Australian Football League

The Australian Football League (AFL ) is the highest division of the Australian Football in Australia and the only professional league in this sport. In the AFL currently play 18 teams. By 1990, the league was called Victorian Football League. The playing time in the AFL begins in late March and traditionally ends with the Grand Final on the last Saturday of September. The Grand Final, the highlight of the season in which the Australian champion is determined, will be held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne. Record winners are the Carlton Blues and the Essendon Bombers with 16 titles.

Team

Mode

Regular Season

Season consists of 23 game days, each team will receive a free weekend game per season. A win means four, one draw two points. If two or more teams have accumulated the same number of points in the table, decide the 'percentage of the table position. The percentage expresses the ratio between achieved and points obtained and is given in accordance percent. The team with the higher percentage found in the table on the team with the lower percentage. At the end of the regular season of league leaders the McClelland Trophy receives.

Finals

The top eight teams in the regular season playing the national champions in the four-week finals series. The top four teams of the season have the possibility, despite a defeat in the qualifying final yet you can reach the Grand Final. The individual weeks are organized as follows:

First Week

First Qualifying Final ( 1st Qualifying Final): First the regular season against the fourth in the regular season.
Second Qualifying Final ( 2nd Qualifying Final): Second in the regular season against the third party the regular season.
First elimination final ( 1st Elimination Final): fifth in the regular season against the Make the regular season.
Second elimination final ( 2nd Elimination Final): sixth in the regular season against the Seventh of the regular season.

The winners of the qualifying finals directly reach the Vorfinals (Preliminary finals ), the losers have to play first against the winner of the elimination finals in the semi-finals (Semi finals ). The losers of the elimination finals are finally eliminated from the competition.

Second week

First semi-final ( 1st Semi Final ): loser of the first qualifying final against the winner of the first elimination finals.
Second semi-final ( 2nd Semi Final ): Losers of the second qualifying final against the winner of the second qualifying finals.

Third Week

First semifinal (1st Preliminary final): Winners of the first qualifying final against the winner of the second semi-final.
Second semifinal ( 2nd Preliminary final): winner of the second qualifying finals against the winner of the first semi-finals.

Fourth Week

Grand Final: Winner of the first Vorfinals against the winner of the second Vorfinals.

In the event of a tie, a replay in the fifth week is due this match should also end in a draw, there is an extension.

Player

The Australian Football League is dominated by Australian players. During the 2012 season, only twelve professionals were active without Australian roots in the AFL, including ten Irish, a Canadian and an American. 78 players were in the 2011 season indigenous origin, which corresponds to 9.74 % of the Australian Football Players.

A club may have up to 44 players under contract have, with 38 to 40 professionals on the so-called senior list and four to six players must be on the rookie list. In addition, up to three rookies development, which include foreign players count. Player changes are possible only during the trade period in the season break. New players can join the League through various drafts, so there is the rookie draft, the National Draft and Pre -season Draft. Between 1990 and 1993, a mid -season draft was conducted. Since the offseason 2012/2013 also substitution of free agents are possible.

For players' commitments, the clubs must firstly consider the squad size, also comply with the salary cap ( salary cap ) of the AFL on the other. This currently stands at 9.13 million AUD (about 6.25 million euros ) per season. Recently joined clubs will get a higher salary cap, the Gold Coast Suns were in the 2013 season, for example, 9.63 million pay AUD (about 6.6 million euros ), the Greater Western Sydney Giants 9.987 million AUD (about 6.85 million euros ). In addition, there is a so-called salary floor, which the minimum salary that must be paid for the entire squad specifies. This is since 2013 at 95 % of salary caps. Deserves On average, each Australian Football Players about 250,000 AUD (about 172,000 euros ) per year, the top earner estimated 1.2 million AUD (about 820,000 Euros ).

Popularity

The average attendance at the games in the AFL is over 30, 000 per game. This makes the Australian Football League to one of the most popular sports leagues around the world. During the finals of the average was between 49 938 1995 (2002) and 68 385 (2009) viewers. The Grand Final flock each year, nearly 100,000 spectators, most recently this brand in 2010 exceeded 100 016 paying visitors. In Australia, Australian Football is thus the most popular league in relation to the audience and popularity, according to Cricket is the second most popular sport in relation to the television popular.

History

The AFL was founded in 1897 as the Victorian Football League from eight teams from the state of Victoria. The number of teams in 1925 to twelve. At the next extension in 1982 for the first time teams have been added, which did not come from Victoria. Name of the Australian Football League was founded in 1990 to carry on the geographical circumstances in the league account selected. Meanwhile, teams from five of the six states are represented in the AFL.

Transmission

Each week a game of AFL in the Euro Sport TV 2 is broadcast live. In addition there is a weekly magazine with the AFL match reports and interviews.

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