.9 (81) in Vancouver, Canada.
- Melbourne 19.13 (127) d. North Melbourne 16.15 (111) in Vancouver, Canada.
- North Melbourne 16.8 (104) d. Carlton 13.13 (91) in London, UK.
- Hawthorn 20.14 (134) d. Essendon 11.9 (75) in Tokyo, Japan.
- Two Japanese university teams, Keio and Waseda, play a curtain raiser to the Hawthorn v. Essendon match.
1988
- Collingwood 18.16 (124) d. Geelong 10.18 (78) in Miami, USA.
- Hawthorn 9.14 (68) d. Carlton 6.11 (47) in London, UK.
- Collingwood 18.11 (119) d. Hawthorn 15.15 (105) in Toronto, Canada.
1989
- Canadian Australian Football Association (CAFA) formed in Canada.
- Melbourne 14.19 (103) d. Geelong 13.12 (90) in Toronto, Canada.
- Essendon 18.16 (124) d. Hawthorn 15.20 (110) in Miami, USA.
- Melbourne 12.10 (82) d. Essendon 6.10 (46) in London, UK.
1990
- British Australian Rules Football League (BARFL) formed in England.
- Australia plays 3 tests against Ireland, in Australia. Ireland wins series 2-1.
- Melbourne 24.16 (160) d. West Coast 11.13 (79) in Portland, USA.
- Collingwood 19.9 (123) d. Essendon 13.12 (90) in London, UK.
- First game in Hong Kong - AGC Devils v. Fosters Sharks.
1991
- Danish Australian Football League (DAFL) formed in Denmark.
- Tokyo Goannas Australian Football Club formed in Japan.
- Hong Kong Dragons Australian Football Club formed.
- Geelong 12.11 (83) d. St. Kilda 10.10 (70) in Auckland, New Zealand.
- West Coast 14.12 (96) d. Hawthorn 10.6 (66) in London, UK.
- Irishman Jim Stynes wins the Brownlow Medal.
1992
- Great Britain 16.11 (107) d. Balmain 6.6 (42) in London, UK.
- North London 21.16 (142) d. Denmark 3.13 (31) in Denmark.
1993
- Canada 19.7 (121) d. Great Britain 7.7 (49) in Toronto, Canada.
- Hong Kong Dragons 15.15 (105) d. Great Britain 7.10 (52) in London, UK.
- Singapore Wombats Australian Football Club formed.
1994
- The AFL's strategic five-year plan reveals that Papua New Guinea is a potential market of AFL players, with Africa and Russia considered growth areas. There is a call for the re-establishment of chances for players to represent Australia, most probably against Ireland.
- Richmond 14.20 (104) d. Carlton 13.5 (83) in London, UK.
- West Coast 14.14 (98) d. Adelaide 8.8 (56) in London, UK.
- Great Britain 12.14 (86) d. Hamilton 4.13 (37) in Hamilton, Canada.
- Canada 12.8 (80) d. Great Britain 10.6 (66) in Toronto, Canada.
- Great Britain 19.15 (129) d. Denmark-Sweden 6.4 (40) in London, UK.
1995
- Japan, Hong Kong/Singapore, Nauru, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand compete at the Arafura Games in Darwin. PNG defeats New Zealand in the final.
- Denmark-Sweden 12.21 (93) d. Great Britain 3.7 (25) in Copenhagen, Denmark.
- Jakarta Bintangs Australian Football Club formed in Indonesia.
- Australian Football Association of North America (AFANA) formed.
1996
- Papua New Guinea 21.22 (148) d. Central Desert Eagles 5.8 (38) in Perth. Played as a curtain raiser to the West Coast v. Carlton match.
- Denmark-Sweden 8.6 (54) d. Great Britain 6.13 (49) in London, UK.
- Malaysian Tigers Australian Football Club formed.
- Thailand Tigers Australian Football Club formed.
1997
- Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand return to Darwin for Arafura Games. PNG repeat as gold medallists. Talks held with representatives from South Africa about introducing the game there.
- International Australian Football Council (IAFC) formed in Darwin.
- Australian Defence Force team visits North West Province, South Africa.
- Denmark-Sweden 20.24 (144) d. Great Britain 7.7 (49) in Copenhagen, Denmark
- Nauru competes in the Queensland under-14 championships, defeating the Gold Coast combined under-14 side by 28 points, 8-6 (54) to 4-2 (26).
- United States Australian Football Association (USAFA) formed.
- AFL Commission approves the establishment of the New Zealand Australian Football Development Foundation (NZAFDF).
