Image courtesy of NSW Australian Football History Society.
Australian Rules football has been played in Sydney since 1881.
Following a brief hiatus between the years of 1894 and 1902, a competition named the ‘NSW Australian Football Association’ was formed in 1903.
In 1980 the ‘NSW Australian Football Association’ became known as the ‘Sydney Football League’, and was then renamed the ‘Sydney AFL’ in 1998.
In 2009, the league became known as ‘AFL Sydney’, as it is known today.
In 2019 the AFL Sydney competition consisted of two senior men’s competitions with the Premier Division and Platinum Division each having seniors and reserves divisions. AFL Sydney has three divisionalised men’s competitions, two U19’s divisions and four women’s divisions.
The AFL Sydney competition hosts 26 clubs represented by over 100 registered teams.
In 2018 AFL Sydney will be celebrating 115 years of senior football in Sydney, since the ‘NSW Australian Football Association’ was formed in 1903.
For more information regarding the history of AFL in Sydney, please visit the NSW Australian Football History Society website.