The game was first known as Melbourne rules football. As it spread throughout the country, the game became known as Victorian rules football, and then Australian rules football. The game was shaped in the early years through feedback from clubs, players and spectators.

The question of whether Australian rules football and Gaelic football have shared origins arises because it is clear even to casual observers that the two games are similar. The first record of an early version of Gaelic football is considered to be a game in 1670 in Meath (Irish county) where the match featured the catching and kicking of a ...

On May 17, 1859, Hammersley, Smith, Thompson and Wills, gathering at Bryant's Hotel in East Melbourne, wrote the 10 rules that formed the basis of what has become today's game. The original rules and the hand-written document can be accessed here.

On 14 May 2017, Port Adelaide and the Gold Coast played the first-ever AFL match for premiership points in Shanghai, China, attracting a crowd of 10,114 at Jiangwan Stadium. Port Adelaide won the game by 72 points. In 2020, the AFL season was severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

2023年9月6日 · In the winter of 1858 students from Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar competed against each other in several games of football. These matches are credited as the first organised games of Australian Rules football.

2025年1月29日 · The first facility built specifically for Australian football use appeared in 1876 on land leased by Carlton from Melbourne University. The first Carlton-Melbourne game at the ground attracted 5,000 spectators. By the mid-’80s crowds approaching 34,000 were attending matches between leading clubs.

The first game. A match between Scotch and Melbourne Grammar schools was held on August 7, 1858. This is generally considered the first game of what we now call AFL (Australian Rules Football), though the rules for this match would have been rather crude.

ON MAY 17, 1859 – 160 years ago – four influential sporting identities gathered in a hotel near the Melbourne Cricket Ground and wrote the first official rules of Australian Football.

In the winter of 1858 students from three Melbourne schools played against each other in several football games. These matches are believed to be the first organised games of Australian Rules football. In 1859 a set of rules was created and regular games began around Melbourne.

The first recorded game of Australian Football was begun on the tree-dotted parklands outside the Melbourne Cricket Ground by teams from Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar School on 7 August 1858. After three playing days the game ended in a draw with each team kicking one goal.