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Australian rules football is known by several nicknames, including Aussie rules, football and footy. [9] In some regions, where other codes of football are more popular, the sport is most often called AFL after the Australian Football League , while the league itself also uses this name for local competitions in some areas.
The sport known as football, or "footy", was rapidly increasing in popularity, and Sherrin footballs soon became the icon for being the first ball made for Australian rules football. The new-shaped ball was so quickly accepted that the National Football League of Australia eventually used the size and shape as standard.
Australian rules football holds the match attendance record of any football code in Victoria (121,696), South Australia (66,987), Tasmania (24,968) and the Northern Territory (17,500). The national professional competitions are the men's Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Women's (AFLW). Nationally these are the most popular football ...
The football used in Australian football is similar to a rugby ball but generally slightly smaller and more rounded at the ends, but more elongated in overall appearance, being longer by comparison with its width than a rugby ball. A regulation football is 720–730 millimetres (28–29 in) in circumference, and 545–555 mm (21.5–21.9 in ...
The obvious difference is the ball used. Australian rules uses an oval ball (a prolate spheroid), similar to a rugby ball. This makes a difference in the variety and style of kicking. Australian rules is capable of producing a diverse range of kicking styles, the drop punt is most commonly used in the modern game, more so at professional levels.
The laws of Australian rules football were first defined by the Melbourne Football Club in 1859 and have been amended over the years as Australian rules football evolved into its modern form. The Australian Football Council (AFC), was formed in 1905 and became responsible for the laws, although individual leagues retained a wide discretion to ...
The first detailed sets of rules published by football clubs (rather than a school or university) were those of Sheffield F.C. (written 1858, published 1859) which codified a game played for 20 years until being discontinued in favour of the Football Association code, and those of Melbourne FC (1859) which are the origins of Australian rules ...
Australian rules was the most popular football code for participation and spectators in the nation's capital Canberra between 1978 and 1982. At its peak popularity in 1981 it was the first state or territory outside of Victoria to make an official bid to start a national league now known as the Australian Football League (AFL).