SPORTSPEDIA / HOW THE GAME GREW
AFL history explained
Follow Australian football from early Melbourne matches to a national league, club transformations and the arrival of AFLW.
The quick answer
The sport, its clubs and the league have different starting dates. Australian football developed in the nineteenth century. The VFL’s first season was 1897; the same league adopted the AFL name in 1990. AFL chronology.
This selected timeline connects those changes with the clubs you can explore on SportsPedia. It covers major competition milestones through AFLW’s expansion to 18 clubs in 2022, rather than attempting a complete history of every league, community or season.
An Australian football history timeline
Read the year alongside the event. A club’s establishment, league admission and first premiership are separate milestones.
- 1858–59
Early matches and written rules
Matches in Melbourne in 1858 preceded the rules drafted on 17 May 1859. Tom Wills, William Hammersley, James Thompson and Thomas Smith helped write that early code. AFL account of the first rules. Explore Melbourne and Geelong.
- 1877
State associations take shape
The Victorian Football Association and South Australian Football Association were established. AFL chronology.
- 1897
The VFL begins
Eight clubs contested the first VFL season: Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, South Melbourne and St Kilda. Foundation clubs and league formation. Essendon won the premiership through a top-four round robin, winning all three finals matches. Essendon’s 1897 record.
- 1925
Three clubs join
Footscray, Hawthorn and North Melbourne entered the VFL. AFL chronology. Explore Western Bulldogs / Footscray, Hawthorn and North Melbourne.
- 1982
Swans home games move north
The Swans played home matches in Sydney while initially living and training in Melbourne. The club’s relocation developed in stages. The Swans’ relocation history. Explore Sydney / South Melbourne.
- 1987
West Coast and Brisbane Bears enter
Two new clubs, West Coast and the Brisbane Bears, joined the VFL. AFL chronology. Explore West Coast and the later Brisbane Lions story.
- 1990
The VFL becomes the AFL
The league adopted the Australian Football League name. Expansion had already begun before this change. AFL chronology.
- 1991
Adelaide enters
The Adelaide Crows began in the AFL. AFL chronology.
- 1995
Fremantle enters
Fremantle joined the national competition. AFL chronology.
- 1996–97
The Brisbane Lions merger
The AFL approved the Bears–Fitzroy merger on 4 July 1996. The Brisbane Lions launched that November and entered the competition in 1997. The Lions’ official history.
- 1997
Port Adelaide joins the AFL
Port Adelaide entered the national league, long after its 1870 foundation. AFL chronology.
- 2011–12
Gold Coast and GWS arrive
Gold Coast entered the AFL in 2011; GWS followed in 2012. AFL chronology.
- 2017
AFLW launches
Eight clubs fielded teams in the inaugural national AFLW season: Adelaide, Brisbane, Carlton, Collingwood, Fremantle, GWS, Melbourne and Western Bulldogs. Official inaugural-club announcement.
- 2022 / season seven
AFLW reaches 18 clubs
Essendon, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and Sydney joined, bringing all 18 clubs into AFLW. The AFL’s season-seven guide.
Relocation, merger and league entry explained
Relocation: South Melbourne to Sydney
A relocation changes where a club operates. The Swans’ 1982 home games at the SCG were initially supported by players flying from Melbourne; the full move of the playing group followed. The club’s account describes that transition.
That is why a Sydney profile can include South Melbourne history. Read the Swans’ club profile with both places in mind, rather than treating Sydney’s first home season as the creation of a wholly unrelated club.
Merger: Brisbane Bears and Fitzroy
A merger combines club identities. The Lions describe themselves as a two-city club, drawing on Bears and Fitzroy heritage. Official Lions history. Their profile separates the merged club’s achievements from Fitzroy’s earlier premiership record.
The important reading habit is to check which team a number belongs to. “Club heritage”, “seasons under this name” and “premierships won by this side” do not always have identical boundaries.
League entry: Port Adelaide
A club can exist long before it joins a particular competition. Port’s founding year and AFL admission year are both valid dates, answering different questions. The Port Adelaide profile separates establishment, national-league entry and honours.
Use this check on any club profile: when was it founded; which competition is being discussed; did its name or location change; and what exactly does the honours total include?
Premiership milestones in the national era
| Year | Club | Milestone |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | West Coast | First premiership for a club based outside Victoria. |
| 1997 | Adelaide | The Crows’ first AFL premiership. |
| 2001 | Brisbane Lions | First of three consecutive flags in 2001–03. |
| 2004 | Port Adelaide | Port’s first AFL premiership. |
| 2005 | Sydney Swans | The relocated Swans’ first flag since South Melbourne’s 1933 title. |
Source: the AFL’s chronological premiership register. The first-outside-Victoria milestone is also identified in the AFL chronology.
A flag tells you who won that season’s competition. It does not by itself show how strong every opponent was or make different eras directly comparable. For a club’s full dated record, follow its profile; for the modern qualification system, see ladder and finals explained.
AFLW’s arrival belongs within a longer women’s history
The 2017 AFLW launch established a national competition; it was not the beginning of women playing Australian football. The AFL’s inaugural-team announcement acknowledged the pioneers and earlier women’s football that preceded the league. Read the original announcement.
The first eight clubs supplied a new national stage. Season seven, played in 2022, added Essendon, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and Sydney and brought the field to 18. Contemporary season-seven guide.
Keep AFLW records labelled separately when reading honours or comparing teams. A club can field teams in several competitions; the badge alone does not tell you which premiership a table counts. Explore the official AFLW site for its own competition coverage.
Common questions about AFL history
Did Australian football begin when the AFL name appeared?
No. The name change sits well into this timeline. Use the early-rules entry for the sport’s nineteenth-century development and the VFL entry for the league’s first season.
Why do premiership lists include both VFL and AFL years?
The national league’s register follows the competition across the name change. When a table says “VFL/AFL”, check that it means this historical senior league, rather than assuming every competition using “VFL” has the same record.
Was the first premiership decided in a Grand Final?
Essendon’s 1897 flag came from a finals round robin: the team beat Geelong, Collingwood and Melbourne. Essendon records all three results. Do not apply the present finals bracket to that season.
Why can a foundation date differ between summaries?
A writer may be referring to an organising meeting, formal launch, first match or entry into a league. Read the event being dated and the club’s own explanation before deciding that two dates conflict.
Does this timeline cover the whole sport?
No. State leagues, local clubs, Indigenous football histories, women’s competitions and international participation all extend beyond a short guide to the AFL’s development. The club directory provides starting points for more detailed club stories.
Explore the clubs and their stories
Visit the 18-club directory, meet Carlton, Collingwood and St Kilda, or follow the rivalry histories that connect clubs across generations. Return to the AFL hub for rules, roles and match-day explanations.
Sources and review
Reviewed 4 November 2026. Primary sources are linked beside the timeline events and explanations: the AFL chronology, early-rules history, official premiership register, inaugural AFLW announcement and contemporary season-seven reporting, plus Essendon, Sydney and Brisbane club histories. Season-seven reporting is used for the 2022 AFLW expansion date. The timeline design and explanatory comparisons are original SportsPedia work. Selected milestones end in 2022; this page is not a current-season results feed or a schedule of future expansion.