Australian football
Australian rules football, also known as Australian rules football, football or footy, is a sport and Variation of soccer that pits two teams of 18 players against each other and is played with a spheroidal-shaped ball in an oval field. Its origin and main country of development is Australia, and it appears for the first time in the XIX century.
The main objective is to score more points than the opponent, kicking the ball between two posts in the opponent's area. Players can advance the ball using any part of the body, by foot or hand pass or by running the ball. It is a fast sport as the ball is in play at all times, except when the referee whistles a free kick or the ball goes out of bounds. This sport also stands out for its physical and contact game, in which the rival is allowed to tackle to stop their attacking possibilities.
Australian football is the sport with the largest number of spectators and one of the sports with the most registered athletes in Australia, although it is not sufficiently established in the rest of the world. Its main (and only) existing professional league in the world is the Australian Football League.
Rules of the game
Both the ball and the pitch have an oval shape. On both sides of the center posts there are four posts: the two center posts (goal posts) are the highest, and next to them are the back posts. Each pole is separated from each other at a distance of 6.4 meters. On the other hand, the playing field can be between 135 and 185 meters long by 110-155 meters wide. 50 meters from the goal line there is a curved line of the same size, which marks the area. The central square is 50x50 meters. The ball is made of leather and is oval in shape.
Each game consists of four quarters, with a time measured by a referee in charge for it. In the Australian Football League each quarter lasts 20 minutes, with the clock stopped every time the ball is not in play. At the end of each quarter, the teams change fields.
Each team has 18 players on the pitch, along with four more on the bench. Each coach can make changes at any time he wants in the match, and since 2008 he must specify it to the official referee of the match before making it. The main actions are kicking and catching the ball, with the aim of scoring goals and behinds, and scoring more points than the rival to win.
Unlike other types of soccer, there is no offside, so the players of both teams can be in the opposite field at any time, even before the kick-off. The only limitation is that, at the time of service, there can only be four players from each team in the central square: one ruckman, two rover and one ruck rover.
During the match
The ball is put into play from midfield at the start of each quarter or when a team scores a goal. The person in charge of putting the ball into play is the referee (umpire) of the field, who makes a bounce on the central circle of the field of play. If the pitch is in poor condition, he throws the ball into the air. The ruckmen, taller players, from each team try to get the ball by jumping to pass it to the rovers, who can attack.
The ball can be kicked in any direction for another player on the same team to try to catch, preferably in the air. Other methods are to hold the ball with one arm and use the other to hit the ball with a fist or open hand. It can never be launched downwards, since the trajectory must always be upwards. The player may run with the ball in hand, but must dribble it or make it touch the ground at least once every 15 metres. The rivals can tackle, hold or block him to take the ball from him, and in case of losing it the player cannot hold on to it, because it is considered holding. In addition, the holding defenseman must give the player an opportunity to kick or punch the ball away. The player carrying the ball may only be tackled below the shoulders and above the knees, using only the hands, arms, shoulders, chest and hips.
Each player is marked by an opponent, who will have to catch the ball or prevent the opponent from catching it. If a player from the same team kicks the ball to another, the ball reaches a high trajectory and is caught in the air by that other player, it is considered a mark and the referee awards a free kick. This means that play is stopped (but not time) while the attacker is about to shoot from behind the place where he managed to catch the ball, with no more interference than a defender next to him. The specky, or spectacular mark, is the most spectacular action in the game, since the players jump to catch the ball and it is where the most striking actions usually take place. To jump for the ball, the footballer can lean on another player.
The ball cannot leave the field of play directly, because it would mean a free kick for the opposing team. If the hit ball bounces inside before going out, the ball is considered to have gone out of bounds. A line official must bring it into play by turning with his back to the field and throwing the ball forcefully over his head towards the field of play.
Annotation
In Australian rules football the aim is to score goals and behinds. The goal is worth six points, while the behind only one. When the goal is scored, a kick is made from the center of the field, while with the behind the team that has scored the goal kicks from its own half. The team that has scored the most points at the end of the four quarters wins. There may be a tie in the event that the two teams have the same points, although in the final phases of competitions an extension is disputed.
- Gol: 6 points. To score it the player must get, by shooting with the foot, that the ball passes between the central poles, no matter what height it does. For the six points to be awarded, the ball cannot be played by any other player during his career. Although the normal thing is that the ball does not touch the ground after the launch, if it hits the boot and crosses the central poles does not affect the score.
- ♪: 1 point. It is achieved when the ball crosses between a central pole and a side pole and, unlike the goal, the attacker can use any part of the body. It also has a point when the ball hits one of the central posts, or if an attacker passes the ball through the central poles using another part of his body other than the foot. If a rival defense deliberately notes (usually to avoid an attacker's goal), the strategy is known as rushed behind. If the ball hits a side post it is considered to have left the field, so no point is given.
The referee located under the two posts is in charge of signaling the score. To do this, he must raise both arms with the elbows glued in case of a goal, and only one arm to indicate a behind . Afterwards, he confirms the signal to the other umpire located on the other side by waving over his head two flags (goal) or one flag ( behind ).
