Australian Rules Football
Australian rules football, commonly known in NSW as Australian Football League (AFL), is a developing game in most of NSW with increasing popularity. In 2007 it was forecast that there were 95,100 people participated in playing Australian Rules football.
In Sydney, local competitions established in 1880 and again in 1903 competed with rugby union football and then rugby league football. The code fared much better in the Riverina region, closer to the game's place of origin, Melbourne.
The AFL has two teams from Sydney, the Sydney Swans and the Greater Western Sydney Giants . Formerly South Melbourne, the club moved up to Sydney in 1982, after hitting financial trouble. The Swans have won two premierships since moving to Sydney (in 2005 and 2012). Attendance for Swans matches has slowly risen since their relocation. The Swans have been joined by a second Sydney team in 2012, the GWS Giants.
The sport is governed in the state and the enclosed Australian Capital Territory (ACT) by AFL NSW/ACT. In 2004, there were 7,229 senior players out of a total 25 834 club participants registered in New South Wales, and that number and indeed the popularity of Australian Rules continues to rise today.
Read more about this topic: Sport In New South Wales
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