Australian rules football in Victoria is the most watched

code of football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

. Victoria has more than double the number of

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 ...

players of any other state in Australia ( Soccer in Victoria is the only other football code with more participants). The game's popularity in Victoria stems from its origins in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in the 1850s. Victoria is home to the

Cordner–Eggleston Cup The Cordner–Eggleston Cup is a retrospective award commemorating the historic school football rivalry between Melbourne Grammar School and the Scotch College which has been contested since 1858. Competition between these schools is believed ...

, the longest continuously running football competition in the world. It was home to the first official tournament in the sport, the

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

in 1861. It is home to the second oldest football league in Australia, the

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

. It is also home to the oldest and most popular national football competition, the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL) which was a rebadge of Victoria's state competition, the Victorian Football League (VFL) from 1990. As such, the majority (10 of 18) teams participating in the AFL remain based in Victoria (in addition, two other Victorian clubs survive in the competition as relocated and merged entities). Since the renaming of the league, Victorian-based clubs have continued to dominate with around two thirds of the premierships. The

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

, with a capacity of 100,024 people (and has filled to over 120,000 in the past), is considered the "spiritual home" of the game, and is contracted to host the sport's largest event, the

AFL Grand Final The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. From its inception until 1989, it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league at that time was the Victori ...

, annually until 2058 traditionally staged on the afternoon of the last Saturday in September.Deal done on MCG grand final contract extension
Sport Victoria 3 Sep 2020 The state also holds regular blockbusters including the annual

Anzac Day match The Anzac Day match is an annual Australian rules football match between Collingwood and Essendon, two clubs in the Australian Football League, held on Anzac Day (25 April) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). History of Australian rul ...

Queen's Birthday match The King's Birthday match is an annual Australian rules football match between the Melbourne Football Club and Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on the King's Birthday ...

and

Dreamtime at the 'G The Dreamtime at the 'G is an annual Australian rules football match between Australian Football League clubs and . Since the 2007 AFL Season, 2007 season the match has been held annually on the Saturday night of the AFL's "Indigenous Round", ...

. The

Victoria Australian rules football team The Victoria Australian rules football team, known colloquially as the Big V, is the state representative side of Victoria, Australia, in the sport of Australian rules football. The Big V has a proud history, dominating the first 100 years of ...

has won more championships than any other state (until the introduction of

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...

rules) winning 16 of the 19 carnivals up until 1975. Since other states were removed from contesting State of Origin, Victoria has been undefeated, having won against a combined rest of Australia team at home in both

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

. Victorian teams have also dominated the National underage championships with two thirds of the titles since it went national in 1976. Victorian clubs have also won 10 of the 19 Championships of Australia. Victoria has produced the most greats in the history of the game. All three of the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

Australian Football legends are Victorian:

Ron Barassi Ronald Dale Barassi Jr. (born 27 February 1936) is a former Australian rules footballer, coach and media personality. Regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of the game, Barassi was the first player to be inaugurated into ...

Ted Whitten Edward James Whitten Sr. OAM (27 July 1933 – 17 August 1995) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Footscray Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Born and raised into a working-class family in Footscray, Whi ...

and

Leigh Matthews Leigh Raymond Matthews (born 1 March 1952) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and coached and the . Squat, short-legged and barrel-chested, Matthews earned the ic ...

. More than half of the

Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coa ...

Legends are from the state. Victoria also holds the world record for attendance with 121,696 attending the 1970 VFL Grand Final between Carlton and Collingwood.

History

:''See also Origins of the Game,

History of Australian rules football in Victoria (1859–1900) Australian rules football was first organised in Victoria in 1859 when its rules were codified by the Melbourne Football Club. First rules: 1859 On 17 May 1859, the first rules for a local code of football were written during a meeting of f ...

