Australian rules football in Oceania describes the sport of Australian rules football as it is watched and played in the Oceania region.
Today the sport is most popular in Nauru where it is the de facto national sport, Australia, where it is the most watched, and as a minor sport in Papua New Guinea.
There are currently organised open age leagues in seven nations (including Australia) around the Pacific, while in at least four other nations there have been efforts to participate in the sport. The sport is broadcast on television in most of these countries, particularly the AFL Grand Final, however outside of Australia (where it receives record breaking broadcast rights) it is only broadcast on satellite television or cable television.
Some players from the pacific region have become notable for playing in the elite Australian Football League however to date Papua New Guinea is the only country from which players have been directly recruited. Players from other countries have been offered scholarships.
Australian football began in Australia and also spread to New Zealand in the 19th Century, however it was no longer played by the time of the First World War, the currently existing leagues having been founded in the 1970s.
The Australian Football International Cup competition began in the region and has been held there numerous occasions since.
A bid was made to include Australian football as an event in 2007 South Pacific Games which was hosted by Fiji, however it failed to qualify due to not qualifying the number of participating nations.
AFL Oceania (which does not include Australia) is affiliated to the AFL Commission and was formed in 2008 as a regional governing and development body. From 2010 a South Pacific representative team has participated in Division 2 of the AFL Under 16 Championships
Read more about Australian Rules Football In Oceania: Australia, Fiji, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Oceanian Performance At International Cup
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