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The Australian Football League (AFL), formerly known as the '''Victorian Football League''', and sometimes known as the '''VFL/AFL''', is the elite Australia n national competition in the Sport of Australian Rules Football . The organisation that runs the league has become the '' De Facto '' world Governing Body for the sport. The AFL is the most attended professional sporting league in the country. The previous three AFL ''Premiership Seasons'' have had a total regular season attendance of over six million and the average attendance of over 36,000 is the Third Highest of any professional sports league in the world. The AFL evolved from the Victorian domestic competition and retains much of its history and tradition. Over the past 25 years it has grown into a national competition with teams based in five of the six Australian states although ten of the sixteen clubs are still based in Victoria. Since the move toward a national competition, the AFL has gained considerable media and financial strength. The expansion of the AFL effectively ended 70 year long battle for supremacy with its rival leagues, the SANFL , the WAFL and VFA in the 1980s, and since this time, some of these leagues and clubs have either sought or subsequently been granted licences to compete in the AFL and formed affiliations with the AFL to field its reserves sides and developmental players. The 16 teams play against each other in 22 rounds between late March and early September in a non-divisional format. These matches are followed by a series of finals matches which culminate in the two best teams playing off for the premiership in the AFL Grand Final , the Best Attended Domestic Club Championship Event In The World . CLUBS Since 1997 the AFL has consisted of nine clubs based in Melbourne , one in Geelong , two South Australia n teams, two Western Australia n teams and one each in Sydney and Brisbane . Unlike many other football leagues, the AFL does not operate on a multi-division or conference system, with no relegation or promotion system. The VFL, as it was commonly known, started in 1897 with eight teams (Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, South Melbourne, and St Kilda) . Richmond and University entered in 1908, but University folded in 1915. In 1925, Footscray (later known as the Western Bulldogs ), Hawthorn and North Melbourne (later known as the Kangaroos) entered the competition, making 12 teams as a solely Victoria n based league until 1982, when South Melbourne relocated to Sydney, New South Wales . A further national expansion occurred in 1987, with the introduction of the West Coast Eagles from Western Australia and the Brisbane Bears from Queensland . The AFL changed its name from the Victorian Football League in 1990 to reflect the expanded nature of the league. South Australia was first represented in 1991 when the Adelaide Crows joined the league, and Fremantle were as the second WA team in 1995. Fitzroy merged with Brisbane the next year creating the Brisbane Lions , and Port Adelaide took their place in 1997. Present teams | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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