73-716: The AFL Commission is the governing body of the Australian Football League Limited (AFL), its subsidiaries and controlled entities. Richard Goyder has been chairman since 4 April 2017, replacing Mike Fitzpatrick . It was formed in 1985 as the VFL Commission, and gained its current name in 1990 in conjunction with the renaming of the VFL competition to the Australian Football League. Its constitution self-proclaims
146-516: A QAFL Women's competition was formed in Brisbane in 2001, Queensland's first women's league after one off matches from as early as the 1970s. The first national junior championships for girls were established in 1992 with the advent of the first AFL Women's National Championship , while junior sides later took part in the first AFL Women's Under 18 Championships in 2008–2010. Women's Australian rules football began to rapidly grow in 2000, with
219-493: A chairman , whose role is to oversee meetings, and a chief executive officer , who typically also oversees the operations of the Australian Football League. Commissioners are elected by the 18 AFL clubs, who each are entitled to make nominations. Should an election be necessary, then the membership is decided by a vote of the AFL clubs. Under the current constitution, the member clubs have the power to veto commission decisions with
292-546: A 30-minute match was played on Adelaide Oval between workers of the Charles Moore & Co. factory and the Mirror Shirt and Pyjama Factory. Although the match was not a standalone event, newspapers at the time did refer to it as the main attraction of the day. A moth biplane dropped the game ball to start the match. In 1930, the club captain and secretary Veronica O'Callahan announced that the Charles Moore's club
365-571: A certain group, such as the Catholic or Jewish sports groups. General sports organizations and multi-sport events also exist for other groups such as the Invictus Games for military veterans. Professional sports leagues are usually the highest level of play in sport, specifically if they consist of the best players around the world in a certain sport. Because of this, they usually work with national or international federations, but there
438-499: A congress or general assembly of the international federation and is responsible for defining its sports policies. It consists of all of the national federations, each of which receives one vote. On the other hand, the executive branch, which is often referred to as the council or executive committee, consists of elected members by the legislative branch and is responsible for directing, managing, and representing their federation. Trusts are organizations or groups that have control over
511-520: A game took place at Alberton Oval between Port Adelaide and another club representing Thebarton. Port Adelaide was captained by Eileen Rend. Perth's successful "Shopgirls Premiership" competition continued after the war and through the 1920s and included teams from Brennan's drapery and Foy & Gibson among others. Women's teams were formed at Riverton, South Australia , to play scratch matches in 1920. The first match to be played in Melbourne
584-558: A given sport (or a group of similar sport disciplines, such as aquatics or skiing ) and administers its sport at the highest level. These federations work to create a common set of rules, promote their sport, and organize international competitions. International sports federations represent their sport at the Olympic level where applicable. About 30 international sport federations are located in Switzerland , with about 20 or so in
657-485: A licences to participate by 13 existing AFL teams, with eight teams awarded licences to participate in the inaugural season with the competition to be known as "AFL Women's" or AFLW for short. The inaugural AFLW match was held at Ikon Park in February 2017 between traditional rivals Carlton and Collingwood and attracted 27,500 fans, however over 2,000 people were locked out due to security concerns. The AFL apologised for
730-414: A match in front of a large crowd at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne. In 1933, a match played between Carlton and Richmond women's teams at Princes Park stadium in Melbourne was incorrectly billed on Sydney company Cinesound Newsreel as the "first women's rugby match"; the teams were composed mostly of female netball and track-and-field athletes eager to try Australian rules. Women's football
803-584: A particular sport, as evident in the example of the Northern Ireland Federation of Sub-Aqua Clubs . Multi-sport event organizers are responsible for the organization of an event that includes more than one sport. The best-known example is the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the organizer of the modern Olympic Games . General sports organizations are responsible for sports-related topics, usually for
SECTION 10
#1732765124522876-781: A professional talent pathway for players through the AFL Draft , AFL Draft Combine , AFL Academy and academies through its member clubs and affiliated bodies, Underage Men's and Underage Women's championships, the Australian Football (AFL) International Cup and through its worldwide affiliates, numerous regional representative tournaments. The Commission organises the highest level of representative competition in Australia, being responsible for senior State of Origin competition from 1991 to its cessation in 1999. Since 1998, it has also overseen Australia's involvement in
