United States Australian Football League

The United States Australian Football League (USAFL) is the governing body for Australian rules football in the United States. It was conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997. It is based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.

United States Australian Football League
SportAustralian rules football
Founded1996
Inaugural season1997[1][2]
No. of teams42 (men's) and 22 (women's)[1]
CountryUSA
Most recent
champion(s)		Men's: Austin Crows
(4th premiership)
Women's: San Francisco Iron Maidens
(3rd premiership)
Most titlesMen: Denver Bulldogs
(8 premierships)
Women: Denver Bulldogs
(6 premierships)
TV partner(s)Go Live Sports Cast Youtube
Official websitewww.usafl.com

As of 2011, there were over 1,000 registered USAFL players.[3][4] There are 43 member clubs, of which 42 have men's teams (all except North Star Blue Ox) and 22 have women's teams.[1] Most of the football clubs in the United States have a traditional 18-a-side team for representative purposes and multiple 9-a-side teams running in a local league.

History
Main article: Australian rules football in the United States
CRBR Park Stadium is the largest purpose built cricket/Australian football ground in the United States. It has a capacity of 20,000.

The first match between two local US clubs was played in 1996 between Cincinnati and Louisville.[5] In the first year the Mid American Australian Football League was formed. Many of the local players had found out about the game in the 1980s on television via the then-nascent ESPN cable network. Although the local game grew, ESPN no longer broadcast AFL matches, and in response the lobby group, Australian Football Association of North America was formed.

In 1997, the first club national championships were held in Cincinnati. Nashville hosted the first Australian Grand Final Festival in the same year. The United States Australian Football League (USAFL) was formed in 1997 to govern the code in the country.

The involvement of many well-known Australians has helped boost the relations between the USAFL and AFL. In the early days, Paul Roos was a key figure.

Robert DiPierdomenico, Leigh Matthews and Michael Voss are official USAFL ambassadors.

National teams

USAFL is responsible for the co-ordination of the National Teams, the USA Revolution men's team and the USA Freedom women's team. The team plays in international tournaments and exhibition matches against other countries. National team players are selected from the best US-born players from the club teams across the country.

With close proximity to Canada, the Revolution & Freedom participate in the annual 49th Parallel Cup against Canada each year except for years of the International Cup in Australia.

The Revolution competed in the 2002 Australian Football International Cup, finishing 5th out of 11 countries and in the 2005 Australian Football International Cup finishing 3rd out of 10 countries. They competed in the 2008 Australian Football International Cup where the Revolution finished 7th out of 16 countries. At the 2011 Australian Football International Cup, the Revolution finished 4th in an increased field of 18 countries. The Revolution finished 8th at the 2014 Australian Football International Cup, again with 18 countries participating.

