The Australian Amateur Football Council (AAFC) is the governing body of amateur Australian football in the states of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, and

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

in Australia. The council was formed in 1933.

Overview

The council organises amateur interstate and international representative matches, and is responsible for several amateur leagues, including the

Victorian Amateur Football Association The Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) is the largest senior community Australian rules football competition in Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It consists of seven senior men's and women's divisions ranging from Premier to Division ...

South Australian Amateur Football League The Adelaide Footy League, formerly known as the South Australian Amateur Football League (SAAFL), is a semi-professional Australian rules football competition based in Adelaide, South Australia. Comprising sixty-seven member clubs playing ove ...

and

Western Australian Amateur Football League The Perth Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in Perth, Western Australia. It is the largest Australian rules football competition in Western Australia. History The competition began in 1922 with five teams as the M ...

. Not all Australian amateur leagues are represented: the Northern Tasmanian Football Association has been a member in the past and a U23 All-Australian team played an open Tasmanian team in 2007. The

Top End Australian Football Association The Top End Australian Football Association (TEAFA) was an amateur Australian rules football competition in the Northern Territory, Australia. More recently in 2010/11, the TEAFA merged with the NTFL creating a three tiered competition with team ...

AFLQ State Association Australian rules football in South East Queensland has a varied history and many changes were made especially in the 21st century. Ruled and organised by the AFL Queensland, the region had a total of 46 teams playing in different divisions.

and

Sydney AFL AFL Sydney is an Australian rules football League, based in metropolitan Sydney, Australia. The AFL Sydney competition comprises 126 teams from 22 clubs which play across seven senior men's divisions, five women's divisions, a Master's Division ...

are not members of the AAFC, as these leagues do not follow as strict criteria of "amateur". The AAFC was represented by a voting delegate on the

Australian National Football Council The Australian National Football Council (ANFC) was the national governing body for Australian rules football in Australia from 1906 until 1995. The council was a body of delegates representing each of the principal leagues which controlled the ...

from 1949 until the ANFC's dissolution in 1995. This gave the AAFC an equal voice in national administration of the game alongside major state leagues like 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 ...

and

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as t ...

, and entitled the amateurs to send teams to compete in interstate carnivals. Although its position on the ANFC nominally meant the amateurs were required to play under the national

Laws of Australian Football The laws of Australian rules football were first created by the Melbourne Football Club in 1859 and have been refined over the years as the sport evolved into its modern form. The laws significantly predate the advent of a governing body for t ...

, the amateurs have played with minor differences in the rules: most notably, the amateurs have had an order-off rule since the 1930s, and presently use a

25-metre penalty In the sport of Australian rules football, the 50-metre penalty is applied by umpires to a number of different infractions when a free kick or mark has already been paid. The laws of the game also allow leagues to use a 25-metre penalty in place ...

instead of the 50-metre penalty used in professional leagues. Player transfer rules also differ: while players are required to sign transfers when switching between professional leagues, they do not need to do so for amateur leagues affiliated with the AAFC; however, during player registration, most leagues affiliated with the AAFC request statements of a clean history (no major reports or lifetime bans) and that they are not being paid to play elsewhere. The AAFC's international tours have included under 17 AAFC tours to Ireland to play

International Rules Football International rules football ( ga, Peil na rialacha idirnáisiunta; also known as international rules in Australia and compromise rules or Aussie rules in Ireland) is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed ...

against

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

References

External links

* Australian rules football governing bodies Sports organizations established in 1933 {{AFL-stub