As an example result, we consider a match between St Kilda and Sydney Swans, with the following score: St Kilda 15.11 (101), Sydney 8.10 (58). St Kilda would have scored 15 goals (six points) and 11 behinds (one point), for a sum of 90+11.
Player position
Each team has 18 players on the field of play, to which must be added the substitute players who can enter the field at any time. Although each one usually has a preferred position that requires a special ability, the style of play of Australian rules football means that there are no defined positions. Therefore, there may be players who perform several functions on the field.
The basic scheme is a division between defensive positions (backline), midfielders (midfield), and forwards (forward). There is also the figure of the followers who, in addition to performing one of the three aforementioned functions, are in charge of putting the ball into play when it is kicked out from midfield.
History
The origins of Australian rules football date back to 1858, when the first matches were held in the city of Melbourne. The sport arises from others that the different British troops established in the colonies played, such as Gaelic football or rugby. Soon some cricketers such as Tom Wills saw this game as a good opportunity to stay in good shape during the winter months, so a first code of rules began to be developed. In this sense, it is worth noting Henry Colden Harrison and Wills, as pioneers of Australian rules football, and the Melbourne Football Club as the first professional team in the country that was created on May 17, 1859.
Although the first matches were played outdoors, using trees as goals, cricket grounds would soon be adopted as the setting for play. The game was very successful in the colony of Victoria, specifically in the surroundings of Melbourne, and it was there that the first competitions began to be held. Throughout the 19th century, the sport spread to other territories such as South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland, and in 1877 The first two football associations were formed: the South Australian Football Association and the Victorian Football Association. This led to the creation of different regional leagues, and later the matches between colonies.
In 1897, following the decision of several clubs to abandon the Victorian regional championship, the Victorian Football League (VFL) was created. This championship would become, years later, considered the Australian national league tournament, which since 1990 has been called the Australian Football League. It started with eight clubs, to go in 1925 to twelve formations.
After the Second World War, which hampered the development of Australian football, it was decided to encourage interstate championships and a national committee, the Australian National Football Council, was created to oversee an interstate tournament. However, the VFL was still the main championship. Until the 1970s the only dominators were the states of Victoria, which recruited the best players from other states, and South Australia, where there was also a fondness for this sport. An international expansion was also attempted, with matches in other countries framed in demonstration and exhibition fairs. However, the proposals did not catch on in other countries beyond Oceania. The play style changed, becoming more aggressive, fast and attacking.
Audiences grew, especially thanks to the television broadcast of the matches throughout the country. For this reason, since the 1980s a definitive national expansion of the Victorian Football League has been undertaken, helped by the transfer in 1982 of the team from South Melbourne to Sydney to create the Sydney Swans, first team from outside Victoria and located in New South Wales, where the fandom for soccer was less. The response was positive, so the VFL decided to grant expansion franchises to federations from other states to enter their championship. In 1990, with a new reality, the VFL championship was renamed the Australian Football League (AFL).
Development and popularity
Australia
Australian rules football is the second most fan-favored and watched sport in Australia (behind cricket), and the country is the only country with a professional league: the Australian Football League. In 2005 it was estimated that an average of more than 6 million people followed AFL matches, and despite the fact that most of the clubs are concentrated in Victoria, the sport enjoys great acceptance throughout the national territory. Although during the regular season the audience data decreases, a high number of viewers is recorded during the final phase of the league. In 2008 it had an average pitch attendance of 38,295, the fourth highest for a league championship of any sport in the world and behind only the NFL, Indian Premier Cricket League and the German Bundesliga.
In terms of media impact, TV audiences tend to place the AFL final as one of the most followed shows of the year in the country. Although the league was initially reluctant to broadcast games on television, it later adopted a model whereby the game is offered with a certain delay. At present, it depends on the coverage area of each station affiliated with a national network that has the rights. In 2009 the AFL free-to-air rights were held by Network Ten. On the other hand, cable or pay television also broadcasts matches, and it is common for most channels to broadcast summaries. In addition to the AFL, each affiliated station can broadcast, within its territorial disconnection, regional league matches, although that depends on each chain.
Rest of the world
Apart from Australia, very few countries have a significant Australian rules football presence in their national sport. Outside its borders, there is usually a greater presence in countries of Oceania. There is also a certain relationship between this sport and Gaelic football, whereby some players from the Republic of Ireland have started playing for AFL teams. It is known that there are more than 30 countries where Australian rules football is played in the world, with some such as Nauru and Papua New Guinea considering it their national sport. However, while in Australia there are more than 600,000 federated players, in the rest of the world there are barely more than 30,000 registered athletes.
There is a world championship, of an amateur nature, which has had three editions (2002, 2005 and 2008) and in which up to 12 teams play. Some of the national teams are the Águilas de Chubut (Argentina) or Santos de Chile. In Spain, the only existing federation is that of Catalonia, without official support from the regional government. Although there was also representation from the whole country (Toros de España) there is no national federation, so Catalonia and Spain play separately.
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