Tom Wills Thomas Wentworth Wills (19 August 1835 – 2 May 1880) was an Australian sportsman who is credited with being Australia's first cricketer of significance and a founder of Australian rules football. Born in the British penal colony of New ...

began to devise Australian rules in

in 1858. (Although H.C.A. Harrison, Wills' cousin, was also named, much later, as an official ''father of the game'' his role does not, now, seem to have been significant at this very early stage.) A letter by Wills was published in ''Bell's Life in Victoria & Sporting Chronicle'' on 10 July 1858, calling for a "foot-ball club" with a "code of laws" to keep cricketers fit during winter. A match, played at the Richmond Paddock (later known as

Yarra Park Yarra Park (35.469 hectares) is part of the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct, the premier sporting precinct of Victoria, Australia. Located in Yarra Park is the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and numerous sporting fields and ovals, in ...

next to the

MCG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...

) on 31 July 1858, was probably a game of folk football, or one based on unidentified English school rules. However, few details of the match have survived. The

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

was founded on Saturday 14 May 1859, one of the world's first football clubs in any code. For many years unjustified claims have been made about a football match between

Melbourne Grammar School (Pray and Work) , established = 1849 (on present site since 1858 - the celebrated date of foundation) , type = Independent, co-educational primary, single-sex boys secondary, day and boarding , denomination ...

and Scotch College. It began on 7 August 1858, umpired by Wills and John McAdam. A second day of play took place on 21 August and a third, and final, day on 4 September. The two schools have competed annually ever since. However, the rules used by the two teams in 1858 had little in common with the eventual form of Australian football since that code had not yet been written. The Melbourne Football Club rules of 1859 are the oldest surviving set of laws for Australian football. They were drawn up at the Parade Hotel,

East Melbourne East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government areas of ...

, on 17 May, by Wills, W. J. Hammersley, J. B. Thompson and Thomas Smith (some sources include H. C. A. Harrison). The 1859 rules did not include some elements that soon became important to the game, such as the requirement to bounce the ball while running, and Melbourne's game was not immediately adopted by neighbouring clubs. Before each match the rules had to be agreed by the two teams involved. By 1866, however, several other clubs had agreed to play by an updated version of Melbourne's rules.

First Organised Competitions

While many early Victorian teams participated in one-off matches, most had not yet formed clubs for regular competition until 1860. To ensure the supremacy of the Melbourne rules, the first-club level competition in Australia, the Caledonian Society's

(1861–64), stipulated that only the Melbourne rules were to be used. This law was reinforced by the Athletic Sports Committee (ASC), which ran a variation of the Challenge Cup in 1865–66. With input from other clubs, the rules underwent several minor revisions, establishing a uniform code known as "Victorian rules". In 1866, the "first distinctively Victorian rule", the

running bounce A running bounce, or simply bounce, is a skill in the sport of Australian rules football (necessitated by the Laws of the Game) and some variants where a player, bounces (or touches) the ball on the ground in order to run more than the maximum di ...

, was formalised at a meeting of club delegates chaired by

H. C. A. Harrison Henry Colden Antill Harrison (16 October 1836 – 2 September 1929) was an athlete and Australian rules footballer who played a leading role in pioneering the sport. Harrison's cousin, champion cricketer Tom Wills, captained an early incarnat ...

, an influential pioneer who took up football in 1859 at the invitation of Wills, his cousin.

VFA era

On 17 May 1877, the Victorian Football Association (VFA), Victoria's first

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ge ...

for Australian football, was formed. The foundation Senior clubs of the VFA were Albert-park,

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

, Hotham,

, St Kilda. The Junior section of the VFA originally included such clubs as

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington * Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport * Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United Ki ...

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

, Northcote,

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at ...

Standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

Victoria United :''Victoria United is also the name of a defunct Scottish soccer team, see Victoria United F.C.'' Victoria United is a Canadian soccer team based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. With lineage to clubs founded in 1904, the team plays in th ...

Victorian Railways The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...

, West Melbourne and Williamstown. During its early years, many clubs dropped in and out and there were erratic promotions between the Senior and Junior sections. Hawthorn, Northcote, Standard, Victoria United, Victorian Railways and Williamstown dropped out within a year or so but Hawthorn, Northcote and Williamstown were all to return at various times. There were also numerous rules changes in this early period.

