AFL Europe is the regional governing body for Australian rules football in Europe. As of 2018, it organises the

AFL Europe Championship The AFL Europe Championship is a triennial international Australian football competition played between European national teams. The European Championship is played in a full traditional 18-a-side format (formerly 16-a-side) unlike the Euro Cup ...

and the

Euro Cup The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

, and previously managed the ''European Legion'' representative team as well being responsible for the organisation of the ANZAC Cup, Fitzpatrick Cup and AFL Europe Champions League. AFL Europe also organises the European combine which provides a direct pathway to the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

History

Australian football has been played regularly in Europe since the late 1980s when leagues formed in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. These first leagues led to the first international game between two European teams was played in 1994 between

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

. As more leagues were formed, more international games began to be organised. Historical international competitions played by European teams include the Atlantic Alliance Cup, Central European Australian Football League Championships and the European Australian Football Tri-nations Tournament. The growth of Australian football in Europe led to the need for a central body that was accountable to the member organisations. At the 2005 EU Cup a conference was held which formed the body '' Aussie Rules Europe'' as a promotional body. ''ARE'' was superseded after a conference at the 2009 EU Cup the decision was made to form such a body at another conference the following January. The January conference was held in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, Germany and the ''European Australian Football Association'' was founded. At an October, 2010 conference in

Parabiago Parabiago (Milanese: ; ) is a town located in the north-western part of the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy. The town is crossed by the road to Sempione (S.S.33) and MilanGallarate Railway; nearby flow the Olona river and t ...

, Italy the members of the ''EAFA'' voted to change the organisations's name to ''AFL Europe'', to fall in line with the

. Headquartered in London, and affiliated to the Australian Football League, AFL Europe's responsibilities include assisting member Leagues and Associations, promoting the sport, managing and delivering major events, overseeing an Elite Talent Identification programme for the AFL and engaging with commercial and community partners.

Members

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

* Czechia *

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Competitions

Fitzpatrick Cup

Beginning in 2013 the annual Colleges and Universities Cup is named after current AFL Chairman, Mike Fitzpatrick. Generally played by Irish and English Universities and Colleges, with the 2016 edition being held in Birmingham for the second year running.

AFL Europe Champions League

A new event first held in March 2015, contested as a one-day lightning carnival involving the club champions of all the various European leagues. The inaugural Champions League was won by the West London Wildcats in Amsterdam.

ANZAC Cup

Beginning in 2012 and played in Villers-Bretonneux to commemorate the ANZAC's and the historic liberation of the town in World War II by Australian forces. A team of Australian players selected based on their connection to the ANZAC heritage to play in a game against the France national team, which is a centrepiece of the annual commemorations. The current tally stands at 4 wins to Australia and 3 wins to France.

AFL Europe GF Lunch

Starting in 2015, the first corporate event held by AFL Europe to raise awareness of Aussie Rules internationally was held in Australia House in London. The function was run in conjunction with the South Australia Club and was hosted by Bill Muirhead (Agent General for South Australia and AFL Europe Ambassador). The ticketed event provided a unique opportunity for attendees to connect with the UK and Australian business communities while creating exposure for AFL Europe and our great game.

Euro Cup

An annual

nine-a-side footy Nine-a-side football is a sport based on Australian rules football played informally by Aussie rules clubs but not yet an official sport in its own right. 9-a-side games are sometimes played on half size fields that are typically rectangular or ...

competition. The

was originally known as the ''EU Cup'', the name was changed after teams representing non

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

countries started participating. The Euro Cup is partially intended as a developmental tool to allow participation for countries without enough players to form a full team.

European Championships

Held every three years, this full format competition determines the Champions of Europe and has taken place twice since the inaugural championship in Denmark and Sweden in 2010. The reigning champions are Ireland who won the most recent championship on home soil with a goal on the final siren against neighbours Great Britain, maintaining a 100% record in the Championships. AFL Europe also support a range of events and tournaments throughout the UK and Europe which can be seen in the Calendar on the AFL Europe Website.

European Legion

The ''Legion'' represents the whole of Europe in Australian football. The Legion's first game was an Under 21 game against the AFL-AIS Academy Australian Under 17 team in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. The Europe team had only been together for three days, which showed in the 27.21 (183)-2.0 (12) scoreboard. The Legion's colours are the blue and gold of the

Flag of Europe The flag of Europe or European flag consists of twelve Or (heraldry), golden stars forming a Circle of stars, circle on a Azure (heraldry), blue field. It was designed and adopted in 1955 by the Council of Europe (CoE) as a symbol for the who ...

and white.

References

External links

* {{Sports governing bodies in Europe Australian rules football in Europe Australian rules football governing bodies outside Australia International sports governing bodies in Europe