949-652: A round-robin competition was held at Glenferrie Oval featuring VFL clubs, with South Melbourne, Footscray, Hawthorn and St Kilda competing in an all-female competition. The league competed through the 1950s and was actively promoted by Footscray VFL champions "Mr Football" Ted Whitten and Jack Collins . Regular girls football was also being played in North West Tasmania, with clubs in Ulverstone and Devonport playing in 1946. Tasmanian Football League clubs Launceston and Clarence added women's teams to
1022-673: A stake in the Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney clubs. The AFL Commission manages a special fund called the Competitive Balance Fund (CBF) since 2004 as a grant of up to $ 5 million per club to ensure that member clubs remain financially viable. The system was later changed to the Annual Special Distribution (ASD) of $ 6.3 million shared among all clubs, as well as allowing for grants and special concessions, such as payments, to ensure that
1095-594: A team in the minor leagues . This enables them to shuffle players who are not doing well to the minor leagues, which will inspire them to contribute more to the team by playing better. A 2014 study by the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) criticized major international sports governing bodies including the International Olympic Committee and FIFA for not having sufficient provisions for human and labor rights. Women%27s Australian rules football Women's Australian rules football (in areas where it
1168-564: A two-thirds majority vote. The current membership of the Commission is: The AFL Commission has also become involved in Australian Football League matters on occasion, both on and off-field. Sometimes these interventions have been in controversial circumstances. The commission has become involved when players or a club bring the game into disrepute, including: The AFL Commission has a role in undertaking assessments of expansion clubs and awarding new licences including: The Commission owns
1241-531: A type of national federation, as they are responsible for a country's participation in the Olympic Games and in the Paralympic Games respectively. However, a national governing body (NGB) can be different from a national federation due to government recognition requirements. Also, national governing bodies can be a supraorganization representing a range of unrelated organizations operating in
1314-470: Is one of the most popular women's football competitions in the world with an average attendance in 2019 of 6,262 a game. The record attendance is 53,034 which was set at the 2019 AFL Women's Grand Final which, prior to the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup , held the record for the most attended fixture in Australian women's sport. Women's Australian rules has also grown rapidly outside of Australia since
1387-504: Is popular, known simply as women's football or women's footy or women's AFL ), is the female-only form of Australian rules football , generally with some modification to the laws of the game . It is played by more than half a million women worldwide and with 119,447 Australian adult and 66,998 youth female participants in 2023 is the second most played code among women and girls in Australia behind soccer . The first Australian rules football matches involving women were organised late in
1460-531: Is significant evidence of a continuity in competition from the end of World War I spanning several Australian states. Both world wars were a great liberator for women; as the men fought in the war, women were often called to perform many tasks typically done by men, including spectator sports. In August 1880, a group gathered at Sandhurst (Bendigo) in Victoria responding to a postcard from signed "Lover of Football" to form an all-ladies football club. The idea
1533-472: Is to oversee the profitability of its competitions, its primary competitions being the AFL and AFL Women's . As such, it has a direct stake in many of its member clubs. It also approves the administration of new club licenses, and has been involved in the expansion of the national competition since 1987, being instrumental in the merger that created the Brisbane Lions . The Commission also fully owns
SECTION 20
#17327651245221606-494: Is usually a separation between the different federations. Most North American professional leagues usually do not have amateur divisions, as the amateur divisions are mostly run in separate leagues. Also, most professional leagues are related to other leagues, as players usually attempt to play in the league with the highest level of play. Because of this, promotion and relegation can occur; or, in league systems without promotion and relegation, clubs in professional leagues can have
1679-622: The AFL NSW/ACT and has strong affiliations with all other states. The AFL also promotes and brands the sport under its own name instead of the official name of Australian Football, especially in developing areas where the sport is not well known and the AFL has a major stake in the local governing bodies. The ten commissioners are elected by the 18 AFL clubs, with each of the 18 clubs entitled to make nominations, but other Australian Football leagues, associations and clubs do not have any control or representation. The AFL Commission's primary role
