United States Australian Football League
 | |
| Sport | Australian rules football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1996 |
| Inaugural season | 1997[1][2] |
| No. of teams | 50 (men's) and 27 (women's)[1] |
| Country | USA |
| Most recent champion(s) | Men's: Austin Crows (5th premiership) Women's: San Francisco Iron Maidens (4th premiership) |
| Most titles | Men: Denver Bulldogs (8 premierships) Women: Denver Bulldogs (6 premierships) |
| TV partner(s) | Go Live Sports Cast Youtube |
| Official website | www |
The United States Australian Football League (USAFL) is the governing body for Australian rules football in the United States. It was conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997. It is based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
As of 2011, there were over 1,000 registered USAFL players.[3][4] There are 50 member clubs, of which 48 have men's teams (all except North Star Blue Ox and the Centennial Tigers) and 27 have women's teams.[1] Most of the football clubs in the United States have a traditional 18-a-side team for representative purposes and multiple 9-a-side teams running in a local league.
History[]
The first match between two local US clubs was played in 1996 between Cincinnati and Louisville.[5] In the first year the Mid American Australian Football League was formed. Many of the local players had found out about the game in the 1980s on television via the then-nascent ESPN cable network. Although the local game grew, ESPN no longer broadcast AFL matches, and in response the lobby group, Australian Football Association of North America was formed.
In 1997, the first club national championships were held in Cincinnati. Nashville hosted the first Australian Grand Final Festival in the same year. The United States Australian Football League (USAFL) was formed in 1997 to govern the code in the country.
The involvement of many well-known Australians has helped boost the relations between the USAFL and AFL. In the early days, Paul Roos was a key figure.
Robert DiPierdomenico, Leigh Matthews and Michael Voss are official USAFL ambassadors.
National teams[]
USAFL is responsible for the co-ordination of the National Teams, the USA Revolution men's team and the USA Freedom women's team. The team plays in international tournaments and exhibition matches against other countries. National team players are selected from the best US-born players from the club teams across the country.
With close proximity to Canada, the Revolution & Freedom participate in the annual 49th Parallel Cup against Canada each year except for years of the International Cup in Australia.
The Revolution competed in the 2002 Australian Football International Cup, finishing 5th out of 11 countries and in the 2005 Australian Football International Cup finishing 3rd out of 10 countries. They competed in the 2008 Australian Football International Cup where the Revolution finished 7th out of 16 countries. At the 2011 Australian Football International Cup, the Revolution finished 4th in an increased field of 18 countries. The Revolution finished 8th at the 2014 Australian Football International Cup, again with 18 countries participating.
Domestic tournaments and competitions[]
USAFL clubs and representative sides[]
Football Map[]
      Cleveland Louisville North Carolina Orange County    |
|---|
USAFL Teams[6][]
| Club | City | State | Region | Est. | Titles (M) | Titles (F) | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Arizona Hawks
|
Phoenix | Arizona | West | 1999 | Link | ||
|
Phoenix | Arizona | West | 2018 | Link | ||
 Atlanta Kookaburras
|
Atlanta | Georgia | East | 1998 | 1 | Link | |
| Austin Crows
|
Austin | Texas | Central | 2002 | 4 | Link | |
|
Baltimore | Maryland | East | 2017 | Link | ||
 Baton Rouge Tigers
|
Baton Rouge | Louisiana | Central | 2004 | Link | ||
| Birmingham Bushrangers | Birmingham | Alabama | East | 2020 | |||
 Boston Demons
|
Boston | Massachusetts | East | 1997 | 2 | Link | |
|
Centennial | Colorado | Central | 2020 | Link | ||
 Chicago Swans
|
Chicago | Illinois | Central | 1998 | Link | ||
 Cincinnati Dockers
|
Cincinnati | Ohio | Central | 1996 | 1 | Link | |
|
Cleveland | Ohio | Central | 2014 | Link | ||
 Columbus Cats
|
Columbus | Ohio | Central | 2008 | Link | ||
 Dallas Dingoes
|
Dallas | Texas | Central | 1998 | Link | ||
 DC Eagles
|
Washington | District of Columbia | East | 2017 | Link | ||
 Denver Bulldogs
|
Denver | Colorado | Central | 1998 | 8 | 6 | Link |
 Des Moines Roosters
|
Des Moines | Iowa | Central | 2010 | Link | ||