Domestic tournaments and competitions

USAFL clubs and representative sides

Football Map

USAFL Teams
Club City State Region Est. Titles (M) Titles (F) Website
Arizona Hawks Phoenix Arizona West 1999 Link
Arizona Outlaws Phoenix Arizona West 2018 Link
Atlanta Kookaburras Atlanta Georgia East 1998 1 Link
Austin Crows Austin Texas Central 2002 4 Link
Baltimore Dockers Baltimore Maryland East 2017 Link
Baton Rouge Tigers Baton Rouge Louisiana Central 2004 Link
Boston Demons Boston Massachusetts East 1997 2 Link
Calgary Kangaroos Calgary Alberta AFL Canada 2002 3 Link
Chicago Swans Chicago Illinois Central 1998 Link
Cincinnati Dockers Cincinnati Ohio Central1996 1 Link
Cleveland Cannons Cleveland Ohio Central 2014 Link
Columbus Cats Columbus Ohio Central 2008 Link
Dallas Dingoes Dallas Texas Central 1998 Link
DC Eagles Washington District of Columbia East 2017 Link
Denver Bulldogs Denver Colorado Central 1998 8 6 Link
Des Moines Roosters Des Moines Iowa Central 2010 Link
Fort Lauderdale Fighting Squids Fort Lauderdale Florida East 2005 Link
Golden Gate Roos San Francisco California West 1998 1 3 Link
Houston Lonestars Houston Texas Central 2005 Link
Hawai'i Eagles Honolulu Hawaii West 2019
Indianapolis Giants Indianapolis Indiana Central 2013 Link
Jacksonville Saints Jacksonville Florida East 2018 Link
Kansas City Power Kansas City Missouri Central 1998 Link
     Las Vegas Gamblers Las Vegas Nevada West 2005 Link
Los Angeles Dragons Los Angeles California West 2010 Link
Louisville Kings Louisville Kentucky Central 1996 Link
Little Rock Coyotes Little Rock Arkansas Central 2016 Link
Maine Cats Portland Maine East 2018 Link
Milwaukee Bombers Milwaukee Wisconsin Central 1998 1 Link
Minnesota Freeze Minneapolis Minnesota Central 2005 Link
Nashville Kangaroos Nashville Tennessee Central 1997 Link
New York Magpies New York New York East1998 2 Link
North Carolina Tigers Raleigh North Carolina East1997 Link
North Star Blue Ox Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minnesota Central 2017 Link
Oklahoma Football Club Oklahoma City /Tulsa Oklahoma Central 2017 Link
Orange County Giants Orange County California West 1998 Link
Philadelphia Hawks Philadelphia PennsylvaniaEast1998 Link
Portland AFC Portland OregonWest1998 Link
Quebec Saints Montreal QuebecAFL Canada 2008 Link
Rome Redbacks Rome Georgia East 2018 Link
RVA Lions Richmond Virginia East 2019 Link
Sacramento Suns Sacramento CaliforniaWest2009 Link
San Diego Lions San Diego CaliforniaWest1997 2 Link
     Seattle Grizzlies Seattle Washington West 1998 Link
Saint Louis Blues St. Louis Missouri Central 1997 Link
Wisconsin Wombats Madison Wisconsin Central 2017 Link

[6]

Previous clubs
Club Years in competition Premierships Reason for Disbandment
Baltimore Washington Eagles 1998 - 2017 Split to form Baltimore Dockers and DC Eagles
Charleston Saints 2011 - 2015 Folded
     Detroit Overdrive 1999 - 2006 Folded
Florida Redbacks1999 - 2013 Folded
     Illinois Ironmen2000 - 2004 Merged with Chicago Swans
Inland Empire Eagles1997 - 2002 Folded
    Lehigh Valley Crocs1999 - 2003 Absorbed by Philadelphia Hawks
Los Angeles Crows1996 - 2003 Folded
     Mojave Greens2003 - 2006 Folded
     Oklahoma City Flyers 2016 - 2017 Merged with Tulsa to form Oklahoma FC
     Pittsburgh Wallabies2004 - 2006 Absorbed by Philadelphia Hawks
South Carolina Hawks1999 - 2001 Folded
St. Petersburg Swans 2014 - 2017 Created Major League Footy
Tri Cities Saints1999 - 2004 Folded
     Tucson Javelinas1999 - 2004 Folded
Tulsa Buffaloes 2010 - 2017 Merged with Oklahoma City to form Oklahoma FC
Vancouver Cougars2006 - 20091 Still active in AFL Canada

[6]

Affiliated leagues

See also

References
  1. "Australian football makes inroads in Baltimore one bounce, kick and bump at a time". The Baltimore Sun. 26 July 2014.
  2. "Aussie rules tackling the USA". The Sydney Morning Herald. 20 September 2011.
  3. "AFL International Development Regional Plan 2012-2016" (PDF). United States Australian Football League. May 2012. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-01-01.
  4. Maine, Jim (2012). Aussie Rules For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. p. 127. ISBN 978-1-118-34875-8. Retrieved 2020-01-01.
  5. "MAAFL League History". Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
  6. "USAFL".
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