Women's Australian rules football

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A player kicks the ball while being tackled by an opponent during a women's Australian rules football match on the Gold Coast, Queensland.

Women's Australian rules football, also known simply as women's football or women's footy, is a form of Australian rules football played by women, generally with some modification to the laws of the game.

Women's football began to be organised in the early 20th century, but for several decades occurred mostly in the form of scratch matches and one-off exhibition games. State-based leagues emerged in the 1980s, with the Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL) forming in Melbourne in 1981 and the West Australian Women's Football League (WAWFL) forming in Perth in 1988. The AFL Women's National Championships were inaugurated in 1992. Women's football became professionalised in the 2010s, with teams being formed by existing Australian Football League (AFL) clubs for a national women's league, branded AFL Women's, which is due to commence its inaugural season in 2017.


Nellie Stewart and other women playing in a charity football match, 1894, East Melbourne Cricket Ground

Codified in 1859, Australian football had been played by men for almost half a century before the first women's football matches were played. Contact sports such as football were widely considered unsuitable for women at the time, and public attitudes prevented them from participating in organised matches. Exceptions included charity matches, such as patriotic fundraisers, which occasionally featured women players. Women have nonetheless followed the Australian game passionately since the mid-19th century, comprising approximately 50% of spectators at matches—a uniquely high figure among football codes.



Archives also show a charity women's match occurred on Bassendean Oval in Perth, Western Australia, 27 August 1944.[4] It is unknown whether the game had been played continuously in the state.


Women's Australian rules football began to rapidly grow in 2000, with the number of registered teams increasing by a phenomenal 450%.[5]

In women's Australian rules football in 2015, 163 new terms were formed and a total of 284,501 players took part in organised games.[6]


Rule modifications[edit]


The main rule differences between the women's and men's versions of Australian football involves modified tackling rules. Typically aggressive slinging (swinging a player by the jumper or throwing the player to the ground) of oppositions players in a tackle is not allowed. Like the men's game, head high contact is strictly not allowed.

Another main difference is the size of the ball. A smaller ball to the men's version is often used to minimise hand injuries when (marking) the ball.

Games of International rules football are also played by many women's leagues against Gaelic Athletic Association clubs. Recreational football, a fully non-contact version of Australian rules football, is also becoming popular amongst women in Australia and the United States. Many women's leagues also fall into the emerging 9-a-side footy or Metro footy formats.


National league[edit]

Main article: AFL Women's

An eight-team national competition backed by the AFL is scheduled to commence in 2017. Bids for a licence to participate were submitted by 13 existing AFL teams.

The competition was announced in 2008 and was slated to commence in 2013 with four to eight teams, but this was changed after it was found that the new teams from the Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney would not have time to submit their bids in full.[11] The starting number of teams has also been increased due to the growth of women's football since 2008.

A licence had granted to Fremantle under the umbrella of the Women's Football League in February 2010, but due to a review and the subsequent admission of the Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney to the AFL, this licence was recalled; it was reissued in 2015, and Fremantle will play in the inaugural season of the competition in 2017.

National championships[edit]

Women's Football Australia are responsible for the annual AFL National Women's Championships which began in 1992. In 2005, two teams from Victoria, a senior and an under-19s side and teams from the ACT, Northern Territory, New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia, the Australian Defence Force and Queensland participated.

International competition[edit]

A match between Ireland and the United States in the women's division of the 2011 Australian Football International Cup

There was a women's division at the 2008 Australian Football International Cup with Australia, USA, Canada and Papua New Guinea competing. There is also International Rules Football with a women's Australia women's international rules football team competing against the Ireland women's international rules football team.[12][13] The 2006 tour helped to lift the profile of the sport slightly in Australia.[14]


Papua New Guinea's national team, the "Kurakums" competes in the AFL Women's National Championships.[15]

Participation figures[edit]



By region[edit]




Players in the Victorian Women's Football League, 2008, left to right: Phoebe McWilliams, Rachel Achampong and Avril Chow.






Western Australia[edit]

Organised Women's Australian rules football has been played in Western Australia since 1988, with the first premiership being won by Mount Lawley. Although it has less clubs than Queensland, Western Australia is considered the strongest women's state outside of Victoria. The strongest clubs are in Perth.

South Australia[edit]

In 1990 a group of South Australian women helped instigate exhibition match between a South Australian side and the Victorian Women's Football League. The success of the match saw the formation of the SAWFL for the next season. The clubs are centred in Adelaide.