1752-889: The Ballarat Arch of Victory . The Lucas girls won the match 3 goals 6 (24) to the Khakis 1 goal 2 (8) in front of 7,000 people, then the largest football crowd in Ballarat history. A photograph of the Lucas Girls Football team appears in the Ballarat Star in December 1918. In September 1918 the Australian Red Cross organised a number of fundraising "ladies football" matches including a match at Broken Hill, New South Wales between teams of
1825-622: The Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney time to submit their bids in full. Not content to wait for the AFL, two of its member clubs, the Melbourne Football Club and the Western Bulldogs began organising women's matches against each other. Initially the clubs created representative teams drawn from local players from aligned VWFL clubs. In June 2013, they organised an AFL sanctioned exhibition match held at
1898-619: The Greater Western Sydney Giants . Other clubs to have an AFL Commission appointed board include the Sydney Swans , the Gold Coast Suns , Adelaide Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club . The Commission operates a Competitive Balance Fund, which redistributes profits to the clubs most in need to help ensure that all of its member clubs are financially sustainable in the long-term. Financially,
1971-572: The International Australian Football Council ) and the administration of women's football (since 2010, when it took over the operations of Women's Football Australia , which ceased operations in 2015). Leagues affiliated with or owned by the AFL Commission have names beginning with AFL, and incorporate the AFL logo, and now owns the governing body for Australia's most populous eastern region through
2044-413: The International Australian Football Council , thus gaining control of the sport worldwide. In its role as national and international governing body, the AFL Commission also controls and delegates development funding for Australian state and international bodies and leagues. As most of this funding is sourced the revenue and activities associated with the AFL competition, much of the funding is directed to
2117-623: The International Rules Series . An independent governing body for the competition was first moved in December 1984 during the fallout of VFL president Allen Aylett 's resignation following the South Melbourne Football Club 's financially disastrous move to Sydney. The club, managed from Melbourne but playing in Sydney, had lost large amounts of money in Sydney and large loans had been written out by
2190-622: The Lausanne area, where the International Olympic Committee is located. International federations for sports that do not participate in the Olympic Games are managed by equivalent organizations to the International Olympic Committee , such as the SportAccord . International federations are typically organized with legislative and executive branches at the top. The legislative body is usually referred to as
2263-553: The St Kilda Cricket Ground . Other high drawing matches were played in Western Australia between Kalgoorlie and Kalgoorlie Railways. In 1922, a Fitzroy female team travelled to Perth and played West Perth in front of 13,500 spectators. The 1923 Richmond ladies football team played against the men's side in Melbourne to raise funds for a junior trip. In 1929, as part of an annual charity day,
AFL Commission - Misplaced Pages Continue
2336-731: The West Australian Women's Football League (WAWFL) formed in Perth in 1988 and the South Australian Women's Football League (SAWFL) formed in Adelaide in 1991. The AFL Women's National Championships were inaugurated in 1992. In 2010 the Australian Football League (AFL) assumed control of the sport with the intention of professionalising it and began restructuring competitions around
2409-624: The sport that they govern. Governing bodies have different scopes. They may cover a range of sport at an internationally acceptable level, such as the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee , or only a single sport at a national level, such as the Rugby Football League . National bodies will largely have to be affiliated with international bodies for the same sport. The first international federations were formed at
2482-555: The 19th century, but for several decades it occurred mostly in the form of scratch matches , charity matches and one-off exhibition games . The first all-female matches began early in the 20th century, and regular competition first emerged after World War II . State-based leagues emerged between the 1980s and 2000s: the first was the Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL) formed in Melbourne in 1981, with others including
2555-478: The 2000s. The Women's International Cup has been run since 2011. Players to represent their country and be recruited at AFLW level include Laura Duryea , Clara Fitzpatrick (Ireland) and Kendra Heil (Canada). The game's governing body, the AFL Commission , has been criticised for its lack of acknowledgement of the history of women's football, taking credit only for the virtually overnight "revolution" of
2628-666: The 27th Battalion and Artillery as well as several in South Australia including Morphett Vale took on Coo-ee, as well as matches involving the factory of Charles Moore and Co. Perhaps the highest profile match was between North Adelaide iand South Adelaide at the Jubilee Oval in Adelaide on the 21st. In South Australia, an early example of Women's football was a Port Adelaide Women's team in November, 1918 where