- Bali Geckos Australian Football Club formed in Indonesia.
- Saigon Saints Australian Football Club formed in Vietnam.
- Oktoberfest Cup held in Germany. Games played under 9-a-side rules on a large soccer sized pitch. Six teams compete - Paris Blues, Frankfurt Redbacks, Munich Roos, Irish Fianna, Helsinborg Saints (Sweden) and The Highwaymen (Marcellin footballers from the amateurs in Melbourne).
- West Coast 11.7 (73) d. Collingwood 8.7 (55) in London, UK.
1998
- Melbourne 15.15 (109) d. Sydney 14.9 (93) in Wellington, New Zealand.
- Brisbane 18.17 (125) d. Fremantle 16.7 (103) in Cape Town, South Africa.
- AIS/AFL academy squad (under 18's) tours Ireland.
- International series between Australia and Ireland in Dublin. Ireland wins series on aggregate 128-119.
- Western Bulldogs 15.5 (95) d. St. Kilda 10.12 (72) in London, UK.
- Under 16 South African team competes in inaugural Jim Stynes Cup in Canberra.
- USAFA stages inaugural National Championships in Cincinnati, Ohio.
- Inaugural Foster's Asia Cup in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Competing teams are Saigon Saints, Hanoi Hawks, Hong Kong Dragons and Thailand Tigers.
- Asian Australian Football League (AAFL) founded.
- Salvadoran Federation of Australian Football formed in El Salvador, Central America.
- Stockholm Vikings formed in Sweden.
- China Blues Australian Football Club formed in China.
- Samoa Australian Rules Football Association (SARFA) formed in Samoa.
- Papua New Guinea compete in Queensland Country Rules Football Carnival in Cairns.
- A Danish team, the Farum Lions, visits Australia and plays 3 matches against Scotch College, Yarrawong and Assumption College.
- Adelaide Crows conduct coaching clinics in South Africa.
1999
- International Australian Football Council (IAFC) announces it will bring forward the inaugural Australian Football World Cup (later renamed the International Cup) to 2002.
- AIS/AFL academy squad plays 3 matches against Ireland in Australia. Australia wins series.
- Brad Johnson and Steve Kretiuk from the Western Bulldogs conduct coaching clinics in Samoa.
- NZAFDF renamed New Zealand AFL.
- PNG wins third consecutive gold medal at the Arafura Games in Darwin. New Zealand takes silver and Samoa bronze.
- Menaida Tigers win their 12th consecutive Nauru Amateur Football Association premiership.
- Denmark-Sweden 12.18 (90) d. Great Britain 5.6 (36) in London, UK.
- Ireland's first team, the Dublin Demons, formed.
- Dermott Brereton conducts a coaching clinic in Samoa.
- Paul Roos, funded by the AFL, conducts coaching clinics in the USA.
2000
- Western Bulldogs 13.7 (85) d. Hawthorn 4.14 (38) in Wellington, New Zealand.
- AFL appoints Dr. Ross Smith to position of General Manager - Game Development. Smith's portfolio includes international footy.
- Nauru wins Web Sports Cup in Queensland, defeating teams from Samoa and Australia.
- AFL appoints Development Officer, Andrew Cadzow, for Papua New Guinea.
- Farum Lions (Denmark) junior team tours Australia.
- Australian Rules Football League of Ireland (ARFLI) formed.
- Footy Argentina formed in Buenos Aires.
- Two teams, the Hares and the Crocodiles, formed in Senegal, West Africa.
- Inaugural Asian Australian Football League (AAFL) Championship held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
- Cambodia Crocs Australian Football Club formed.
- Jim Stynes Trophy held in Canberra, ACT.
- Denmark-Sweden 18.21 (129) d. Great Britain 0.3 (3) in Arhus, Denmark.
- Australian Defence Team plays two matches in Samoa.
2001
- Brisbane Lions 16.18 (114) d. Adelaide 10.13 (73) in Wellington, New Zealand.
- Nauru wins Pacific Cup in Queensland.
- Nauru wins Gold Medal at Arafura Games in Darwin.
- Timor Lorosae Australian Futeball Associacao (TILAFA) formed in Dili, East Timor.
- AFL appoints Development Officer, Dale Alsford, for South Africa.
- Ireland wins inaugural Atlantic Alliance Cup held in London.
- Dutch Australian Football Association (DAFA) formed in The Netherlands.
- Ozirulz Georgia formed.
- AFL PNG formed.
- New Zealand Under 21 team tours Australia, winning two of its five matches.
2002
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