Australian rules football exhibition matches
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Australian rules football has been introduced to a wide range of places around Australia and the world since the code originated in Victoria in 1858. Much of this expansion can be directly attributed to exhibition matches in countries where the code has been played as a demonstration sport.
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[edit] International expansion
After the 1960s, the Victorian Football League, realising that finding new markets were essential to the prosperity of the competition began to belatedly pursue a series of international exhibition matches to raise the profile of the game overseas.
The longest and most persistent of these was Great Britain, which was seen as an opportunity primarily due to the high number of ex-patriate Australians living there, and the availability of cricket grounds.
Serious efforts to grow the game were not realised until the 1980s. Games played in this decade began to spawn infant leagues in Japan named the "Aussie Bowl", the United States of America and Canada, which have been represented at the Australian Football International Cup since 2002.
During the 1990s, regular exhibition matches became part of the growth strategy of the renamed Australian Football League, which began to realise that the effects of globalisation would threaten the future of the sport in the face of world sports like soccer. The focus of the AFL in this decade was New Zealand and South Africa.
[edit] Future International Australian Football exhibition matches
Exhibition matches are regularly scheduled for The Oval in London, which has in the past been an event for ex-patriate Australians. The event has been annual as the "AFL Challenge Trophy" since 2002 and although it has not always been annual event, a small amount of interest in the games has grown amongst locals.
Since sell-out game in Los Angeles, USA in early 2006, club officials of the Sydney Swans have called for regular games (similar to the London matches) including the possibility of a premiership match.
The WAFL has also announced intentions to play an exhibition match in Mumbai, India in late 2006 between the grand finalists. [1]
In November 2005, AFL club Melbourne made an announcement that it was investigating playing an exhibition match in 2006 or 2007 in the Chinese metropolis Tianjin, with Beijing or Shanghai possible alternative hosts. [2]
In February 2006, AFL club Essendon's CEO indicated the possibility of an exhibition match in Japan in 2007 to mark 20 years since the last Aussie Bowl between the Bombers and Hawthorn. [3]
[edit] History of official International Australian rules football exhibition matches
| DATE/YEAR | LOCATION | STADIUM | TEAMS | CROWD |
| 21/10/2006 | London, England | The Oval | Geelong v. Port Adelaide | 12,129 |
| 15/1/2006 | Los Angeles, USA | Intramural Field, UCLA | Kangaroos v. Sydney | 3,200 (sell-out) |
| 8/10/2005 | London, England | The Oval | West Coast Eagles v. Fremantle | 18,884 |
| 11/10/2003 | London, England | The Oval | Collingwood v. Fremantle | 12,847 |
| 12/10/2002 | London, England | The Oval | Richmond v. Essendon | 13,000 |
| 13/10/2001 | London, England | The Oval | Richmond v. Essendon | (cancelled after 9/11 terrorist attacks) |
| 17/2/2001 | Wellington, New Zealand | Westpac Stadium | Brisbane Lions v. Adelaide | 7,500 |
| 7/10/2000 | London, England | The Oval | Melbourne v. Adelaide | 4,500 |
| 29/01/2000 | Wellington, New Zealand | Westpac Stadium | Western Bulldogs v. Hawthorn | 11,666 |
| 9/10/1999 | London, England | The Oval | Essendon v. Hawthorn | ? |
| 10/10/1998 | London, England | The Oval | Western Bulldogs v. St Kilda | 12,000 |
| 1/03/1998 | Wellington, New Zealand | Basin Reserve | Melbourne v. Sydney | 7,820 |
| 22/02/1998 | Cape Town, South Africa | Newlands | Brisbane v. Fremantle | 10,123 |
| 12/10/1997 | London, England | The Oval | West Coast v. Collingwood | 14,000 |
| 16/10/1994 | London, England | The Oval | Richmond v. Carlton + Adelaide v West Coast | 6,000 |
| 13/10/1991 | London, England | The Oval | West Coast v. Hawthorn | 10,000 |
| 5/10/1991 | Auckland, New Zealand | Geelong v. St Kilda | 8,500 | |
| 14/10/1990 | London, England | The Oval | Collingwood v. Essendon | 9,000 |
| 12/10/1990 | Portland, USA | Civic Stadium | Melbourne v. West Coast | 14,787 |
| 22/10/1989 | London, England | The Oval | Melbourne v. Essendon | 12,000 |
| 14/10/1989 | Miami, USA | Joe Robbie Stadium | Essendon v. Hawthorn | 10,069 |
| 12/10/1989 | Toronto, Canada | Toronto Skydome | Geelong v. Melbourne | 24,639 |
| 16/10/1988 | Toronto, Canada | Varsity Stadium | Collingwood v. Hawthorn | 18,500 |
| 9/10/1988 | London, England | The Oval | Hawthorn v. Carlton | 10,000 |
| 8/10/1988 | Miami, USA | Joe Robbie Stadium | Collingwood v. Geelong | 7,500 |
| 25/10/1987 | Yokohama, Japan | Yokohama Stadium | Hawthorn v. Essendon | 13,000 |
| 18/10/1987 | Vancouver, Canada | B.C. Place | Melbourne v. North Melbourne | 7,980 |
| 11/10/1987 | London, England | The Oval | Carlton v. North Melbourne | ? |
| 9/10/1987 | Vancouver, Canada | B.C. Place | Melbourne v. Sydney | 32,789 |
| 3/11/1986 | Yokohama, Japan | Yokohama Stadium | Carlton v. Hawthorn | 25,000 |
| 12/10/1986 | London, England | The Oval | Carlton v. North Melbourne | ? |
| 29/10/1972 | London, England | The Oval | Carlton v. Orlando All-Stars | ? |
| 1972 | Athens, Greece | Carlton v. Orlando All-Stars | ? | |
| 1972 | Singapore | Carlton v. Orlando All-Stars | ? | |
| 26/10/1963 | San Francisco, USA | Big Rec Stadium | Geelong v. Melbourne | 3,500 |
| 20/10/1963 | Honolulu, USA | Geelong v. Melbourne | 1,500 |
Sources : International Australian Football Council, SurreyCricket.com, Matchday programmes
[edit] Interstate expansion
Australian rules football was introduced early in the 1880s to most of the states of Australia through a series of exhibition matches.