2701-625: The AFL Board of Directors voted itself out of existence after 96 years of operation. Its constitution self-proclaims the Commission to be the "keeper of the code" responsible for the sport of Australian football . The Commission later became responsible for the national administration of the sport (since 1995, when the Australian National Football Council ceased operations after 89 years), as well as its international administration (since 2002, when it absorbed
2774-461: The AFL member clubs remain viable in the short term. In 2006, the Commission approved a $ 2.1 million special financial assistance package for Carlton . In response to clubs increasingly relying on and applying for special funding, in 2008, the Commission recommended removing the fund altogether, but after considerable club protests led by three struggling clubs, the Western Bulldogs , Melbourne and North Melbourne, CEO Andrew Demetriou announced that
2847-488: The AFL spent between $ 6–38 million per annum (under 5% of total revenue) on game development grants globally (excluding a one-off COVID-19 Pandemic community football recovery package). With a new TV rights deal in 2022 and to help the game at the grassroots continue its recovery post COVID-19 Pandemic, the Commission increased its community grants to $ 67 million. The AFL Commission has a simple structure. There are formal corporate titles for members which currently consists of
2920-585: The AFLW also broke women's football attendance records in all states and territories except South Australia, including Tasmania, the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory where no teams were based. The inaugural Grand Final held on the Gold Coast set a new record for the women's game in Queensland with an attendance of 15,610. Following the AFLW season, the first State of Origin match in
2993-435: The AFLW while making only passing reference to its origins and development. While the Australian Football League has, in fact, played some role in the development of women's football in Australia, especially from the 2010s, it operated for 120 years without any official female teams, and was one of the last sporting competitions in the country to affiliate with a women's league. Overall public support for women's football in
AFL Commission - Misplaced Pages Continue
3066-515: The ASD would remain. In early 2009, it increased Melbourne's assistance from $ 250,000 to $ 1 million and made a $ 1 million grant to Port Adelaide . Sport governing body A sports governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function. Sports governing bodies come in various forms and have a variety of regulatory functions, including disciplinary action for rule infractions and deciding on rule changes in
3139-459: The Australian Football League (AFL) took over operations of Women's Football Australia and conducted a review of the organisation of its national organisation. This led to speculation that the AFL was investigating a national women's competition. Soon after, details of intentions emerged with the AFL slating a commencement in 2013 with four to eight teams. However the AFL would later miss this targe, postponing it until 2020 to allow its expansion clubs
3212-438: The Australian game passionately since the mid-19th century, accounting for approximately 50% of spectators at matches, a uniquely high figure among football codes. As early as 1862 women publicly questioned why they would not be able to play. Women's soccer became popular in the 1920s, and while documented mentions of football matches are often difficult to differentiate as to whether they were played under Australian rules, there
3285-455: The Commission is highly co-dependent on the success of the AFL and the majority of its funding comes from AFL competition broadcasting rights. The 2025-2031 rights will earn $ 4.5 billion, the most lucrative in Australian sporting history. The Commission distributes some of the profit from these rights into development of the game. However, the majority is invested in ensuring that the AFL continues to sustain its future revenues, such as protecting
3358-702: The Federal Khaki Clothing Factory "Khaki girls" team (playing in khaki and white) travelled to Ballarat to play the Ballarat Eleanor Lucas's lingerie factory "Lucas girls" team (playing in pink and white and coached by Charlie Clymo ) at City Oval in Ballarat, Victoria in August which was, according to reports, a highly physical contest in front of a "huge crowd" and the even was met with substantial fanfare. The match funded
3431-582: The Melbourne Cricket Ground which attracted 7,500 spectators, then a record. The two teams competed annually over the next three years for the Hampson-Hardeman Cup. In women's Australian rules football in 2015, 163 new teams were formed, and a total of 284,501 players took part in organised games. In 2016 the AFL began a series of exhibition matches as double headers with men's matches. That same year it opened bidding for
3504-461: The Swans and Footscray , the Commission was able to turn the competition's finances around by 1989, aided by increased television rights and the sale of $ 4 million licenses to interstate expansion clubs. Under the VFL Commission, all players became fully professional for the first time in its history. The AFL Commission has been responsible for the administration of the AFL competition since 1993, when
