AFL Switzerland is an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

league in Switzerland. Founded in 2019, it is an official affiliation of

AFL Europe AFL Europe is the regional governing body for Australian rules football in Europe. As of 2018, it organises the AFL Europe Championship and the Euro Cup, and previously managed the ''European Legion'' representative team as well being responsible ...

. For the 2022 season, there are four clubs, plus a combined team, the Northern Bears. Teams are composed of males and females.

History

AFL in Switzerland was begun in

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

around 2009. A men's team partook in the AFL Italia League in 2010. From this team developed a Swiss national team, who competed in the 2010 Euro Cup, and the Lugano men's team competed in the Italian league. A women's team competed in the 2011 Euro Cup in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, Northern Ireland. Due to a lack of funding, the teams did not return to either competition. In 2016, a group of amateurs began holding Australian rules football training sessions in

Winterthur , neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell , twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria), La ...

, Switzerland. This continued through 2017, culminating in the sending of a team to the 2017 Euro Cup in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

. In February 2017, the Winterthur Lions AFC was officially founded. Two new clubs, the

Basel Dragons AFC The Basel Dragons AFC is an Australian rules football club located in Basel, Switzerland. It plays in the AFL Switzerland, of which it is one of the founding members. The Basel Dragons AFC is a family-friendly club for men, women and childre ...

and the Geneva Jets, were founded in October 2018. AFL Switzerland was established in 2019 and completed its inaugural season with the above three clubs in the senior ladder. Zurich Giants joined the league for the 2020 season.

Rapperswil Rapperswil ( Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dia ...

Jona Jona may refer to: * Jona, Switzerland, a village of the municipality Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland * Jona (river), in the cantons of Zürich and St. Gallen in Switzerland * Jona (album), ''Jona'' (album), an album by Jona Viray People with the giv ...

started up in January 2020 and planned to have teams ready for 2021.

Clubs

There are four clubs in four cities:

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

('' the Dragons''),

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

(''the Jets''),

(''the Lions'') and Zurich (''the Giants''). The Northern Bears is a combined team that plays in the reserves division. Clubs who have representatives in the Bears team are marked with an asterisk below.

Season

The AFL Switzerland seasons run from April or May to September. For the 2022 season, the rounds take place on 30 April, 14 May, 11 June, 2 July, 27 August, with the Grand Final on 17 September.AFL Switzerland - 2022 Fixtures
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Format

There are five rounds, followed by a Grand Final in September. At the end of each round, there is a boat race. Teams play each other five times during the regular season.

References

{{Reflist

External links

AFL Switzerland official websiteBasel Dragons official websiteGeneva Jets official websiteZurich Giants official websiteWinterthur Lions Facebook page
Sports governing bodies in Switzerland Australian rules football in Switzerland

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Sports leagues established in 2019 2019 establishments in Switzerland