Growth outside of Melbourne

Not all football was played in Melbourne and the Goldfields experienced its own boom in competition in the 1880s and 1890s. By 1881, the Sandhurst Football Association had formed with a number of clubs in what is now Bendigo. Ballarat was to follow with its own Ballarat Football Association in 1893, giving some of the oldest clubs outside of Melbourne including

(1860) and Sandhurst (1861) clubs and the growing number of clubs in country Victoria some regular competition. While strong popular competitions in their own right, their member clubs were to become strong feeder clubs to the big metropolitan leagues.

Formation of the VFL

A rift in the VFA led to the formation of the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL), which commenced play in 1897 as an eight-team breakaway of the stronger clubs in the VFA competition: Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon,

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

, Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda and South Melbourne. The first season concluded with Essendon finishing as the premiers (winners). Another four VFA clubs joined the VFL later, as

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

joined the VFL in 1908. Footscray,

and North Melbourne joined in 1925, by which time VFL had become the most prominent league in the game. University also joined the VFL in 1908 but left in 1915.

National league and current issues

In 1982, in a move which heralded big changes within the sport, one of the original VFL clubs, South Melbourne Football Club, relocated to the

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

stronghold of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and became known as the

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...

. In the late 1980s, strong interstate interest in the VFL led to a more national competition; two more non-Victorian clubs, the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football ...

and the

Brisbane Bears The Brisbane Football Club, nicknamed the Bears, was a professional Australian rules football club based in Queensland on the Gold Coast (relocated to Brisbane in 1993). The club participated in the Victorian/Australian Football League (VFL/ ...

began playing in 1987. The league changed its name to the

(AFL) following the 1989 season, later gaining further West Australian and South Australian teams. The VFA/VFL became a secondary league, although even it has grown to accommodate a team from

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. Even the biggest locally grown suburban clubs, elevated into the national league, continue struggle for survival, competing for marketshare. Fourteen years after South Melbourne's difficulties led them to move to Sydney, similar problems at the

Fitzroy Football Club The Fitzroy Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently competing in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA). Formed in 1883 to represent the inner-Melbourne municipality of Fitzroy, the club was a member of the Vi ...

result in a merger, forming the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was formed in late 1996 via a merger of the Melbourne-based 1883 foundation VFL c ...

. Although a small consolation of these club's recent success has been establishing renewed interest with their Melbourne based supporters, other clubs, such as the historic Melbourne, Western Bulldogs (formerly Footscray), North Melbourne and Carlton Clubs are assisted by the AFL to remain in the national competition. Many suggestions have been made in response to issues of overcrowdin

but the AFL has been somewhat reluctant to make a drastic change, due to both the history and supporters' passion for their club – save for the merger of Fitzroy and the Bears.

Participation

In 2004, with 36,900 senior players in Victoria, more than any other state in Australia. With a total participation of 223,999, Victoria has a participation rate of around 4% per capita, makes it the equal third most supported state (with Western Australia and South Australia)

Audience

Attendance record

* 121,696 (1970). Australian Football League, VFL

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...

v Collingwood (

)

Major Australian rules events in Victoria

Premiership Season including special matches:

and

(annual) *

Grand Final (annual) *

International Rules Series The International Rules Series is a senior men's international rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team (selected by the Australian Football League) and the Ireland international rules football team (se ...

(biennial) *

Australian Football International Cup The Australian Football International Cup (also known as the AFL International Cup or simply the IC) is a triennial international Australian rules football sport competition. It is the biggest worldwide tournament in the sport and is open to ...

(quadrennial free event) * E. J. Whitten Legends Game (annual charity event) *

Community Cup The Community Cup (known as the Reclink Community Cup since 2009 under naming rights) is an annual charity event which features a celebrity mixed-gender Australian rules football match. It is noted for its cult following, celebrity appearan ...

(annual charity event) * Multicultural Cup (annual free event) *

Ovens & Murray Football League The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League (O&MFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing ten clubs based in north-eastern Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales and the Ovens and Murray are ...

Grand Final (annual)

Notable Victorian footballers

players with Legend status from Victoria (in order of induction) include:

Haydn Bunton Sr. Haydn William Bunton (5 July 1911 – 5 September 1955) was an Australian rules footballer who represented in the Victorian Football League (VFL), in the West Australian Football League (WAFL), and in the South Australian National Football Le ...