3577-488: The Williamstown Chronicle. Costume football matches were popular from the late 1870s as a form of outdoor fancy dress theatre amusement mixing opera, comedy and pantomime. While early events were poorly documented, accounts from the time were over the top and gaudy affairs. However such matches provided a gateway for female participation and over time these there were more and more documented accounts of
3650-658: The board of directors voted itself out of existence, and a new Memorandum and Articles of Association were adopted for the AFL. It also assumed national governance of the sport (see Principle 2 below) after the ANFC ceased operations in 1995. This was a significant change of power: between 1985 and 1993, the Commission had required explicit approval by a 75% vote of the League (the teams) for major items such as further expansion, mergers, relocations, and major capital works. The AFL also created an International Policy in 2005, and absorbed
3723-549: The commission to be the "keeper of the code" responsible for the sport of Australian football . As part of its role, the Commission is responsible for the Laws of Australian Football . It is also responsible for worldwide player acknowledgement through the Australian Football Hall of Fame , All-Australian team and World (formerly All-International) Team. The Commission controls the AFL competition and maintains
SECTION 50
#17327651245223796-495: The competition in 1947. Matches were also being played in the Wimmera - Mallee region of Victoria in towns such as Hopetoun , Lascelles and Camperdown . By 1947, the Adelaide women's competition had grown to seven teams. In 1953, a South Fremantle women's side took on and defeated Boans Limited at Perth Oval. In 1954, girls' football matches were held at Cobram. In 1959, a Victorian squad composed of Footscray players
3869-535: The competition's developing markets. Semi-professional state competitions are generally self-sufficient, and receive a much lower percentage of the AFL's funding. The Commission has established a pathway that features junior Academies and scholarships from representational level up to its member clubs. The highest level is the AFL Academy , with academies for each state being managed by their respective AFL clubs and affiliated governing bodies. Between 2010 and 2021,
3942-443: The country to support an Australian national league, AFL Women's (AFLW), that commenced its inaugural season in 2017. By 2022 all 18 AFL clubs had begun fielding women's teams. The AFLW attracts a large audience of more than one million attendees and over two million viewers, and has managed to maintain its high levels of interest despite moving to primarily ticketed and subscription broadcasting models in 2021. The AFLW competition
4015-493: The earliest all-female teams which included Nellie Stewart , Florence Maude Young , Jennie Lee , Violet Varley and Flora Graupner. Played at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground the match attracted one of the largest crowds ever seen to the ground and was declared a draw and the media lauded the performance of the female team: "the ladies, in fact, carried all before them". A repeat female vs male match
4088-471: The end of the 19th century. Every sport has a different governing body that can define the way that the sport operates through its affiliated clubs and societies. This is because sports have different levels of difficulty and skill, so they can try to organize the people playing their sport by ability and by age. The different types of sport governing bodies are all shown below: International sports federations are non-governmental non-profit organizations for
4161-555: The inclusion of female characters. In 1887 one of the earliest accounts of numerous "young ladies" participating was held in Ballarat, at the Eastern Oval in front of a huge crowd of 6,000. In 1892, a Bendigo woman was charged with nuisance for kicking a football in the street. In 1894, a high profile costume match was played to raise funds for the Australian Dramatic and Musical Association which featured one of
4234-493: The league to keep them viable which was impacting the finances of the competition. Under Jack Hamilton , the first Chief Commissioner, the VFL began a restructuring toward a franchise model whereby member clubs operate licenses owned by the league. The model helped make private ownership of the Swans possible in 1985, as well as selling new licenses (resulting in the Brisbane Bears and West Coast Eagles in 1987). Under
4307-405: The league's home of Melbourne has also lagged behind the rest of the country to an extent. Codified in 1859, Australian football had been played by men for almost half a century before the first all-women's football matches were played: exceptions to this included charity matches, such as patriotic fundraisers, which occasionally featured women players. Despite this, women have nonetheless followed
4380-405: The lock out which turned away fans stating that it had underestimated demand, expecting just 12,000 people. Despite this, the league later ruled out hosting women's matches at Docklands Stadium or the code's spiritual home Melbourne Cricket Ground deeming them to be too large for the women's game. As such, this was to remain a long standing record attendance for Victoria. During its debut season
4453-477: The money that will be used to help someone else, such as the Youth Sport Trust . National governing bodies have the same objectives as those of an international federation, but within the scope of one country, or even part of a country, as the name implies. They support local clubs and are often responsible for national teams . National Olympic Committees and National Paralympic Committees are both