| Fort Lauderdale Fighting Squids | Fort Lauderdale | Florida | East | 2005 | Link | ||
| Golden Gate Roos
|
San Francisco | California | West | 1998 | 1 | 3 | Link |
|
|
Honolulu | Hawaii | West | 2019 | |||
 Houston Lonestars
|
Houston | Texas | Central | 2005 | Link | ||
 Indianapolis Giants
|
Indianapolis | Indiana | Central | 2013 | Link | ||
 Jacksonville Saints
|
Jacksonville | Florida | East | 2018 | Link | ||
 Kansas City Power
|
Kansas City | Missouri | Central | 1998 | Link | ||
| Las Vegas Gamblers | Las Vegas | Nevada | West | 2005 | Link | ||
|
Little Rock | Arkansas | Central | 2016 | Link | ||
 Los Angeles Dragons
|
Los Angeles | California | West | 2010 | Link | ||
| Louisville Kings
|
Louisville | Kentucky | Central | 1996 | Link | ||
 Maine Cats
|
Portland | Maine | East | 2018 | Link | ||
 Milwaukee Bombers
|
Milwaukee | Wisconsin | Central | 1998 | 1 | Link | |
| Minnesota Freeze | Minneapolis | Minnesota | Central | 2005 | Link | ||
 Nashville Kangaroos
|
Nashville | Tennessee | Central | 1997 | Link | ||
 New York Magpies
|
New York | New York | East | 1998 | 2 | Link | |
| North Carolina Tigers
|
Raleigh | North Carolina | East | 1997 | Link | ||
| Minneapolis–Saint Paul | Minnesota | Central | 2017 | Link | |||
| North Texas Devils | Plano | Texas | Central | 2020 | Link | ||
|
Oklahoma City /Tulsa | Oklahoma | Central | 2017 | Link | ||
 Orange County Giants
|
Orange County | California | West | 1998 | Link | ||
 Philadelphia Hawks
|
Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | East | 1998 | Link | ||
|
Portland | Oregon | West | 1998 | Link | ||
|
|
Rome | Georgia | East | 2018 | Link | ||
|
Richmond | Virginia | East | 2019 | Link | ||
 Sacramento Suns
|
Sacramento | California | West | 2009 | Link | ||
| San Diego Lions
|
San Diego | California | West | 1997 | 2 | Link | |
|
|
Savannah | Georgia | East | 2017 | Link | ||
| Seattle Grizzlies | Seattle | Washington | West | 1998 | Link | ||
|
|
St. Louis | Missouri | Central | 1997 | Link | ||
|
|
Tampa Bay | Florida | East | 2017 | Link | ||
|
Wasatch County | Utah | Central | 2017 | Link | ||
|
|
Madison | Wisconsin | Central | 2017 | Link |
Associate Members (via AFL Canada)[]
| Club | City | State | Region | Est. | Titles (M) | Titles (F) | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary Kangaroos
|
Calgary | Alberta | AFL Canada | 2002 | 3 | Link | |
| Quebec Saints
|
Montreal | Quebec | AFL Canada | 2008 | Link |
Previous clubs[]
| Club | Years in competition | Premierships | Reason for Disbandment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Washington Eagles
|
1998 - 2017 | Split to form Baltimore Dockers and DC Eagles | |
| Charleston Saints
|
2011 - 2015 | Folded | |
| Detroit Overdrive | 1999 - 2006 | Folded | |
 Florida Redbacks |
1999 - 2013 | Folded | |
| Illinois Ironmen | 2000 - 2004 | Merged with Chicago Swans | |
| Inland Empire Eagles |
1997 - 2002 | Folded | |
| Lehigh Valley Crocs | 1999 - 2003 | Absorbed by Philadelphia Hawks | |
| Los Angeles Crows |
1996 - 2003 | Folded | |
| Mojave Greens | 2003 - 2006 | Folded | |
| Oklahoma City Flyers | 2016 - 2017 | Merged with Tulsa to form | |
| Pittsburgh Wallabies | 2004 - 2006 | Absorbed by Philadelphia Hawks | |
| South Carolina Hawks |
1999 - 2001 | Folded | |
|
|
2014 - 2017 | Created Major League Footy | |
 Tri Cities Saints |
1999 - 2004 | Folded | |
| Tucson Javelinas | 1999 - 2004 | Folded | |
| Tulsa Buffaloes
|
2010 - 2017 | Merged with Oklahoma City to form | |
 Vancouver Cougars |
2006 - 2009 | 1 | Still active in AFL Canada |
[citation needed]
Affiliated leagues[]
See also[]
- Metro Footy
- Women's Australian Football Association
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Australian football makes inroads in Baltimore one bounce, kick and bump at a time". The Baltimore Sun. 26 July 2014.
- ^ "Aussie rules tackling the USA". The Sydney Morning Herald. 20 September 2011.
- ^ "AFL International Development Regional Plan 2012-2016" (PDF). United States Australian Football League. May 2012. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-01-01.
- ^ Maine, Jim (2012). Aussie Rules For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. p. 127. ISBN 978-1-118-34875-8. Retrieved 2020-01-01.
- ^ "MAAFL League History". Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
- ^ "USAFL Club List". USAFL.
- ^ "USAFL".
External links[]
- Australian football leagues in the United States
- Australian rules football governing bodies outside Australia
- Sports governing bodies in the United States
- Sports organizations established in 1997