New South Wales[edit]

Main article: Sydney Women's AFL

The Sydney Women's AFL competition is the only organised women's football in New South Wales. It has been running since 2000 and has grown substantially in popularity. Centred on metropolitan Sydney it has two divisions and 12 clubs in 2013. In 2015, the Black Diamond AFL commenced it's inaugural women's competition in the Newcastle and Central Coast regions. Six clubs participated in the inaugural season (Maitland, Newcastle City, Nelson Bay, Warners Bay, Lake Macquarie and Wyong Lakes), with Newcastle City defeating Nelson Bay by 22 points in the Grand Final to claim the first BDAFL Women's premiership. The competition expanded to ten clubs in 2016 with teams from Singleton, Cardiff, Killarney Vale and Gosford entering teams. Nelson Bay avenged their 2015 heartbreak with an undefeated season culminating in a 3 point win over Newcastle City in the Grand Final. The competition continues to gain momentum with hopes of a second division being created in the near future.


Players contest the ball during a match between Bond University and Burleigh Heads, Queensland.

There are leagues centred in South-East Queensland and Central Queensland, and the cities of Cairns, Townsville, and Mackay.

Northern Territory[edit]

Australian Capital Territory[edit]

Main article: ACTWAFL

Outside Australia[edit]


AFL South Africa runs a junior program which includes girls in mixed competition. There are plans for a junior girl's league in the North West Province.[when?][23]


Organised women's football is played in the United States (organised by the Women's Australian Football Association) and Canada (organised by the Canada Women's Australian Football League). The first match in the United States was played in Kansas City in October 2003. A women's division was introduced to the USAFL National Championships in 2005.[24] Both the U.S. national team (known as the USA Freedom) and the Canadian national team (known as the Northern Lights) have played in the Australian Football International Cup. Outside of those countries, an under-19s championship with male and female divisions was held in Argentina in 2007.[25]


The Canterbury AFL in Christchurch played the first official women's football match in New Zealand late in 2006.[26]

Also in 2006, AFL PNG (the sport's governing body in Papua New Guinea announced their first women’s team (Under 16s) to take part in the Australian national women's tournament.[27] It is estimated that there are around 200 women's Australian rules footballers in PNG.[when?][28]




See also[edit]


  1. ^ "Foy & Gibson women's football team". 1 January 1917 – via innopac.slwa.wa.gov.au Library Catalog. 
  2. ^ "Photographic image of 1915 Girl's Football Match in Perth, Western Australia". Innopac.slwa.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
  3. ^ AFL Record. Round 19 (Women's Round), 2007. Pg 8
  4. ^ "Photographic image of Women's Football Match, Western Australia". Innopac.slwa.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
  5. ^ "Women in a league of their own - realfooty.com.au". Theage.com.au. 2003-05-31. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
  6. ^ "Women's participation soars in 2015". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
  7. ^ a b Brett Northey. "Women's international footy - Canada versus USA". World Footy News. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
  8. ^ a b Christopher P. Adams, Ph.D. "US Freedom dominate in first women's international". World Footy News. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
  9. ^ Brett Northey. "North American women's footy on SEN". World Footy News. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
  10. ^ "Newtown Breakaways | Resources". Cd.com.au. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
  11. ^ "Review could lead to AFL women's league". News.smh.com.au. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
  12. ^ Sean Finlayson. "Brave Aussie ladies like ewes to the slaughter in Ireland". World Footy News. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
  13. ^ Peter Parry. "International Rules series for the Ladies/Women". World Footy News. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
  14. ^ "Women join in changing rules - Sport". Theage.com.au. 2006-10-14. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
  17. ^ "AFL News, Scores, Stats, Transfers – Real Footy". The Age. Melbourne, Australia. 
  18. ^ "Men v women: ratings winner - Sport". Theage.com.au. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
  20. ^ "Rockers roll disc jocks in a game called, charitably, football - National". Theage.com.au. 2007-06-24. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
  21. ^ "Vic girls take AFL fight to court - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. 2003-11-10. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
  22. ^ "AFL News | Read the Latest Footy News". Real Footy. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
  23. ^ Brett Northey. "Out of Africa - and back - Allison's football journey". World Footy News. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
  24. ^ [1][dead link]
  25. ^ Ash Nugent. "Footy in Argentina still kicking". World Footy News. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
  26. ^ Brett Northey. "Women's Footy starts in Canterbury NZ". World Footy News. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
  27. ^ Brett Northey. "PNG girls set to travel". World Footy News. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
  28. ^ Rod Shaw. "Kurakums of PNG - showcasing international women's football". World Footy News. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
  29. ^ [2][dead link]


  • Lenkić, Brunette; Hess, Rob (2016). Play On!: The Hidden History of Women's Australian Rules Football. Victoria Echo Publishing. ISBN 9781760063160. 

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