, Roy Cazaly, John Coleman,

Jack Dyer John Raymond Dyer Sr. OAM (15 November 1913 – 23 August 2003), nicknamed Captain Blood, was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1931 and 1949. One of the ga ...

, Bill Hutchison,

, John Nicholls,

Bob Pratt Harold Robert Pratt Sr. (31 August 1912 – 6 January 2001) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the South Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the Coburg Football Club in the Victorian Football Asso ...

Dick Reynolds Richard Sylvannus Reynolds (20 June 1915 – 2 September 2002) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Reynolds is one of four footballers to have won three Brownlow ...

Bob Skilton Robert John "Bob" Skilton (born 8 November 1938) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Playing as a rover, Skilton is one of only four players to have won the Brownlow Medal three tim ...

, Ian Stewart,

Gordon Coventry Gordon Richard James Coventry (25 September 1901 – 7 November 1968) was a former Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Accorded "Legend" status in the Australian Footb ...

, Kevin Bartlett,

Jock McHale James Francis "Jock" McHale, (12 December 1882 – 4 October 1953) was an Australian rules football player and coach for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League in a marathon career that extended from 1903 to 1949. Earl ...

Norm Smith Norman Walter Smith (21 November 1915 – 29 July 1973) was an Australian rules football player and coach in the Victorian Football League (VFL). After more than 200 games as a player with and , Smith began a twenty-year coaching career, inc ...

, Kevin Murray,

Tony Lockett Anthony Howard Lockett (born 9 March 1966) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club and Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). Nicknamed "Plugger", he is considered one of the greatest f ...

, Kevin Sheedy and John Kennedy Sr. Victorians represent the vast majority of male Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees. File:Ron barassi statue.jpg,

statue at the MCG File:Hastings_John_Coleman_Statue.JPG, John Coleman statue at

Hastings, Victoria Hastings is a town on the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Mornington Peninsula local government area. Hastings recorded a population of ...

File:Jack_Dyer_Statue.jpg,

statue at the

Punt Road Oval Punt Road Oval, also known by naming rights sponsorship as the Swinburne Centre, is an Australian rules football ground and former cricket oval located within the Yarra Park precinct of East Melbourne, Victoria, situated a few hundred metres to ...

File:Leigh_Matthews_Statue_MCG.jpg,

statue at MCG File:Dick_Reynolds_Statue_MCG.jpg,

statue at MCG File:Ted_Whitten_statue.jpg,

statue at

Whitten Oval Whitten Oval (also known as Victoria University Whitten Oval under a naming rights agreement) is a stadium in the inner-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Barkly Street, West Footscray. It is the training and administr ...

File:Kevin_Bartlett.jpg, Kevin Bartlett statue at the MCG File:John Kennedy Sr. statue in front of Waverly Park.jpg, John Kennedy Sr. statue at

Waverley Park Waverley Park (also and originally called VFL Park) was an Australian rules football stadium in Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia. For most of its history, its purpose was as a neutral venue and used by all Victorian-based Victorian Football ...

Notable female players include:

Debbie Lee Deborah "Debbie" Lee (born 1974) is a former Australian rules football player and coach. She has campaigned for recognition of women's Australian rules football in Australia, giving up a WNBL career to focus on developing the sport. She was ...

(first female member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame),

Daisy Pearce Daisy Pearce (born 27 May 1988) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition. Often regarded as the face of women's Australian rules football, Pearce has served as Melbourne c ...

Erin Phillips Erin Victoria Phillips (born 19 May 1985) is an Australian rules footballer for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition, a radio host, and a former professional basketball player. She played nine seasons in the Wo ...

was born in Melbourne. Debbie_Lee_18.02.17.jpg,

File:Daisy_Pearce.3.jpg,

Governing body

The

for Australian rules football in Victoria is

AFL Victoria AFL Victoria (formerly Football Victoria) is the state-level sport governing body for Australian rules football in the state of Victoria, Australia. Under the organisation's jurisdiction fall 115 leagues — including the Victorian Football Le ...

Leagues and clubs

Professional clubs

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Mel ...

(

) *

Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The club w ...