SECTION 60
#17327651245224526-404: The new model, many Melbourne clubs struggling for financial viability such as St Kilda , Fitzroy and North Melbourne could be kept afloat by a combination of private ownership and league subsidies from the sale of new franchises and television rights. The restructuring paved the way for the VFL's expansion into a national competition. Despite continuing financial troubles at many clubs including
4599-614: The number of registered teams increasing by a phenomenal 450%. In 2006 the Australian Services and the ADF conducted a national development camps for female players to form a services league. In June 2007, the organisers of the E. J. Whitten Legends Game included, for the first time, female participants - Daisy Pearce and Shannon McFerran , both of the Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL) - enabling them to play against former men's AFL players. This significantly raised
4672-465: The primacy of the competition, as well as growing its broadcast audience, talent pathways and professionalism to attract the best available players (from junior development programs and high performance athletes from around the world). As part of its role, the Commission is responsible for the Australian Football Hall of Fame , the AFL men's underage championships and AFL Women's underage championships . It
4745-527: The profile of women's football in Victoria, with some of the former AFL players being outplayed by the female players. It became one of the few high-profile mixed-gender exhibition matches featuring high-profile women's players. The first full international game was held between the USA Freedom and Team Canada in Vancouver on Saturday 4 August 2007 in front of a crowd of almost 2,500. In 2010,
4818-423: The years, women's football was rarely organised until the formation of the Victorian Women's Football League in 1981, with four teams competing at open level. With the West Australian Women's Football League 's formation in 1988, followed by that of the South Australian Women's Football League in 1991, there were competitions in the three major states in the sport. A women's competition in Sydney began in 1999 and
4891-522: Was also responsible for senior State of Origin competition from 1991 until it ended in 1999. The Commission was formed to set policy, and has directed the VFL/AFL (known then as the VFL) as the game's most professional league since December 1985. In 1993, the AFL Commission assumed control of the league's administration from the AFL Board of Directors (in effect, the 15 AFL clubs at that time). Subsequently,
4964-539: Was being increasingly organised in northern Tasmania in the 1940s with the formation of several dedicated clubs and matches in Launceston. Archives also show a charity women's match occurred on Bassendean Oval in Perth, Western Australia, 27 August 1944. It is unknown whether the game had been played continuously in the state. Another match in 1944 was held in June at Memorial Oval Port Pirie, South Australia . Calls were made for big VFL clubs, including reigning premiers Essendon, to field women's sides in 1947. That year
5037-400: Was considered a novelty at the time, and did not proceed, though generated some attention across regional Victoria. In 1886, a local paper reported that a group of women in Williamstown were seen playing kick-to-kick . In the same year a call for a ladies football club affiliated with the North Williamstown Football Club suggesting a hybrid match against a women's lacrosse club was made in
5110-465: Was defeated by a Tasmanian team. In 1967, a charity match was played in Regent's Park in London , between Aussie Girls and Wild Colonial Girls as a curtain raiser to a promotional men's match. In 1970 in Brisbane, Queensland, the Sherwood and Western Districts clubs began an annual women's competition which continued until 1985. The Mt Gravatt Football Club also had a dedicated women's team from 1973. Beyond this and occasional matches over
5183-466: Was going into recess, claiming that the game is "too rough" to become popular with girls in Adelaide. Nevertheless, Port Adelaide Magpies reformed a women's team for the following year to play against a team from Queenstown. In August 1930, a charity match was organised in Perth on what is now the WACA Ground . In 1931, women protested against all-female matches being organised for Melbourne. That year, Oakleigh and Carnegie Football girls' clubs staged
5256-581: Was in 1921. According to the AFL Record, following World War I , a match in Melbourne was held to show that women could play what had previously been seen to be a man's sport. The first women's match attracted a large crowd and interest. The umpire wore a skirt. In 1921, a women's team in St Kilda organised a game with the women wearing kits donated by the St Kilda men's club and shorts rather than dresses. A team regularly practiced on Saturday mornings at
5329-668: Was played at the Theatrical Carnival at the Royal Exhibition Building in 1895. Women's role on the Home front during World War I saw the organisation of the earliest recorded all-women's matches. Records exist of a football side in Perth , Western Australia made up of department store staff playing as Foy & Gibson 's as early as 1915. Some of the first organised matches were played on Perth Oval , including one on 14 October 1917. In Victoria
#521478