Leagues quickly formed in all states, and in many of these states, the code has become the most popular sport.
Although drawing significant crowds and interest early, the states of Queensland and New South Wales elected at official level to adopt the rugby codes in 1908. This was widely recognised as being due to the game's association with the tag "Melbourne Rules" or "Victorian Rules" and the fierce rivalry that Sydney has with Melbourne. With a lack of players, and grounds, support for Australian rules football decreased dramatically.
Support in these states has since grown in recent years, with "Australian Rules" gaining the status of national sport and local clubs established in the national competition in both Queensland and New South Wales during 1980s. Although the game is followed by the majority of the Australian population and states, there are still many in New South Wales (the most populous state) that associate the game with Melbourne or "the game they play in Victoria". For other states without teams in the national competition, the AFL has tried to maintain participation through regular exhibition games.
[edit] Regional AFL exhibition matches
In 2005, to bring the game to regional centres, the AFL began a series of pre-season practice matches before the Wizard Cup called the Wizard Regional Challenge Series.
The 2005 series included such Morwell, Port Lincoln, Joondalup, Lavington, Carrara, Alice Springs, Newcastle and Bendigo with a total attendance of 117,552. Features of the competition included a game between Collingwood vs Sydney in Newcastle in front of 5,002 spectators and Essendon vs Geelong in Bendigo in front of 13,000.
[edit] AFL exhibition matches played in New South Wales
Although the Sydney Swans Australian football club are based in Sydney, the AFL holds an annual exhibition match between the Essendon Bombers and Sydney Swans at the North Sydney Oval. Regional NAB Challenge matches have been played in Newcastle and Wollongong.
[edit] AFL exhibition matches played in Canberra/ACT
With no team in the national competition, and heavy competition with both rugby league and rugby union, the VFL/AFL has long shown interest in the nation's capital, largest inland city and 8th largest urban area. The city of Canberra and the Australian Capital Territory, formed in the 1920s and due to proximity generally followed the lead of New South Wales to adopt rugby league, but later adopted Rugby Union after the success of the ACT Brumbies. Since 2001, the Kangaroos Football Club have been working to build up a local supporter base by playing home games at Manuka Oval [4]. Crowds at Manuka have averaged around 10,000, with a record of 14,891 set in 2004 for the Kangaroos vs Sydney Swans.
[edit] AFL exhibition matches played in Northern Territory
With no team in the national competition, and heavy competition with rugby league, the VFL/AFL has maintained a strong following in the Northern Territory through exhibition matches. Like the Kangaroos in Canberra, the Western Bulldogs have recently expermented with home games in Darwin at Marrara Oval. Other exhibition matches have included the Aboriginal All-Stars in pre-season practice matches against various AFL clubs. The games at Marrara have averaged about 10,000 spectators, with a record of 17,500 witnessing the Aboriginal All-Stars vs Carlton match in 2002. Alice Springs has also hosted pre-season matches. In 2004, an AFL pre-season Regional Challenge match between Collingwood Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club at Traeger Park attracted a sell-out crowd of 10,000.
[edit] AFL exhibition matches played in Queensland
Before the advent of the Brisbane Bears, VFL/AFL exhibition matches were occasionally played at the Brisbane Cricket Ground. Exhibition matches have more recently been played in the Gold Coast and Cairns.
[edit] AFL exhibition matches played in Tasmania
Australian rules football is very popular in Tasmania, however there is no team in the national competition due to lack of corporate spornsorship. The population is sparsely spread and possibly not able to support an AFL team despite several bids and backing of the Tasmanian government. The Tasmanian Devils were recently created to participate in the Victorian Football League and has a large following, but has not quelled the desire for elite matches. As a result, many exhibition matches have been played in Tasmania.
The first VFL match was played on the 14th of June 1952 at North Hobart Oval between Fitzroy and Melbourne before 18,387 fans.
Since 2001, both Hawthorn and St Kilda have played AFL home games at Aurora Stadium in Launceston, Tasmania. Average crowds of around 15,000 have attended these games, with a record of 18,112 witnessing Hawthorn vs Port Adelaide in 2002.
