The Australian Football League, or AFL, is a professional football league consisting of 18 teams which play Australian Rules football. Founded in 1897, the league is governed by the AFL commission, and plays an annual championship.

During a typical season 23 matches are played between March and September, with the Grand Final rounds played over 4 weeks in September.

The AFL is popular amongst betting enthusiasts, and with plenty of matches taking place during a season, there is no shortage of betting opportunities.

Betting on AFL

AFL matches are said to be the most well-attended professional sport matches worldwide, with up to 100,000 spectators cramming into the stands to witness their teams fight it out to the last. As the sport has developed over the years, so has the betting market for AFL, and wagers can now be placed on virtually every aspect of the game.

Due to the structure of the championship season, wagers can be placed on individual games, as well as outright wagers for who the victor of the entire season will be. At the end of the Premier season, the top 8 teams are selected to go onto play in the Grand Final rounds, and wagers can be placed on who the top 8 will be.

Individual medals are also of utmost importance to AFL players, and bets can be placed on these predictions as well. Prestigious medals, such as the Coleman and Brownlow Medals, always see fantastic wagering opportunities as predictions can change wildly as a season progresses.

Of course as with any game of football, AFL Premiership betting online can be placed on even the most obscure of aspects, such as who will score the first goal, or even on how many goals a specific team will manage to score throughout the championship. The Wooden Spoon prediction is always exciting, and remains a popular wager amongst players.

Aussie Rules Football

Aussie Rules football can be seen as a combination of football and rugby, and is played with an oval shaped ball. Matches are played between two teams of 18 players each, on an oval shaped field which is generally a cricket pitch modified to suit the game.

The objective of the game is to kick the ball between two high goal posts, and the team with the most points wins the game.

During a match players are allowed to position themselves anywhere on the field, and may use any part of their body to move the ball. Generally players kick, handpass, or run with the ball, but players are not allowed to throw the ball.

Handpassing is a skill only seen in Australian Rules football, and involves holding the ball with one hand and punching it away with the other in order to pass it to a teammate.

History of the AFL

The AFL was originally known as the Victorian Football League and was initially only comprised of teams situated within the Victoria region. The first championship season took place in 1897, which saw team Essendon defeat Melbourne by 6 points.

As the sport developed so did interest in the league, and during the 1980s the league was opened up to teams residing outside of the Victoria region. Due to this inclusion, the name of the league was officially changed to the Australian Football League ahead of the 1990 season.