The first club was formed in South Australia in 1860 and the first club in Queensland by 1866. From 1877, both the VFA (Victorian Football Association) and SAFA (South Australian Football Association) were operating as eight-team leagues, with the first inter-colony match played before the end of the 1870s.
How was AFL introduced to Australia?
The first match that the AFL Commission has identified as a direct precursor to the codification of Australian football was organised and umpired by Tom Wills and contested between Melbourne Grammar School Football Club and Scotch College, on 31 July 1858 at the Richmond Paddock, adjacent to the Melbourne Cricket …
Who started AFL in Australia?
The Founder of the Game
In the 21st century the role played by Tom Wills in the establishment of the game is generally recognised as pivotal. However, in the latter part of the 19th century and much of the 20th, H.C.A. Harrison was accepted as “the father of Australian rules football”.