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 .
19-676: The Chicago Swans is a United States Australian Football League team, based in Chicago , United States. It was founded in 1998 and is affiliated with the Sydney Swans . They play in the Mid American Australian Football League . This article about a sports team in Illinois is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about an Australian rules football team or club
38-544: A goal kicked after the siren. Like the Grand Final in previous years, the match was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as a curtain raiser to the 2008 AFL Second qualifying Final which attracted a crowd of 76,703 spectators. However unlike previous tournaments, the final was not televised. The WAFL and Perth, Western Australia raised the possibility of bidding for the tournament soon after
57-591: A local league. Each year the USAFL holds a National club championship , a tournament open to all clubs across the nation, the largest of its type in the world for the sport. In addition to the Nationals, the USAFL holds major regional tournaments including the Central, East and West regional tournaments. The USAFL selects the national men's ( USA Revolution ) and women's ( USA Freedom ) teams for competitions such as
76-428: A premier division and development division, with some discussion as to whether the eligibility rules could be loosened for the development division, to enable more countries to participate. Leagues were given the opportunity to nominate which they would prefer, with eight in each division being an initial target. Ultimately, this idea was dropped, with the sixteen teams being seeded into four pools. In December 2007, it
95-662: A result, there was speculation over an inaugural women's and under 17 divisions. However the AFL denied these divisions in favour of a senior men's competition only. In response, and with the Barassi International Australian Football Youth Tournament being cancelled, British and Canadian junior teams had to organise their own tours and matches against Australian schools. Despite both international teams being in Australia at
114-496: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . United States Australian Football League As of 2011, there were over 1,000 registered USAFL players. There are 48 member clubs, of which 47 have men's teams (all except North Star Blue Ox) and 25 have women's teams. 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
133-554: The Australian Football International Cup and the 49th Parallel Cup . The first match between two local US clubs was played in 1996 between Cincinnati and Louisville . 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
152-529: The 2005 cup had been completed, however the AFL has confirmed that the cup will once again be held in Melbourne for at least for one more year, as the 2008 Cup will coincide with Australian Rules football's 150th anniversary. The AFL later indicated that a regional round and semi-finals would be held in Warrnambool . The AFL indicated that unlike earlier cups, it would likely be split into two divisions,
171-566: The Canada Northern Lights in five of seven contests. 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 ,
190-440: The Grand Final, and both would lose to Ireland. 2008 Australian Football International Cup The 2008 Australian Football International Cup was the third time the Australian Football International Cup , an international Australian rules football competition, has been contested. It was scheduled for 2008 (as part of the 150th year celebrations of Australian Football ), with 16 nations competing. The tournament
209-593: The Liberty went 3-2 in five matches against teams from various leagues in and around Melbourne. After the postponement and subsequent cancellation of the International Cup in 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024, both the Revolution and Freedom took part in the 2024 AFL Transatlantic Cup , one of three regional tournaments scheduled by the AFL to sustain the international Aussie Rules game until the International Cup could be restored. Both American teams would advance to
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#1732802599328228-455: 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. They would come in 4th at the 2017 Australian Football International Cup which, as of 2024, was the last edition. After completing a tour of Australia in 2009, the Freedom were one of five teams to compete in
247-490: 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 Australian Football International Cup . As of the last edition in 2023, the Revolution men have won eleven of the twelve meetings against the Canada Northwind, while the Freedom women have fallen to
266-459: The first International Cup Women's Division at the 2011 Australian Football International Cup , finishing third. At the 2014 Australian Football International Cup , the Freedom finished in third place again while a reserves team, the USA Liberty, came in last of the seven competing teams. Three years later, the Freedom finished fourth at the 2017 Australian Football International Cup while
285-465: 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
304-645: 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. 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
323-514: The same time, they did not play against each other. The US women's team announced a 2009 tour instead. The AFL confirmed in July 2008 that sixteen nations will compete. In addition, there will be friendly matches played between Melbourne-based migrant community teams under the names "Team Africa" and "Team Asia", as well as the Tongan side which was unable to commit to the full tournament. Also despite
342-646: Was announced that Melbourne and Warrnambool would co-host the two division event, with Melbourne matches to be played mainly in Royal Park North . Several potential new sides were announced by the AFL, including an Israeli-Palestine combination supported by the Peres Centre for Peace, China and India. The USA Women's team announced an intention to send a squad to play against Australia and possibly Papua New Guinea. Additionally Canada and England announced their intentions to send Under 17s squads. As
361-513: Was hosted by both Melbourne and Warrnambool in Victoria , Australia between 27 August and 6 September, with a single match additionally played in Geelong . Like previous tournaments, the competition was open to men's teams with strict nationality eligibility rules. The Grand Final was played between New Zealand and Papua New Guinea . Papua New Guinea were victorious by 8 points with
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